K1100 Wont Turn Over

[Bandicoot]

Hi there, hope you are having a nice Christmas.
Mine is broken and my bike is stuck in a car park. What I have is a K1100RS that is acting like it has a flat battery. When you try to start it the instrument lights (including the clock) dim and it struggles to turn over or won't turn over.  I can jump start it from a car, so I thought to myself "Aha! battery stuffed. I shall have one delivered."
When I throw the new battery in, same issues although it is supposed to be pre-charged. When I run the engine for ten minutes after jump starting it I have the same problem. Tried to turn over the starter motor by shorting out the starter relay, same again.

I am thinking either my new battery is also nonfunctional, or alternatively starter motor brushes are cactus. So I have signed up to this forum to see if anyone has any better ideas, since I have searched here quite a few times before for technical tips.

Please be nice to me, I am feeling very delicate at the moment.

Thanks.

[kioolt]

Since you say you can jump start it with a car battery it appears to me that the starter is ok.  I don't know where you're hooking up the jumper cables but I suspect that you are not hooking the negative cable to the battery but to a ground point on the bike.  The reason that I say this is that I suspect you have a bad ground connection on your bike that is bypassed when using the jumper battery.  Try checking your main ground connection on the bike. You can follow the negative cable down from the battery to find where it is.  I think it is on the transmission.

[Bandicoot]

I tried the jumper cable on both the transmission and the -ve lead on the battery and had the same result. After that I jump started the bike and rode it home (about an hour). After that the bike would start under its own battery, but the ABS alarms after the engine starts.

Put a meter on the battery and it is 12.3v with the ignition off, 11.9v with the ignition on and 10v when cranking.

I still like the idea of it being the ground strap so I will give it a look tonight.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Any further input by anyone welcomed.

[Roadbandit]

with those voltages, your battery is flat

[Scott_]

Also, with those battery numbers, I'd be suspecting the alternator not charging.
What is your voltage after the bike is started and running.

[Bandicoot]

With the engine at 2000rpm I am getting 14.2v.

While messing around with it tonight I left it on without the engine running for between 5 to 10 minutes and I noticed that the headlight started going dim. Put the meter on it and the battery was down to 10v with the lights on. I think that I will try for a warranty replacement on the battery tomorrow, because it looks easier than cleaning up the earth strap where it connects to the transmission. Looks like I need to pull out the alternator to be able to get a decent go at it.

Thanks.

[kioolt]

The voltage sounds good when running.  I once had an auto that would charge when first started up but then would quit charging after driving about a block.  I caught this by using a voltmeter that plugged into the cigarette lighter.

[Bandicoot]

All sorted now. Looks like the new battery was also faulty. Fitted the warranty replacement and it started like a charm. I have to say that I was not expecting that as I have never received or heard of anyone receiving a new faulty battery, but I suppose it is better than spending more time locating and cleaning earth points.

Thanks for your help.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Cleaning the earth points and battery terminals is the single best thing you can do to prevent electrical problems.  You would be surprised at what a seemingly insignificant amount of corrosion can do to the proper operation of your electrical system.  An almost imperceptible layer of corrosion on a lug can reduce the fully charged voltage of your battery to less than 12.5volts and cut the cranking amps by 1/3.

It's your bike, and you're the one who has to walk home.  If it were mine, I'd be polishing all the earth lugs and the battery terminals.

[Scott_]

It's your bike, and you're the one who has to walk home.  If it were mine, I'd be polishing all the earth lugs and the battery terminals.

I'd also suggest a bit of Vaseline to help reduce corrosion from exposure when you are done.