Electrical Issue-need some help

[grumpy]

Long explanation so hopefully all info is here. 1995 GL1500 SE, Lehman conversion, unknown vintage/model, ~110,000 miles. Recently had some issues with an after-market alarm, since removed, that resulted in having to rebuild the CompuFire alternator & replace the battery with a Yuasa which is now ~1 year old. Issue first surfaced after this work was done. Then the "kill switch" failed & was replaced. All work done by a dealer I have used for years & trust. The Issue: Had to jump start the bike after sitting for a few weeks. Rode the bike ~ 130 miles. Had lunch.

Bike started & went home, ~150 miles. Next day the bike would not start. Noticed the radio was on, so I turned it off. Charged the battery & rode ~ 50 miles. Checked the voltage four days running & had 12.5 volts each time. Two days later bike would not start. Observed that the radio was on again. Must have turned it on while cleaning. Jump started bike & left on a weekend trip with some out of town guests.

Rode ~ 350 miles with a stop for lunch, no issues. Had the radio on all this time as GPS instructions play thru it. Next morning, no start. Jumped bike & rode ~ 300 miles with a lunch stop. The radio was off for this trip as I did not need GPS. Bike started next two mornings w/o issue, radio off the entire time. So, is it possible that the radio is somehow draining the battery when it is left on? Any other thoughts as to what might cause this?

If the radio is/could be the problem, any ideas about troubleshooting? All donations gratefully accepted. Stan

[Jack Klarich]

Stan , Question, you said bike showed 12.5 volts was that running?

You should be seeing at least 13 volts that is above full charge battery which is 12.7 volts

I would charge and load test the battery followed by a charging system and diode bleed test

[Lee H. Mann]

Long explanation so hopefully all info is here. 1995 GL1500 SE, Lehman conversion, unknown vintage/model, ~110,000 miles. Recently had some issues with an after-market alarm, since removed, that resulted in having to rebuild the CompuFire alternator & replace the battery with a Yuasa which is now ~1 year old. Issue first surfaced after this work was done. Then the "kill switch" failed & was replaced. All work done by a dealer I have used for years & trust. The Issue: Had to jump start the bike after sitting for a few weeks. Rode the bike ~ 130 miles. Had lunch. Bike started & went home, ~150 miles. Next day the bike would not start. Noticed the radio was on, so I turned it off. Charged the battery & rode ~ 50 miles. Checked the voltage four days running & had 12.5 volts each time. Two days later bike would not start. Observed that the radio was on again. Must have turned it on while cleaning. Jump started bike & left on a weekend trip with some out of town guests. Rode ~ 350 miles with a stop for lunch, no issues. Had the radio on all this time as GPS instructions play thru it. Next morning, no start. Jumped bike & rode ~ 300 miles with a lunch stop. The radio was off for this trip as I did not need GPS. Bike started next two mornings w/o issue, radio off the entire time. So, is it possible that the radio is somehow draining the battery when it is left on? Any other thoughts as to what might cause this? If the radio is/could be the problem, any ideas about troubleshooting? All donations gratefully accepted. Stan

After reading the above, I suspect that the GPS may be the culprit. The radio should be accessorized, but the GPS may be connected to battery. When the two are connected, the GPS may be energizing the radio, then causing a draining of the battery.

Try leaving the GPS disconnected, or connect the GPS to an accessory terminal.

[Jack Klarich]

After reading the above, I suspect that the GPS may be the culprit. The radio should be accessorized, but the GPS may be connected to battery. When the two are connected, the GPS may be energizing the radio, then causing a draining of the battery.

Try leaving the GPS disconnected, or connect the GPS to an accessory terminal.

Great idea, hook up a volt meter before disconnecting to see if voltage stabilizes or rises slightly, you may have found the drain on the system

[rhino 2]

After reading the above, I suspect that the GPS may be the culprit. The radio should be accessorized, but the GPS may be connected to battery. When the two are connected, the GPS may be energizing the radio, then causing a draining of the battery.

Try leaving the GPS disconnected, or connect the GPS to an accessory terminal.

