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battery drainage issues

  • Thread starter Thread starter jasonvorhees_kill
  • Start date Start date
J

jasonvorhees_kill

Guest
hey guys i recently bought a 82 suzuki gs 750e and have been having battery drainage problems. the stater and the magneto have both been changed recetnly and still having the same problem. a charged battery will start teh bike 2 or 3 times but then there is not enough juice after that to get the bike started. it will push start real easy. not sure if the problem could be from the alternator somewhere. any ideas?
 
There are always a couple of possibilities. Firstly it may be your battery that is failing. Secondly it could be some 'leakage" by something draining the battery. OK you may not be charging from the bike, check this as well. Then I would have a look at the regulator and check the wiring maybe a non Suzuki one has been fitted with a reference lead that is connected to the battery and not the switched ignition on lead by PO.
Your best bet if the battery tests OK is to connect an ammeter and see if power is being drawn with the bike switched off.
 
well im pretty sure its not the battery itself because i i have two batteries this is happening to on this bike. could my brush heads on my alternator be the problem? im afraid its going to be the wiring which renders me helpless. you have any idea what someone might charge to rewire a bike like this?
 
well i dont have all that fancy equipment but i dont think the drainage is occuring while the battery is shut off because i had been unhooking the battery after a ride and it still was draining
 
its either your regulator/rectifier or your stator.. get a multi-meter and start checking your leads...also make sure the ground is good from the rectifier to a ground or straight to the -battery lead. also, check all your engine to frame bolts and maake sure they are tight also(elect. ground issue also) a lot of people on this site have these problemswith charging. go check out the stator files!! your battery doesnt really have a drain, your battery is probably getting a minimal charge...and the battery, not your alternator is powering the bike and all the lights..thats why it is getting run down..
 
Last edited:
thats what i was thinking. its seemed thatt the battery was running the whole thing
 
well i dont have all that fancy equipment but i dont think the drainage is occuring while the battery is shut off because i had been unhooking the battery after a ride and it still was draining
Click to expand...

I n order for you to work this out you will need to get a multimeter..the fancy equipment you speak of. They are not expensive and I got one locally for $10. It is the only way to figure out if you are charging which is likely your problem.

As mentioned, the first (across the battery poles) test is crucial and will tell you if it is a charging problem.

if you are not getting the 13+ volts you might suspect the rectifier and this is an extremely common problem. As per the stator papers, run a line from the rectifier negative (black) lead directly to the negative pole of the battery. In many cases this solves the problem and the bike will charge properly.Use the multimeter held across the poles and you should see the 13 to 15 volts you need.

As Catbed mentions, bad grounds are also a common with old bikes and can be the primary source for problems so you should check all ground points and make sure you have good metal to metal connections. As time permits, you should clean all electical connections and dab them with dialectic grease to keep them in good shape.

If this little fix doesn't do it for you then you likely will be looking at a stator fix so by all means read up on the papers.

Let us know how it it works out for you.

Cheers,
Spyug.
 
spyug said:
I n order for you to work this out you will need to get a multimeter..the fancy equipment you speak of. They are not expensive and I got one locally for $10. It is the only way to figure out if you are charging which is likely your problem.

As mentioned, the first (across the battery poles) test is crucial and will tell you if it is a charging problem.

if you are not getting the 13+ volts you might suspect the rectifier and this is an extremely common problem. As per the stator papers, run a line from the rectifier negative (black) lead directly to the negative pole of the battery. In many cases this solves the problem and the bike will charge properly.Use the multimeter held across the poles and you should see the 13 to 15 volts you need.

As Catbed mentions, bad grounds are also a common with old bikes and can be the primary source for problems so you should check all ground points and make sure you have good metal to metal connections. As time permits, you should clean all electical connections and dab them with dialectic grease to keep them in good shape.

If this little fix doesn't do it for you then you likely will be looking at a stator fix so by all means read up on the papers.

Let us know how it it works out for you.

Cheers,
Spyug.
Click to expand...

I strongly agree with all the stuff he said, but have one addition:
The stator connects to the regulator/rectifier with these really crappy connectors called bullet connectors, a bad connection there will prevent charging too. Replace the bullet connectors with spade connectors.

I thought that stuff was so important that I put it in my sig a while ago ... see below...\\:D/
 
jasonvorhees_kill said:
well i dont have all that fancy equipment but i dont think the drainage is occuring while the battery is shut off because i had been unhooking the battery after a ride and it still was draining
Click to expand...

Then the battery has an internal short, replace it with an AGM and be done.
 
tkent02 said:
jasonvorhees_kill said:
well i dont have all that fancy equipment but i dont think the drainage is occuring while the battery is shut off because i had been unhooking the battery after a ride and it still was draining
Click to expand...

Then the battery has an internal short, replace it with an AGM and be done.
Click to expand...

I read the original as the battery is not draining when unhooked; but that even though its unhooked when not in use (so there is no parasitic drain),
it is draining and not recharging while being ridden.
Which would mean the stator or regulator (or poor connections)
 
When I got my GS1000 I figured I'd be safe so I upgraded to the Electrex setup. Since then those connectors also got replaced!!
 
Buy the multi-meter. You can get a small one at Harbor Freight for under $5. You can't diagnose any electrical problem without the meter. Put across the battery just before and just after riding and while revving the engine. That may do it right there. But whatever the answer you will be able to find it with a multi-meter and the Stator Papers.
 
bakalorz said:
The stator connects to the regulator/rectifier with these really crappy connectors called bullet connectors, a bad connection there will prevent charging too. Replace the bullet connectors with spade connectors.
Click to expand...
Or better yet, splice and solder the wires together.
 
bakalorz said:
I read the original as the battery is not draining when unhooked; but that even though its unhooked when not in use (so there is no parasitic drain),
it is draining and not recharging while being ridden.
Which would mean the stator or regulator (or poor connections)
Click to expand...

Sentence can be read both ways.
Don't really know.
But a $5 meter and an hour spent reading would tell all.
 
One thing I'd like to mention about multimeters is, as I've just found out, make sure the 9 volt battery used is fresh. If one comes with the meter it may be a bit stale so change it out first otherwise your readings might be off .

I just checked an old battery that had sat in the cold man room all winter and my standard mmeter showed a voltage of about 13.5 volts. Pretty impossible as it hadn't been charged since Nov.. With a fresh 9volt it read 11.4v which was verified with another better quality meter.

Just some more information...hopefully to be helpful.

Cheers,
Spyug.
 
dpep said:
Or better yet, splice and solder the wires together.
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of soldering these wires together, might have to undo them sometime when you don't have a soldering iron. New connectors are tight and clean, they should last another decade.
 
duaneage said:
I'm not a fan of soldering these wires together, might have to undo them sometime when you don't have a soldering iron. New connectors are tight and clean, they should last another decade.
Click to expand...

Wire cutters work fine.
 
just wanted to say thank you to all you guys for your ideas. ill be buying a multimeter today. thanks again guys
 
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