power drain

[sharp]

my gl1200 interstate has a new battrey when started its putting 13.7 back in, it has no radio but if i donot use it in 3 days its flat? something is drawing the power out any glue? :YMPRAY:

[bluewing]

It could be a weak battery, you may want to get a load test on the battery to make sure it is not the problem first. You could also try charging the battery up full then disconnect the ground terminal and leave it for a few days and see if it stays charged, if it looses its charge you know it is the battery.

[sharp]

thanks ill give it a go, just put a meter on the bike its putting out 13,4 is that about right.

[unionjack]

It probably is a bad battery, however once you have load tested the battery and you know it is good and fully charged, disconnect the neg. cable and pull all the fuses, now attach the meter, or a bulb, between the battery and the cable and replace the fuses one at a time looking for the drain. Remember of course that the clock will be drawing slight power all the time anyway.

[SIR tricky]

It probably is a bad battery, however once you have load tested the battery and you know it is good and fully charged, disconnect the neg. cable and pull all the fuses, now attach the meter, or a bulb, between the battery and the cable and replace the fuses one at a time looking for the drain. Remember of course that the clock will be drawing slight power all the time anyway.

You can pull the small fuse under the left side pocket and that will take care of any memory drain

[sharp]

thanks guys, i donot have a clock on the bike the battery was new last week but might be naf

[unionjack]

If you do not have the clock up next to the radio do you have the voltmeter instead? it connects to the same wiring and is interchangeable.

[sharp]

i have no radio and no clock or volt meter

[unionjack]

Are you sure it is an interstate and not a standard?

Does the bike have a fairing? if it does did somebody strip it down removing all the radio electronics?

[SIR tricky]

Are you sure it is an interstate and not a standard?

Does the bike have a fairing? if it does did somebody strip it down removing all the radio electronics?

The Interstate model came with fairing but no radio, clock or voltmeter.

I think the only model with the voltmeter was the LTD

[unionjack]

Oh!

:oops:

I should have known/remembered that!

[sharp]

no it did not come with any of them im going to buy a new battrey today and send the old one back as i think its naff

[bs175dths]

It has been my experience that ‘new’ batteries are not fully charged.
If you have ever bought a wet battery through the mail, it is shipped dry and the acid needs to be added. (add acid to a dry battery only, never a battery with acid already in it)
The instructions will state to add the proper level of acid to each cell and then instruct you to wait before putting the battery into service.
If you touch the battery 10 or so minutes after adding the acid, the battery will feel warm to the touch. The chemical reaction is taking place, the atoms are moving about causing this warming effect.
Once the chemical reaction has completed, the battery will cool to room temperature. At this point, the battery should be about 50 to 75% charged.
Testing the specific gravity of the acid in each cell with a hydrometer should confirm this.
Yes, the battery is charged. Yes it is ready for service and as it is being used, the charging system of the machine it is placed in, should bring the battery to full charge.
The other option is to place the new battery on a tickler or trickle charger until the specific gravity measured in each cell is 100%. Now the battery is fully charged.

It is important to note not to charge a battery at too high a rate. Doing so may ‘boil’ the acid causing the lead plates in the battery to warp and short out each other, effectively rendering that cell useless.
Most motorcycle batteries, regardless of the physical size, should not be charged at a rate higher than 2 amps. Most motorcycle trickle chargers charge at a rate of about 1.75 amps.
Motorcycle batteries can be charged at a higher rate as long as they are not allowed to get hot, which means they should be removed from the charger, allowed to cool, then reconnected.
Risks are still involved, but if all you have is a 4 amp charger, it could be used to charge the battery. It just needs to be babysat.

In reading a automotive service book written in the 1950’s it indicated a way to bring a seemingly dead battery back to service.
I was able to test this when I had bought old, inoperable motorcycles. The process worked and one battery was still working when I sold the bike 6 months later. The other lasted over a year before I had to replace it.

Other characteristics to consider are cold cranking amps and water level.
Replacing a battery rated at 440 CCA with a battery rated at 275CCA will only cause starting problems.
Low water level in the cells will also cause a perfectly serviceable battery to act like a dead battery.

Hope this sheds some light.