I agree.........

[grumpy]

Stan , Question, you said bike showed 12.5 volts was that running?

Not running.

[grumpy]

After reading the above, I suspect that the GPS may be the culprit. The radio should be accessorized, but the GPS may be connected to battery. When the two are connected, the GPS may be energizing the radio, then causing a draining of the battery.

Try leaving the GPS disconnected, or connect the GPS to an accessory terminal.

GPS is a Zumo 650, which clips into a mount that is wired to a fuse block which is operated by a relay connected to an accessory terminal. That fuse block also feeds both heated gear plugs (one circuit each) & the auxillary driving lights. Would that satisfy tour parameters?

[grumpy]

Great idea, hook up a volt meter before disconnecting to see if voltage stabilizes or rises slightly, you may have found the drain on the system

I will try that.

[grumpy]

Jack & Lee, thanks for the replies. Battery reads 12.66 volts not running, key off. I unplugged the GPS from the fuse block, radio off, no change in voltage. Radio on, no change in voltage. Plugged GPS back in, no change in voltage in any of the above situations. Please note that I wired up this fuse block/relay when I first got the bike. This is the second GPS wired this way. This issue only occurred after the alarm system was removed. While I trust the dealer, nobody is perfect. Any thoughts about the possibility of something being messed up in the process of removing the alarm?

[rhino 2]

Jack & Lee, thanks for the replies. Battery reads 12.66 volts not running, key off. I unplugged the GPS from the fuse block, radio off, no change in voltage. Radio on, no change in voltage. Plugged GPS back in, no change in voltage in any of the above situations. Please note that I wired up this fuse block/relay when I first got the bike. This is the second GPS wired this way. This issue only occurred after the alarm system was removed. While I trust the dealer, nobody is perfect. Any thoughts about the possibility of something being messed up in the process of removing the alarm?

Mechanics 101.......Go back to the last thing you did before the problem cropped up...

[Jack Klarich]

Jack & Lee, thanks for the replies. Battery reads 12.66 volts not running, key off. I unplugged the GPS from the fuse block, radio off, no change in voltage. Radio on, no change in voltage. Plugged GPS back in, no change in voltage in any of the above situations. Please note that I wired up this fuse block/relay when I first got the bike. This is the second GPS wired this way. This issue only occurred after the alarm system was removed. While I trust the dealer, nobody is perfect. Any thoughts about the possibility of something being messed up in the process of removing the alarm?

As long as the alarm is completely void of any power you should be OK IMO

Is your radio wired to be on with the key off?

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I would go back to the battery, I had similar issues with my new to me 14 ultra. The battery was new when I bought it, got the paperwork and everything. Had the battery tested as described above and it was bad, since I did not buy it, I just put in a new HD battery and all is well.

[Jack Klarich]

Try this for a battery drain test

To test for battery drain: Switch everything off on the bike. Disconnect just one battery lead. For example disconnect the Positive Battery Lead. Set your Multimeter to Amps as described above. Connect the Positive Multimeter Lead to the Battery Positive terminal. Make sure the Positive Lead you removed from the battery does not touch anything grounded, like the Bike frame etc…. Connect the Negative Lead from the Multimeter to the Positive Lead you removed from the Battery. You should now see current drain measured in Amps. Move to the lower Amp setting on your multimeter if the current is lower than the setting on the Multimeter Low setting. Start to unplug the wires or fuses around your bike and see if the current reading goes to zero. This will point you in the direction of the current thief. You can convert to Power measured in Watts by multiplying it by the Battery Voltage. Power = Volts x Amps 4.2Watts or (12Volts x 0.35Amps).

I also agree in load testing the battery, you might be surprised how many batteries are in fact BAD

[grumpy]

Jack, the alarm was completely removed. The radio is wired as stock AFIK, to be "off" w/key off, "on" in acc or run. I will have the battery load tested tomorrow.

Fuzzy, I have a new battery, purchased at an outrageous price in Questa, NM, but not installed since the bike mysteriously began behaving normally. If the current one tests bad I will install it. Thanks again for the help.