Kawasaki Vulcan Forum banner

Starting problem

4K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  SDRider 
#1 ·
I turn on the key and the lights come on. Push the starter button and everything goes black, not starting. Turn off key and wait a minute. Turn on key and push starter button, same result everything dies. Turn off key, wait, turn on key, now nothing at all. Any help, ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you.
 
#5 · (Edited)
My bike just did the same thing. It's a 1995 Vulcan 1500A (Vulcan 88), low mileage (< 20K) and runs very well indeed. In March of 2015 I put in a new YUASA YTX24HL-BS when the previous battery died. I keep the bike on a trickle charger ('BatteryCompanion") and have had no problem starting the bike in the past year and a half until suddenly this happened. The static charge is about 13.4V but when I hit the starter button it drops instantly to less than 6, there are a few solenoid clicks and the lights go out. The battery seems to have suddenly gone completely dead, unable to deliver any kind of a current.

I shall buy yet another battery and will check the voltage with the engine running to get an idea of alternator/rectifier function. I understand that the voltage should not drop below about 9.5 when you hit the starter and then should rise to about 14.5 if the alternator is working properly. What else should I do?
 
#6 ·
Both of you check to see if the water level in the battery is good or are they down.
AND please dont buy a water/acid battery again.
Get a maintenance free battery just like your car and never have to worry if it has enough water again!

If water level is down and only a bit you can add water and for a short time bring the battery back with a charge, BUT YOU MUST get a new battery soon.
ANY battery left for too long with the water level low will destroy the battery.
I cant stress this enough, if the level was low and for a long time ( weeks ) you WILL need a new battery!!

If you already have a maint free battery, make sure its charged up fully to over 12VDC after sitting over night, and see if bike will start.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The YTX24HL-BS is a sealed battery - no maintenance required or even possible, other than to keep it in a state of charge of course. It's not possible to check the water level. As I mentioned above, the battery was kept on trickle charge and was reading about 13.4V at the time I tried to start the Vulcan. I wouldn't be bothered if this were a 3 or 4 year old battery but it's only 1 1/2 yrs old and should still be working OK. This is why I wonder about the state of the alternator/rectifier.

One thing I did notice a while ago, on one occasion: the yellow light on the trickle charger didn't come on when I connected it to the battery after a ride (nor did the green light - none of the lights came on). It says on the back of the charger that this may mean that the battery is not working properly and should be checked or replaced. Normally the yellow light comes on when it's charging and then the green when it's charged. The next time no lights come on I'll take more heed of it! My last ride before the battery failure was to a remote part of the desert east of San Diego - looks like I was lucky to get home again without problems.

p.s. should I consider going with a cheaper replacement battery, for say $50 instead of $100 or more? Is the YUASA really THAT much better?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I haven't seen a modern motorcycle battery lately which isn't sealed, and the general manufacturing practice is for them to be AGM, with the electrolyte held against the plates by the absorbent glass mats, with there being no free electrolyte. Opening this type of battery will hasten its failure as it exposes the plates to atmospheric components which cause them to deteriorate. It is a good idea to check the bike's charging system when a battery doesn't work as it ought to. Also, to determine whether the battery is at fault it should be charged, left to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours, and then the voltage should be checked - Kawi spec is for it to be a minimum of 12.8 volts. If it passes that test it then should be subjected to a load test - some parts stores will do that for no cost.

In my '07 VN900 the OEM Yuasa failed within a year and a half. I got a Chinese battery via Ebay which lasted five years. When that failed I replaced it with a PowerSonic sports battery, also made in China, which failed right on two years after installing it. Checking with the company I was told that two years was about all I could have expected. Now I have a Caltric battery, also Chinese- made, and it will be interesting to know its life expectancy. It appears that batteries' life spans are a mixed bag.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the interesting comments. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at a battery only lasting 1.5 yrs - better luck next time hopefully. I'll certainly check for leakage and alt/rectifier function, and for battery capacity in future. At least then maybe I'll get some warning of possible failure.
 
#12 ·
OK so I bought a new battery ("Extreme Powersports", equivalent specs to the original YUASA, made in China). NOTE: the guy in the battery store tested the old battery with two different devices and each showed that the battery was "good". But how good of a stress test is this? How can these tests accurately mimic drawing high amps when cranking the engine?

Here are my results with the new battery: (note: current leak (ignition off) showed zero amps.)

