Yamaha WR450 - out of action....

[forexd]

I got a question on the charging system for 2006 Yamaha WR450...

I bough this bike second hand a few weeks ago. It only had 8.6hrs and done 180km. It never had an oil change, the paint on the frame and the oil drain plug was not broken. The bike looked brand new as well, so I'm 100% sure this bike has only done these hrs.

The guy said he had to put a new battery a few months ago. It was a chinese Kiwi-X battery 12v 6a, just like the manual says.

I took it twice to woodhill, only done 5hrs and the battery went dead, while driving.... the speedo went crazy, was showing random speed of 100-199k/h ( I wasn't going that fast!!!) and when I stopped to check what was going on, the electric start was not working. I had to kick start the bike to get back to the carpark.

Came back home, tried to recharge but it was dead. Went and got a new Kiwi-X battery from Takapana Hondas. The bike was working great.

Took it twice to woodhill, and the same thing happened about 5-6hrs later. I was hooning on the big sand-dune, 2nd gear, reving the hell out of it, and the speedo went nuts again, elec start not working... came back home, put it on charger, but was dead.

Do you think its the cheap chinese batteries that are crapping out, or something wrong with the bikes elec (don't forget the bike is practicaly brand new)

The manual has 2 electrical test to check the charging system, and it was all ok!!!

dont want to spend another $65 on a battery that will last for 5hrs!

Any thoughts on what is happening????

[barty5]

get a multi meter run the bike and check the charge rate going in to the battery you may find the charge windings have failed but the running ones and fine.

[scorry]

I would say it is definatly the battery mate, WR's are great bikes.
Just brought my first one a couple of months ago, so much better than the yzf.
Good luck.

[forexd]

just picked up a new battery. did the following tests

battery at v12.8 when engine not running

battery at v14.4 - 14.6 when i rev it

the manual also has 2nd test to check the resistance, which i have to do, but need to take the fuel tank off.

So my question is still the same... if the bike is charging the battery, why did a new battery crap out (and couldn't hold any charge) after 5hrs of riding?

Maybe it was just a faulty battery????

[tnarg]

When bike is faulting check battery voltage if it is above 12.5v and bike still not start then you could possibly have connection problem( bad earth maybe) to handle bar controls/speedo. Got 2 auto sparky's here who read post and ride bikes. good luck sounds like to them that not a battery or charging fault.

[marks]

check the headlight bulb wattage - should only be 30W I think. My 06 had a 60w which nailed the battery after about 3-4 hours. Bike ran like shit when battery was flat.

[Blackbuell]

The Kiwi-X brand of battery are crap,they are made in china,you pay for what you get,go & buy a Yuasa i bet you you dont have anymore problems,i had a Kiwi-X in my jetski lasted 4 weeks,the Yuasa has lasted 18 months & its still going strong.

[forexd]

the bike's headlight is 56w... Phillips and made in Germany....

I'm taking it out to Sandpit tomorrow and will keep a close eye on the voltage.

Sounds like cheap/shit batteries are a waste of time and money!!!

[theblacksmith]

Is the voltage regulator cutting out when batt is fully charged or is it overcharging maybe? Just wondering why your speedo went nuts if it s a battery problem?? Did this happen at really high revs?

[forexd]

2nd battery(with 5hrs on it) went dead when i was revving hell out of the bike on a sand dune and in 2nd gear.

1st battery went dead when I was riding it hard in the sand.

So yes, both times was revving hard.

Can you please explain more how the battery can overcharge/or how the bike stops it from overcharging? and if so, how can I test it?

cheers!!!!!