RAC4IT
Needs a job
Bergie
Posts: 3009
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posted February 03, 2003 03:44 PM
(battery) left me stranded today...
Nice day today; figured I'd put some mileage on the bike. The bike started up fine this morning; cold and hasn't been started in a couple weeks.
Went riding; ran a few errands then stopped for lunch at a deli about 15 minutes away from home. Went to fire it up and it chugged a couple times and died. Damn!
Worst of all I've had a new trickle charger sitting at home unopened in the garage. I never installed it because the bike seemed to start fine every couple of weeks over the winter. Bad idea.
Guess what? I had no tools with me either. Oh and guess what else? That stupid little red jumper cable inside the battery box isn't even attached to the batter from the factory! What good is it if I have to pull the seat, tank cover, and then pull the battery tray completely out to attach the stupid cable! Shit may as well replace the battery at that point!
Well since there was no way for me to get to the damn thing without tools I had to call for a ride; and leave the bike there alone and come back with tools and jumper cables. Hopefully it would still be there when I got back!! We all know about bike theives.
Anyway, it was there when I returned (thankfully). What a waste of a day! I pulled the battery box, installed the stupid jumper cable and jumpstarted the bike with our SUV.
So do yourself a favor, keep your battery charged! And next time you have it out- connect the OEM jumper cable harness to the positive side of the battery; this way you only have to pop the battery cover to get a jumpstart if you ever need one.
I'm putting the trickle charger wiring harness on tonight and leaving it on the charger from now on while it sits for extended periods of time.
Lesson learned.
  
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TurboBlew
Moderator
BUSY DOING THE SCHIAVO
Posts: 4590
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posted February 03, 2003 03:50 PM
Bergie, dont bother connecting that huge jumper wire. You can just change your trickle lead fuse to 10amps and you should be able to jump it from there. (with the alligator clips).
I have the little trickle lead hanging out on the left side and connect it to the coolant reservoir. Never had to pull the battery unless I want too...lol.
I also run my electric clothing off the same lead I made with some spare connectors! Works great!
Wouldnt worry about jump starting in the future...too much risk for damage with the ECU, etc.
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Official Charter Member of the RIDERS OF KAWASAKI MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION CLUB
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kzz1
Zone Head
"Show me whatcha workin with"
Posts: 908
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posted February 03, 2003 03:53 PM
Learned that lesson long time ago. I always put an automatic battery trickle charger on our bikes over the winter months or when it sits around for a long period of time and about the battery wire, I thought the dealer forgot to install the wire? Guess this is a common thing with the 12?
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n da zone
Expert Class
Posts: 215
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posted February 03, 2003 07:16 PM
Hi Rac4it. We were just talking about this a few days ago. REF: http://www.bikeland.org/board/viewthread.php?FID=1&TID=6039&set_time=
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MadMike
Moderator
FEAR THE BLACK FLAG!!!!!!!!
Posts: 6579
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posted February 04, 2003 04:47 AM
Steve dont you live in FL..... electronic clothing.... LMAO... you wussy..
Mad Mike
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200-MPH CLUB MEMBER!
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TurboBlew
Moderator
BUSY DOING THE SCHIAVO
Posts: 4590
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posted February 04, 2003 05:32 AM
LMAO, Mike...yes I live in FL, but sometimes I like to take a weekend ride to NJ.  All those damn northern states with the 30 degree (and less) temps require electric clothes...hehe.
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Official Charter Member of the RIDERS OF KAWASAKI MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION CLUB
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slug
Pro
Out in search of my mind...
Posts: 1433
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posted February 04, 2003 08:16 PM
hrmmm i stillhave my stock battery (knock on anything wooden within reach) which was installed in 1997.....
it is a yuasa battery, and (knocking on more wooden objects) has never failed me. it has been sideways more than a few times and inverted completely (violently too) once. (followed by other combinations of sideways, upright, other sideways etc)
jsut remember golden rule of jumpstarting ANY vehicle, always connect the LAST lead to be hooked up (should be negative) to place on frame of whichever vehicle AWAY from battery. sparks + hydrogen gas are bad. a battery during charging (mostly) and discharge produces hydrogen and oxygen in the perfect ratio for explosion.
and once the engine is running on the vehicle being jumped, immediately remove one of the negative leads. this prevents any sort of problem with one or the other charging systems overpowering each other. short duration shouldn't harm healthy systems, but prolonged operation like this can cause overheating of components and failure. prolonged being subjective, and dependent on the amount of reverse powering.....
  
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harryzx-12
Needs a job
Posts: 3643
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posted February 06, 2003 04:10 PM
Last week after a blast down the dragstrip I shut my bike off and when I tried to restart it a couple of minutes later it turned over VERY slowly.I had already been talking about replacing it.I picked up a new interstate battery today (Thanks Mike).
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways- Body thoroughly used up, totally worn out...Screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride !!!"
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kcadby
Pro
Posts: 1733
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posted February 06, 2003 05:33 PM
Bergie...if you haven't done the stator recall yet???
You might want to check to see if your charging system (on the bike) is still working OK...
Last time I had John's appart (in the tail area) his Stator connector was melted pretty bad...I'm surprised that his still charges OK...
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RAC4IT
Needs a job
Bergie
Posts: 3009
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posted February 06, 2003 06:03 PM
ok I will check thanks
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