The engine started right away with the new battery installed. I did this again and the motor started right up again. The third time starting the motor I checked the voltages while my wife hit the starter button, idled and then slowly accelerated the throttle. Voltages as follows:

Ignition Off = 13.04V
Ignition On = 12.8V
Lowest value while cranking = ~ 10.5V
Running on idle = 12.5V
Reved up to ~ 3000 rpm = 14 to 14.5 V

I did notice a chafed ground lead running from the junction box to the negative battery terminal and put some electrical tape around it. Maybe I should replace it. How do you test how good the ground connections are?
 
#13 ·
To test any wire. check for resistance. Only the spark plug wire(s) should have any resistance,1000 oms per foot if I remember correctly.
 
#14 ·
IF a ground wire has been tight its whole life 99.9% are the odds the connection is good.
There is that slight possibility that something has gotten on/into it to make the connection bad.
If you suspect a bad ground connection, take bolt/screw off sand that area and and washers and re-attache the wire.

Checking for a bad ground isnt something you normally do.
Most of the time if it looks corroded that tells you it could be bad.

If you have a frayed wire that involves the battery, you should fix it.
Those wires are thick for a good reason. Fraying means that wire has been stressed/flexed to much, and every wire needs to be there for the most amperage to flow through it.
 
#17 ·
Those wires are thick for a good reason. Fraying means that wire has been stressed/flexed to much, and every wire needs to be there for the most amperage to flow through it.
Fair enough. But as mentioned above, this black & yellow ground wire is fairly narrow gauge - not the massive ground wire that it joins with just before the negative terminal connection. It doesn't come from the junction box as I had thought - hard to see even with the battery removed as it's tucked away in there. Looks like it comes out of a big bundle of wires - is this a common ground serving a bunch of low current components or does it just serve one component? If so, which? The reason it's a bit frayed is that there's a plastic connector in the line that adds bulk and the wire was caught between battery and box - my own fault for not keeping it clear when installing the battery in the box.

As the Vulcandoc you should know where this ground wire leads ..... :smile:
 
#15 ·
Put a volt meter between a ground on the engine and the negative terminal on the battery. Hit the starter. If you get a voltage reading, the connection is bad. Put the meter between the starter and the positive terminal and ht the starter. A reading shows that connection is bad.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I like your first idea. I've been thinking about 'voltage drop' methods to test the ground side after doing internet searches but couldn't find a suitable 'upsteam' point. Almost came up with what you suggest but not quite - good suggestion. I wanted to do a voltage drop on that somewhat frayed ground wire I mentioned earlier (it's not the heavy wire to the negative terminal but a separate, much thinner wire that seems to go to a main bundle, not to the junction box as I posted earlier) but I have no idea which electrical component it serves. I have the Clymer but still don't know what the heck this black & yellow wire is grounding. Any ideas? Why have a separate ground wire (low current) for this one component? (pardon my ignorance of matters electrical ...)

As to your second suggestion, what exactly do you mean by "starter"? Do you mean the positive wire at the starter switch. Let me know and I'll try that as well. Is it easy to access? I like voltage drop methods because even a small resistance can lead to significant voltage drop if the current is high enough.
 
#19 ·
To clarify, put the meter between the battery positive terminal and the terminal on the starter that comes from the relay. Until you hit the starter, the solenoid, or relay, will be open circuit and you will be reading battery voltage. A perfect circuit from the battery through the relay and to the starter terminal will carry all the current when you hit the starter and the meter will show little or nothing. A higher reading means there is a high resistance point in the cabling or starter relay.
 
#23 ·
Not sure why the interest in starter relay etc. She fires up nicely now with little voltage drop on starting and the alt/rec are producing about 14.5 - 14.8V. Only concern is poss. ground resistance but the numbers in the post above are OK, right?

That common ground wire does look pretty stout and resists flexing so must be heavier gauge that I originally thought. Now I know that it carries all of the return current (other than the starter of course) - wow! I did lose a bit of the plastic sheathing in that short line to the neg terminal but I think the copper wire is just fine and is rewrapped.
 
#25 ·
There is very little corrosion on this 88. Low mileage, always garaged, fully winterized when in NE New Jersey (5 yrs) and then mostly drought conditions here in sunny SoCal the past 16. It's a somewhat stiff ground wire, not a corroded one. Agree about resistance measurements which are inaccurate at the very low end but would reveal a major problem I suppose. Voltage drop makes more sense - and measuring it almost makes me feel I know what I'm doing ......

At this point I'm leaving well alone.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top