STARTING PROBLEMS(AGAIN)

[sirch345]

thanks guys.

charged battery over night & bike been starting easy 1st time allday.

got a shot of a meter,hears some readings off battery.

@ lunch time bike not started it was 13.44 bike running it was @ 14.04

mid afternoon bike running it was @ 14.98(touched 15.01) & went to 14.68 when reving

late afternoon bike running 13.40 & 13.68 reving

tea time bike running 13.02 & 13 .68 reving


any conclusions from these readings.


thanks steve.

Steve,

Those figures seem to be in the right ball park to me, 15.5 volts iirc is acceptable so you're under that. I'd be interested too, to know what the readings would have been with the lights on.

You're not going to be losing anything by fitting a finned type rectifier, as your non finned one will pack up sometime.

When you had this problem before you said it was something to do with the indicator or wiring for said indicator, did you ever look into that There could be something there draining the battery by a small amount, so that when left over night the battery is partially drained by the morning. A simple way to test this idea would be to disconnect the earth (-) battery lead when you part it up at night, then re-connect it in the morning.

Chris.

[sepia]

hi chris.

i havnt went into why it started with indicator on that time.not to say it was that but it could of connected the circuit from a broken wire or earth as you daid.but wasnt battery problems then it was sparking problems.but i dont have know how to look for things,lol.

meter readins have been as low as 13.01 up to 15.00.near enough in the ment to be bracket.you would think they would be more steady readings.

just bougth regulator.there is a slight melt bit in my one,so could be the problem.

killing my back having spare battery in my bag all the time,lol.

will drive to work with lights on the now & see the reding.

steve.

[benny hedges]

all the ignition gubbins is up behind the tail afaik.
whoever ballsed up the indicator might've nipped a wire or plugged the wrong wire in the wrong hole or summat.
if it started sparking after you wiggled the wires in the tail there could still be a problem there with something loose or a corroded connector?

i also think it was just coincidence it fired up when you fixed the indicator.

[bazza696]

To check the R+R is faulty when the bike is running put a multimeter on the battery terminals, if its outside 13.3 to 14.5 volts then its knackered, when I checked mine it was charging at 19.7 volts, then would drop to 8 volts.

I knew there was a fault to diagnose cause the batter always seemed to not have enough puff when I went out to start her up, and now I know that storms need a full battery to turn over easy, if the battery is down on juice its a cow to start.

The garage said I was sitting on a time bomb, when they were balancing the carbs he said you could hear the battery fizzing over the exhaust sound. Cause storm batteries are sealed it could have ruptured, I not a chemical engineer but piping hot acid over your bike don't sound good.

I fitted an after market, did not do the R1-R6 conversion, £68 quid I think.

As stated before, the r+r can give false readings, mine went from 8 volts to 19.7volts. Based on how a r+r works when you run the bike you shout get a reading about 13volts, when you bring the rev up the voltage should peak at a voltage and not exceed that reading no matter how high you rev the engine.

[sepia]

might be something in the wiring.

went to work with lights on & the reading was 13.06(bike not started).

came home from work with lights on & reading was 12.90(bike not started).

started bike with light off & it started to struggle to start even thought warmed up.took a reading with bike running & it was 13.53.switched off & reading was 13.26.

started bike again & started just a wee bit better.let it idle for a few minutes.switched off & final reading was 13.30.

it looks like reading goes down with driving on lights.reading goes up when bike running with lights off.so does that mean battery is charging when lights off & running as reading starts to go up.

hope my explaining is ok & not confussing,lol.

when i drove back from dundee on monday with fully charged battery.i take it driving with lights on for the hour journey was making my battery flat & thats why it only lasted till the end off the day.cause battery power been good with me driving with lights off last 2days.

got a feeling she will struggle top start the morn.

forgot to ask the little light above front light,mine is on when lights are on,that normal?.

so can me conclude any answer from the above to fix the problem.

thanks for sticking with me guys,i know its hard not seeing the bike & coming up with solutions.i am very greatful for your help.

ps im i being stupid thinking the bike has been running rough with me driving with lights on today.

[yorkshirepuddin]

I had a similar problem with my last bike RF600. Managed eventually to trace the fault to a broken wire (internal) on the head stock (The outer insulation hade not broken or chaffed).

This was causing an intermittent fault, just wondered if you have the same on the tail somewhere.

Try doing some continuity checks with your meter on the cables to check for broken wires.

[sepia]

thanks.it is looking like it is a problem with the wiring somewhere.just getting time to look over everything as dont have garage & to dark by time i get home.i am getting there slowly but surley.do think it is in the tail end though.what do i set the meter @ when checking wiring.

