Turned the key, got nothing

[Solomoriah]

Not sure if I'm asking for help or just bitching.

Parked the bike ('80 XS 650) in running order. Battery maintainer all winter. Rolled it out, turned the key, no lights, nothing. Metered the battery, 12.10 V. Fuses all look and test okay.

GAH.

 

[Lou_TX]

Sorry to hear. Does the meter still show 12V when you turn the ignition on?
Did you check power present on the downstream side of each fuse?
You might need to check at the ignition switch next to see if you get power there. If not, the headlight bucket might hold a surprise in its rats nest.

 

[Solomoriah]

No, voltage drops to around 3 V with the key on. The taillight/license light flash briefly when I turn the key on.

Not honestly sure which side of each fuse is "downstream" as the fusebox was replaced with three tube fuse and one blade fuse holder by some prior owner. It worked until now so I never messed with them.

 

[Lou_TX]

Oof, not good.
If you are measuring the voltage on the actual battery terminals, that would point to a bad battery. I would take it to a car parts store to have it load tested.
If you are measuring on at least one cable terminal, you just might be lucky and you could have a bad oxidized connection between a cable and battery. In which case, removing the cables, cleaning them and the terminals and reattaching might solve your problem. I sure hope that's what the problem is and you'll be back on the road.
Let us know what you find!

 

[650Skull]

No, voltage drops to around 3 V with the key on. The taillight/license light flash briefly when I turn the key on.

Not honestly sure which side of each fuse is "downstream" as the fusebox was replaced with three tube fuse and one blade fuse holder by some prior owner. It worked until now so I never messed with them.

Take your fuses out. Continuity,(Ohm), test between the positive red wire from the battery to each side of each fuse. This will find the main fuse. Now test on that wire, (opsite side), to the battery, on the red wire at the ignition switch connector in the headlight. Should b a 3 wire connector. Usually red, brown and blue. Should have infinity reading on the meter. Now put the fuse in and test from the battery to the ignition connector. If you read infinity then the problem is at the ignition switch,(common problem area) or down stream.

This needs to b done throughout the loom, cleaning all connections, bullet/multi wire couplings, repair broken wires and remove, clean all grounds. Eventually you will find and fix the problem

 

[Solomoriah]

Thanks guys. I'll take a look at those things.

I'll be honest, it's been fun figuring out the issues with this bike, but as time goes on the fun gets less and less. Arthritis in my hands isn't making it any easier.

 

[gggGary]

Battery maintainer all winter

A common theme with dead in spring batteries.
How old is the battery? Is it an AGM?

 

[Solomoriah]

Not AGM, just old-fashioned lead acid. I've had the absolute worst problems with AGM batteries. Battery is 1 or 2 years, I forget, but not "old."

 

[JOHNDADDY]

Harbor Freight has a battery load tester for 20$. It's a worthwhile investment.

 

[Solomoriah]

Ah, good to know. I'll need to get me one of those.

 

[toglhot]

So, it sat there all winter with a battery maintainer on all winter. That's not good idea. If you're not going to ride it at all over winter disconnect and remove the battery for a start and store it.

 

[Its been a long time]

So, it sat there all winter with a battery maintainer on all winter. That's not good idea. If you're not going to ride it at all over winter disconnect and remove the battery for a start and store it.

I agree. I have never had any good results from battery tender devices. Given that the battery is quite small and very easy to remove, take it indoors where it's warm over winter. I check the battery voltage periodically and when drops to maybe 12.5 volts I give it a charge. Typically over 5 to 6 months I have to charge the battery maybe 3 times over winter before installing it again.

 

[Lou_TX]

I check the battery voltage periodically and when drops to maybe 12.5 volts I give it a charge.

That is exactly what a battery maintainer is supposed to do. It does not charge constantly. Instead, it checks the voltage periodically and if it finds it low, it add charge to the battery to keep it full. And it does so with low current, usually around 1 ampere.
A good battery maintainer should not kill it. However, depending on the location of the motorcycle, taking the battery indoors might be a good idea. Down here in Texas, we don't have to worry about winters (those are actually nice and we can ride). But the summer heat can wreak havoc on batteries if stored outside, especially in the sun or a small hot garage.
But also, batteries aren't made to quality specs like they used to. I had batteries last 8-10 years when I was young. (quite a while ago) Nowadays, I am surprised if a battery survives 5 years.

 

[Solomoriah]

My garage is not heated, but is attached to a heated office, and it almost never falls below freezing. Not "warm" though.

 

[Its been a long time]

That is exactly what a battery maintainer is supposed to do. It does not charge constantly. Instead, it checks the voltage periodically and if it finds it low, it add charge to the battery to keep it full. And it does so with low current, usually around 1 ampere.
A good battery maintainer should not kill it. However, depending on the location of the motorcycle, taking the battery indoors might be a good idea. Down here in Texas, we don't have to worry about winters (those are actually nice and we can ride). But the summer heat can wreak havoc on batteries if stored outside, especially in the sun or a small hot garage.
But also, batteries aren't made to quality specs like they used to. I had batteries last 8-10 years when I was young. (quite a while ago) Nowadays, I am surprised if a battery survives 5 years.

You're quite correct about the quality of batteries, I think. I used to swear by Yuasa and buy nothing else. But I'm not sure they are anywhere near the quality they used to be. I need to buy a battery next week and I'm tempted to buy a cheapo AGM battery for less than half the price of the Yuasa. If the cheapo one lasts one or two years it's probably fair enough.

Point taken about the climate in Texas.

 

[gggGary]

Cold even sub zero cold does not a hurt a charged battery in the least. Actually it prolongs life, the lower the temp, the slower the chemical reactions (aging) If I'm ambitious I'll make a round of the shed batteries a couple times a long Wisconsin winter. If I'm not it doesn't seem to matter. they all usually start without a boost in spring. I've been installing NOCO NLP14 in several bikes They even crank that Ulysses over strongly.

 

[JOHNDADDY]

I always stored my battery's indoors and trickle charged them when it crossed my mind.
Lawn mower finally quit last cut of the year. Got 15 yrs outta that one, want to find the same kind if I can.
There's something about leaving them in a machine that just feels wrong,
kinda like putting a battery down on a concrete floor even knowing it's only gonna be there a few minutes.
Winters here can get pretty cold for long stretches, a friend of mine lost his battery on a tender
this winter and it was not that bad this year.
I put a maintainer on my bike this year because I never stopped riding this winter, but if it sat for a few days
or a week it was hard starting. The following day after a ride she'd start fine. Electric vampires in the harness?
I've got more questions than answers but that's been my experience. YMMV

 

[Lou_TX]

Cold even sub zero cold does not a hurt a charged battery in the least. Actually it prolongs life, the lower the temp, the slower the chemical reactions (aging)

True. Internal resistance of a battery is in inverse proportion to its temperature. IOW, the lower the temperature, the higher the internal resistance, the lower the internal discharge current and the longer the discharge takes.
That's why a lot of people put (small) batteries in the fridge for storage. As do we.

 

[Solomoriah]

I rotate one maintainer between my three bikes. Some years I don't do a good job of keeping up with it, but I did this last winter.

 

[Solomoriah]

Lawnmower was on a similar (same brand different model year) maintainer all winter and fired up fine first thing.