Battery problem, or something else?

[Wonko]

Thursday morning heading off to work I go to start my bike, turn the key to ON and the oil light is very faint. Trun the lights off, and the only sound it makes when the starter is push is a click. I don't have the time to look at it so I leave until that night. Water levels are down below the min level so I top them all up and take it out for the Tursday night ride to charge it up. Friday afternoon she starts a treat and I take her for another 150 km or so ride. Last night the oil light doesn't even glow at me when I turn it on. Water levels look good, so what should I be looking at next?

And yes the key was turned to OFF not PARK both times.

[onearmedbandit]

KISS - keep it simple stupid (no offence meant). Get your battery tested. A failing battery can make it seem there are more serious problems, eliminate it first before you go spending time and money chasing your tail.

[IronicCapers]

If it aint the battery check the alternator(or whatever it is that is used to charge the battery on a bike. Test the place a between the alternator and battery with a multimeter(if you dont have 1 get 1 they can be your best friend). The volt reading should read about 2 volts over what the battery is .

i.e: 12V battery needs to have 14V running into it so that the battery can be topped up.

If it only reads at 10-13V then somethings wrong with the the charge
13-14.7V is all good and it will fluctuate so dont fret cause really they aint figured out how to make a 100% constant current/volt.

[El Dopa]

Probably isn't this, but....

One (of many) recent problem I had with my bike turned out to be the starter relay.

I had dash lights, head/rear lights, indicators, horn, etc all working fine, but press the starter and all I got was a click. Turned out to be a knackered starter relay. Replaced that (simple job, even for me, once Mr Multimeter had isolated the problem) and all was sweet.

[richleb]

Battery has been tested and all is well. I also intermittenly loose my digital speedometer. It comes back on its own. I'm thinking a short somewhere in the wiring. I've also checked the altenator and it shows up with the correct voltage. nless anyone has any other ideas, I will send it off to suzuki :S

[Paul in NZ]

Check the battery and while you are in there - take a look at the terminations / cables etc. Everything needs to be clean and tight.

Take a look at the earth cable (both ends) looking for corrosion OR a connector thats breaking down.

If that all checks out, whip the fairings off and clean inspect all plugs and sockets plus all the cabling, something might be rubbing.

Cheers

[Falconer]

I have found to my expense that if a bike battery goes flat, have it charged ASAP. I think because of their small size they tend to sulphate up and destroy themselves quicker than car batteries. If left flat for longer than about 4 days I would regard it as taking a risk.

[davereid]

Test 1 - Like Ironic capers said run the bike at about 3000 rpm and check the voltage at the battery is about 14 volts. If it is, (and you have already confirmed that the battery is OK) then charging system is OK.

Test 2 - disconnect POS terminal on battery. Put multimeter on AMPS range and connect it between the POS lead and the battery terminal. If every thing on the bike is off, there should be zero on the meter. And reading above 10-20mA indicates you have a short, or a problem causing the battery to discharge while parked.

Whip the fuses out 1 at a time to see where the power is going.

But I agree with Paul, Falconer and 1arm - the most likely fault is a faulty battery or a loose connection - but the above test takes 2 mins and gives some good clues !