Blown R/R or Starter? Shorted Battery Against Frame

[Guest]

Hello,

I run a Shorai lithium battery on my 78 GS550. The battery sits in a custom metal electrical box I built and I accidentally just shorted the positive terminal against the metal box. There was a large spark and now the bike wont electric start.

When I turn the ignition to "on" the neutral light still shines on the speedometer, so I know the battery has some juice. However, the headlight wont turn on. I used the Ohm meter to test the battery, and when I turned the headlight on I watched the reading on the Ohm meter quickly drop to zero.

Is this an issue with the R/R? The bike won't turn over at all with the electric starter, so has the starter been affected to?

Any advice on what else I should be checking/testing would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Agemax]

have you checked the fuses?

[SqDancerLynn1]

You probably need a new battery Lithium battery's are fragile compared to a wet cell

[murrayta]

My bike just has a single fuse, and it's still good. I've been periodically checking the charge on the battery. It started on 8 volts and is slowing rising. In the last 30 minutes it has risen to 8.7 volts. (fully charged its normally 13.3 or so)

Any idea why the charge continues to rise?

[posplayr]

My bike just has a single fuse, and it's still good. I've been periodically checking the charge on the battery. It started on 8 volts and is slowing rising. In the last 30 minutes it has risen to 8.7 volts. (fully charged its normally 13.3 or so)

Any idea why the charge continues to rise?

8.7 volts on a charger it is probably gone . Call the manufacturer.

[1_v8_merc]

Yeah, anything below 9v, and it's not coming back...it's not a marine battery.

[Agemax]

Yeah, anything below 9v, and it's not coming back...it's not a marine battery.

maybe not, Ballistic say their li-on batteries can be recovered as long as they dont drop below 6v........

[Killer2600]

You killed the battery

Those are pricey, maybe try charging it and see where that goes.

In the future, heed age old automotive wisdom since you now know why every electrical repair instruction list starts with "Disconnect the negative battery cable"

[850 Combat]

Battery or not, it should be making the headlight come on, and the solenoid click. I suggest that you jumper it to a known good battery and check. If the electricity isn'y getting to where it should go, then you will need to keep checking and see where the flow of electrons ends. Have you changed the single fuse? It sounds like you did fry something. The R/R can be removed and your bike should still start and run. It is part of the system that charges your battery. It does not have anything to do with the starter. It does not have anything to do with the ignition. It does not have anything to do with the lights. If your battery is good, you do not need an R/R or a stator to start and operate all of your electrical components. The R/R controls and conditions the electrical power that your Stator makes, and sends it to the battery to keep it charged. When you hit that starter, guess what. It isn't making any. Not until after it starts. If your bike won't charge your battery, think stator and R/R. If you have a charged battery and it won't start, don't think stator and R/R. They are not the cause of the problem.