Battery drain solved ??

[Rampant Lion]

Hi guys..thought I would pass on a problem I have sussed..eventually.

Since I have had the bike I have been suffering a drain on the battery. On the way I have changed the battery, reg/rectifier and cleaned up all the usual connections. What was happening was if I left the bike for a week in the garage it was a real pain to start. Hit the button and it would appear to have a flat battery. Sort of got round it by keeping it on the optimiser all the time.

Then it was pointed out to me that when I pressed the brake, the pilot light at the front would come on.

Further investigations ensued..disconnected one of the tail/brake lights showed that the front light only came on if one of the lights was disconnected.

Getting closer to the problem..

Finally took the bulb out of the socket and turned it round and refitted..problem sorted.

Have left the bike now for a week at a time and it starts ok.

This may be of some use to someone, so thought I would share.

[tony.mon]

AH, good detective work.
Front sidelight bulb was an LED, I assume?

[Rampant Lion]

AH, good detective work.
Front sidelight bulb was an LED, I assume?

I'll get back to you on that later. Been away to the Cauld butt Rally this weekend, bike tucked away now. Work away all week so will check on the bulb next weekend..

[benny hedges]

Finally took the bulb out of the socket and turned it round and refitted..problem sorted.

just had a similar issue with my sp - which has the exact same tail light holders and bulbs
out for a ride yesterday, someone (think it was steve6088) said my tail light looked like it was flashing, and one bulb was out.
had a look today and noticed the same issue.... press the brake pedal, only the rh brake lamp came on but both sidelights and clock lights lit up.

swapped the bulb. same.
checked the connector was in correctly cos theres 2 ways of fitting it - if its in wrong it will light the sidelights.
it was in correctly.
checked the other bulb & holder - all ok.
did i have a faulty spare bulb???
no.

turned out to be a broken wire - was touching the tail light wire.

soldered it up and cleaned the contacts up - all ok.

strangely ive been having similar issues with battery drain... just gone and bought a new battery as well lol.
interestingly tony - both my sideys are led

[AMCQ46]

Benny your tail lights were flickering when we met up for the ride from Matlock. Sounds like all the electrics on your SP are wearing out

[benny hedges]

you couldve told me u scottish brumie cant lol!

i think that was more to do with the broken + terminal on the battery!
i reckon i broke that by trying to stuff an oversized firestorm battery in the smaller battery compartment.

the tail light wire was pretty corroded tbh. looks like its been like that a while.
ive put half a dozen bulbs in since i got it lol, i just thought it was a vibration thing!
seems ok now like - couldnt find any other problems like.

seeing as theyre the same (crappy) fittings as the storm, might be worth checking them on yours?
mine are insulated now with loom tape so it doesnt happen again

[Rampant Lion]

AH, good detective work.
Front sidelight bulb was an LED, I assume?

Just checked the bulb, no it's not an led, but a normal round bulb. That's the front pilot light I'm on about.

Reading the later posts I can also confirm that when I had the original faults I did notice that the clock lights did illuminate a bit when I pressed the brake pedal. All ok now though.

nb. the twin tail lights on my storm are flat with two pins, easy enough to insert into the holder the wrong way round.

Also had a bit of a push to get the large yellow battery into the old plastic box...no idea how I'm gonna ever get it out. Could be an idea to grease the battery sides before inserting it...as the actress said to the bishop..

[Wicky]

Just hook through some cable ties into the terminal connectors and hoik it out that way

Also had a bit of a push to get the large yellow battery into the old plastic box...no idea how I'm gonna ever get it out.

[VTRDark]

no idea how I'm gonna ever get it out

You could also put a bit of old strap or old belt inside the battery box, the battery sits on it wraps around the outsides of the battery. Then you have something to lift it out my.

(:-})