????????

[jmailley]

So I took a after work ride and as I came off I-5 and I pulled up to the light, the bike idled down to stall. Tried to start it and it cranked a little and went dead. It's had a bit of a hot starting problem every once in a while.

I did the r/r rewire and check last year and everything seemed OK. I do have the flat rectifier and did not replace it. Had good charging at the different RPM's.

Gonna go back through and check it all again and see if anything has changed. I use a Battery Tender Jr. everytime I park him. Has anybody ever had issues with the tender making the battery weaker?

Maybe it's the battery. Every time I let it sit and cool down a bit the bike would crank over a little then drain.

Thoughts?

 

[jmailley]

All the lights came on every time I truned the key on, even when it wouldn't crank but when I tried cranking it the neutral light would go out. Just a thought.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

I had a similar problem with my Magna recently, and it turned out to just be a loose battery terminal connection. Try the easy stuff first.

 

[naughtyG]

Two quick things to try:

1 - put a voltmeter across the battery while cranking, if you see a BIG drop the battery's dead.

2 - jump start with a car battery connected to the Max's, if it cranks at full speed it's another good indication that your battery's dead

 

[jmailley]

Naughty, I put it on the Battery tender overnight so it has a full charge on it now. It always starts no problem when it's full charge. Should I do this test fully charged or ride it, get it hot and then test?

Seems to me it should be in hot mode to do this?!?

 

[jmailley]

Checked the battery. Fully charged It showed 12.93. Cranked it and it went down to 9.

Did the circuit fault finder and the charging system seems fine. 14+at 2500, 13.9 at 5000.

Guess the battery is bad, huh? Some of the cells were down to minimum fluid level so I filled with distilled water but it looks like there's some white spots in the battery cells. Gonna get it checked tomorrow.

 

[jmailley]

Had the battery tested today and they said over 200 cranking amps. Is that good enough for the starter?

If not I think the next step is to check the starter.

Thoughts?

 

[wildweasel_pt]

Over 200 CCAs is good enough. The white spots on the cells is sulfatation due to low electrolyte level. after refill give another good charge and check again. The starter doesn't make your bike idle and die... Make sure the connectors from the RR to the battery are in good condition, you may had a faulty connection and the battery ran dead while riding.

 

[MaxMidnight]

12.93 sounds high, did you do the check immediately after you took it off charge?
I would expect a reading of 12.6 volts for a fully charged battery.

Surface charge.
Electrical charges on the surface of the battery's positive plates cause a falsely high voltmeter reading.
Removal of the surface charge is necessary where batteries that have been charged by an alternator or a battery charger within 24 hours. Batteries that have stood for 24 hours will not have significant surface charge.

You need to dissipate the surface charge first to get the true reading.
Leave the lights on for a couple of minutes then re-check.
Repeat after 24 hours and see if the voltage has dropped.

I seem to recall reading that the Ignition Unit does not operate below 9 volts.
If this is correct then you are at the threshold.
Check the security, continuity and resistance of the earths. This should probably include that between the brush plate and starter body.
Have a butchers here.

 

[jmailley]

MaxM, the butcher you sent has a few different fixes. Have you done this? And if so, which one?

As I read the thread a few of the guys just put PC680's in and said the problem went a way. I'm thinking a few hours of work and getting to check and clean the starter and connections would be worth it without spending $110+ for an PC680.

Thanks man, this looks like a good fix.

BTW, does the PC680 need any mods to install?

 

[naughtyG]

I bought and installed a $50 Panasonic AGM battery on my '86 and was happy with it until the bike was sold.

If your battery drops to 9V when cranking then it's dead and needs replacing, I'm pretty sure..

 

[bazwell]

If your battery drops to 9V when cranking then it's dead and needs replacing, I'm pretty sure..

+1
You found out if it has the amps. It needs about 10v cranking just to overcome compression, as well as enough amps to keep it all going.
The latest battery I got is AGM, and so far, so good.

 

[Bushmaster]

I had a problem with my 2005 Vmax not starting and the battery would go dead in a short period of time. I put a charger onto the tender leads and after about a minute, the charge light on the charger went out, which indicated it was a bad/weak/dead battery. Now, to anser your question about the PC680, I decided to go with a much better battery, so I purchased the Panasonic battery that everyone recommended and also purchased the Odessy PC680 battery at the same time. Why both batteries? Heck, I have no idea! I just figured if one didn't work out, then the other surely would. Anyway, I decided to install the Odessy PC680 battery in my max and it fits perfectly, and also completely fixed the problem. Now, it starts everytime and charges up fully after only a short while of riding. So, you asked if the PC680 fit ok and the answer is a definite "yes". I hope this helps.