battery draining?

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:04 pm

on my RH 50, it appears something is draining my battery.....

my scoot wasn't starting via electric start so i bought a battery charger. all was well for a few days then it needing charging again. battery is about 1 year old so i bought a new one....all was well for a few days then it needed charging. also, the front lights work but aren't that bright so it defn seems like the system isn't getting enough juice....when battery is charged can do electric start, signals ok and charger outlet getting power.

could this be a spark plug issue? the shop apparently torqued it in big time so i can't remove it for the life of me.

could this be fuse issue? everything seems to work fine except for the head lights.....actually the hi beam indicator on the front panel isn't that bright either.

any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks!

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:21 pm

I am of the opinion the alternator is not recharging the battery.
This could be a failed stator or a failed regulator.

Clue is, the lights should brighten with a rise in engine speed....yours are not.
Sounds like you are just riding till the battery is almost used up with no evidence of the bike recharging it.

There generally are no fuses involved in the charging system by itself.

Rob

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:36 pm

interesting...

when i "rev" the lights do increase a little bit, but not much. also the control panel stays very dim.

but what you say-riding until the battery is used up-that sounds exactly like what is happening. so that would be a failed regulator? is there anyway for me to test that or to i need to bring it to my dealer?

thanks!

Robbie wrote:I am of the opinion the alternator is not recharging the battery.
This could be a failed stator or a failed regulator.

Clue is, the lights should brighten with a rise in engine speed....yours are not.
Sounds like you are just riding till the battery is almost used up with no evidence of the bike recharging it.

There generally are no fuses involved in the charging system by itself.

Rob

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:55 pm

Unless you have a voltmeter handy you're off to the dealer.

Rob

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:48 am

thanks.....neighbor is a bit handy so might enlist him...like my dealer but not near me.

Robbie wrote:Unless you have a voltmeter handy you're off to the dealer.

Rob

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:44 am

Are you going on short rides? That can drain the battery as well you know. What I do is put my scooters on a battery tender if I know I'm not riding them for more than three days. Also, the cold can cause a battery to lose a little charge. The last time I changed my battery, I went with a Gel cell battery. Totally sealed, works awesome, well worth every penny.

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:52 pm

no commute 5 miles each way every day. neighbor has a voltmeter and we're going to check the system output tomorrow. battery had juice this morning then dead this afternoon so had to kick start for the ride home.

spr0k3t wrote:Are you going on short rides? That can drain the battery as well you know. What I do is put my scooters on a battery tender if I know I'm not riding them for more than three days. Also, the cold can cause a battery to lose a little charge. The last time I changed my battery, I went with a Gel cell battery. Totally sealed, works awesome, well worth every penny.

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:44 pm

Ok, neighbor with voltmeter came by.

Had to kick start for ride home. Battery dead.

Put in charged batter and RH started up.

When running, the system is kicking back about 5.5-6 volts. Even when revving it didn't go up by much more. So the battery is definitely not being charged and running down.

Now is the question-any idea why?

Thanks!

Robbie wrote:Unless you have a voltmeter handy you're off to the dealer.

Rob

B02S4 · Post by **B02S4** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:47 pm

If you charge an AGM battery with a wet cell "dumb" charger it will overvolt the AGM & kill it, presuming it wasn't already dead before you charged it.

The battery needs to be load-tested to determine if it is even worth charging with a correct charger.

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:03 pm

I'm using the battery tender from scooterworks......

my question was what would be causing the system to only kick back 6 volts when the scoot is running.

thanks!

B02S4 wrote:If you charge an AGM battery with a wet cell "dumb" charger it will overvolt the AGM & kill it, presuming it wasn't already dead before you charged it.

The battery needs to be load-tested to determine if it is even worth charging with a correct charger.

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:18 am

On idle, it's not going to give the full voltage. You need to get the scoot up to roughly 2K-3K rpm. While rev'd, check the voltage.

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:41 am

Well,
You indicated there was no change while revving it up so.....either the stator, regulator, or wiring harness issue.

Sorry my friend.....its off to the shop for more detailed diagnostics.

BTW, should be up as high as 14.2 to 15 volts D/C at the battery while revving it.....battery should be at around 12.3 to 13.2 with machine shut off and no load.

Rob

B02S4 · Post by **B02S4** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:14 am

IMO the battery should not be below 12.6v static/no load, if it was recently charged.

No way should it be 6v at idle, either.

zeke · Post by **zeke** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:54 pm

Thanks to everyone-off to the shop sometime then.

I opened the seat and looked inside-no obvious loose wires.

For now I will recharge my battery every other day or so but it definitely needs to go to the shop soon.

B02S4 wrote:IMO the battery should not be below 12.6v static/no load, if it was recently charged.

No way should it be 6v at idle, either.

Lotrat · Post by **Lotrat** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 4:36 am

A battery that measures less than 10V is toast. It's gone. It may be shorted and will fry your charging system. Your first battery should have lasted more than a year. You just killed your second battery. It may be time to bring it in to have the charging system looked at.