I had a similar problem with my last bike RF600. Managed eventually to trace the fault to a broken wire (internal) on the head stock (The outer insulation hade not broken or chaffed).

This was causing an intermittent fault, just wondered if you have the same on the tail somewhere.

Try doing some continuity checks with your meter on the cables to check for broken wires.

[tony.mon]

Set the meter on resistance (Ohms scale, any one will do) and you can easily see when there's a complete connection and when there's not. It'll read one (or complete continuity) when it's connected to a complete wire, and none when there's a break in the wire.

A fully charged battery will run the bike well enough for a short time (no pun intended) on it's own power, maybe an hour, maybe less, but with the lights on you use it up quicker.
After a while it'll start to misfire, and then there won't be enough current to engage the starter once it finally stalls.

If this matches your symptoms, then you have a charging circuit problem for sure, and as you've already changed the battery you're down to either wiring- (short, connection problem or broken wire) or reg/rec.

Is there no-one nearby who can nip round and sort this one for him, before he gets fed up and sells the sorry wreck to me for £200?

(but will haggle)


Just a left-field idea,- check the main (thick) earthing lead for a good connection- it goes from the battery neg down to a bolt behind the engine, near the rear CCT. If it's trying to earth back through various other components this might mean that it works with indicators on, same reason as car rear and stop lights sometimes go dim and flash when the indicator's on.

[sepia]

thanks tony.

bike wouldnt start today so put in other battery,started 1st time.

when to shop @ dinner time,came out bike started for 2 seconds then died.

now i have no spark again & wont start.

must be all connected to same thing.

wating for r&r.but think its something else.

bike has been feeling a bit rough last 2 days,feeling alot of vibrations through whole bike.

i did go over a lot of bumps on bike today,roads a total mess up here.might of moved broken wire etc.

thanks steve.

[bazza696]

Sepia,

where are you located...

[sepia]

hi bazz.

im in aberdeen.

i dont know if this relevant but i just noticed that my back left indicater rattles a fair bit when i ping it & the rest dosnt.

it works but could a dodgy bulb connection cause battery & sparking problems.i noticed that my indicator switch isnt brill when you push it to cancel your left or right.

how do i get in about the bulb,its after market mini ones.

thanks steve.

ps to make things worse my mate came round with his full blown custom gsx 1200.sounding & looking good(he bought it few months ago but had to spend £500 @ garage to get wiring & brakes done).lol

[sepia]

well guys & dolls.

put in new regulator & nothing.didnt think it would work cause im getting no spark again :mad2 .

took of indicator cover & it was well rusted inside & bulb touching metal reflector @ back.

was a wee bit of water sitting on cdi unit,but could of been the sprey we put on from last time.

wiggled a few wires about & checked all the fuses again but still no sign of start.

can only do so much in half an hour,so looks like a weekend of bike caressing for me.explain to my girlfriend if bike not going i cant see her,lol.

thanks steve.

[bazza696]

hi bazz.

im in aberdeen.

i dont know if this relevant but i just noticed that my back left indicater rattles a fair bit when i ping it & the rest dosnt.

it works but could a dodgy bulb connection cause battery & sparking problems.i noticed that my indicator switch isnt brill when you push it to cancel your left or right.

how do i get in about the bulb,its after market mini ones.

thanks steve.

ps to make things worse my mate came round with his full blown custom gsx 1200.sounding & looking good(he bought it few months ago but had to spend £500 @ garage to get wiring & brakes done).lol

If was nearby I would have come over and had a play, then if there was time left I would have a look at the bike for you. Don't like to see a fellow storm owner getting a raw deal, and the storm deserves a good run with you on it so you can fall in love, rather than seeing it as a hassle. 9 times out of 10 they run fine. Just think you will find out what's caused the problem, sort it and forget about all this hassle.

[balls]

Hang in there
sepia It cant go on for much longer and I am sure you will get there in the end.
We are all rooting for you .

[sepia]

thanks guys.

i bet its something simple as when it didnt spark before then started it cant be anything major.

rang a honda guy @ a garage & was suprised anything electrical would go wrong,ccts yes,lol.

im driving my vespa with £10 tyres(be more steady on the metal rims),noisy exhaust,floorboards rusted & runners hanging off & front shocker knackered.but @ least it starts first time everytime & has done for 12 years,lol.

i will take all farings of the morn & give her a good going over,excuse the pun.

thanks for all info so far,ill need to know all the pros & cons on the storm.

steve.