My 2009 FZ6r has drained two different brand new batteries. The first one within a week of install. The second within a day. I am assuming there is a ground or something along those lines because when it runs there are no additional electrical issues. How can I diagnose and fix this problem? Has anyone else had this issue or a similar issue with this bike?
Bike died within 24 hours of replacing battery. Help!
yep... unlike a car though, gotta get the revs up to get beyond running and actually charging the battery....
what kind of riding? short low rev trips and you won't get a good charge....
can also put an ammeter inline with the bike off(don't start it, will blow the ammeter fuse).... shouldn't be drawing any current, if it is, start pulling fuses to see what is draining it
what kind of riding? short low rev trips and you won't get a good charge....
can also put an ammeter inline with the bike off(don't start it, will blow the ammeter fuse).... shouldn't be drawing any current, if it is, start pulling fuses to see what is draining it
NMdesertracer
New Member
Might be a bad stator..
Alternator, regulator, ground. For what it's worth, the 6R is basically bullet-proof. Unless something odd happens, the regulator and alternator are really tough. I'm thinking you've got a drain or a bad ground.
The grounds are the first thing I would check. There's also regulator and alternator. I'm not going to repost the check, I just posted it. Search my profile for previous posts and you'll see it.
This part is different, though. With the bike's key off, disconnect the negative battery pole. Put your voltmeter, in amp reading between the wire and the pole. If the amps are dropping, you've got a "vampire" drain. I am guessing at this point, but I'd it's probably a bad switch or ground.
Check and tighten the ground strap. If the drain persists? Flick some switches around and see if it stops. If it does, there's your culprit.
Killing a battery in a day, though? That's alternator/regulator stuff. Do the easy checks and come back.
Edited for the amp check.
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yamahaFZ6R
New Member
I agree, to be draining a battery that quickly, you've got some serious drain going on!
It sounds like an earth fault.... or an over voltage from your regulator. That can fry a battery pretty quick.
I had a '99 306 GTI-6 that fried a battery because of an earth fault. It actually drew a heap of current, damaging the battery and raising the internal resistance, so when it was under load, it just boiled and sprayed acid everywhere.
Summary, a serious earth fault or over voltage, can fry a battery in 24 hours. Get on there with a multimeter!
Diagnosing A Car Battery That Runs Down
Basic theory is much the same!
It sounds like an earth fault.... or an over voltage from your regulator. That can fry a battery pretty quick.
I had a '99 306 GTI-6 that fried a battery because of an earth fault. It actually drew a heap of current, damaging the battery and raising the internal resistance, so when it was under load, it just boiled and sprayed acid everywhere.
Summary, a serious earth fault or over voltage, can fry a battery in 24 hours. Get on there with a multimeter!
Diagnosing A Car Battery That Runs Down
Basic theory is much the same!
A bad ground caused the battery to spray acid? That's new. I've never heard of such a thing.
I'm not saying it didn't happen, but a short would be my thought in that situation.
yamahaFZ6R
New Member
It wasn't a bad earth, it was an "earth fault".... i.e short to earth.
It was caused by a broken window retaining clip in the b-pillar part of the door frame. (sound ridiculous???)
Long story summarized... I was quite brutal on the car, clip broke, window fell into door cavity. Left car for 4 hours at work and found the window pane had damaged a loom, causing a short. That had damaged the battery, which wouldnt hold charge and would boil when the alternator was charging it.
Old GTI Peugeots. Great fun driving them. Blood, sweat, tears and acid burns putting them back together
Hey guys, reviving this thread only because I am having similar troubles. 2011 FZ6R, battery died after letting it sit for a month. Recharged it at the local interstate battery after they checked it good to go. Put it in the bike, kept the tender on it. In the space of single outing. Drove it around, made a stop, started up. Next stop I went outside, attempted to start the bike again, not enough juice in the battery. Buddy had to jump me to get going again. Got home, turned off the bike. Attempted to start it, no go. Lights and indicators all come on, just not enough power to turn it over. Thoughts? Alternator? Ground? I have a number of things connected to the battery to include warmers, phone charger, and some led lights. These were turned off during these events.
your bike doesn't have an alternator, it's a stator. And yes it certainly sounds like that's your problem. but there are a ton of other checks that need to be done to confirm this. With a car you can disconnect the battery while it's running but with a bike that's not generally encouraged.
You'll need a multi meter to check the voltages while off and while running to start. Charge your battery up with your tender to see what it's max charge level is. One the tender says good. Disconnect, let it sit for 20 minutes for the battery to relax. Hook multimeter up and see what it says.
A good battery should read over 12V, typically 12.5-12.8.
While running at idle you should see some kind of increase in voltage but you will need to raise the RPMs to over 1500 for it to get to a decent charge level for the stator output. You should read anywhere from 13.8-14.8 depending on how the system is setup. If you are reading close to 13 at 1500 RPM then try raising it up to 2500 and see what it says at that point. If it's still not at full charging at that point then you have a problem with your stator.
If you are consistently running the bike at low RPMs on your trips it will also cause a lot of problems.
When going places on your bike you should try to keep the RPMs over 2 grand to get a good charge, especially on short trips where the battery may not have enough time to be recharged in between stops.
i had problems with the original battery the dealer gave me, it would take a week for it to go green on the battery tender and then finally it just died on me while i was out and it was a PITA. When they replaced it no more problems. There are issues with dealer batteries sitting around, they say the dont charge them until needed but not always sure thats the case.
Final Impact
Member
If you have an automotive test lamp, these work great for finding leakage energy which drains the battery when not in use.
- Do the following with the key and all accessories off!
- With a 12V test lamp (incandescent bulb), disconnect the NEG battery terminal and connect your test lamp to the battery NEG and the other end to the bikes Ground lead (NEG) wire. If the test lamp is glowing you have current flowing which is draining your battery.
- To isolate the drain, begin by removing fuses and tracking the lamps brightness. With all fuses removed, you should have diminished the test lamp drain. If not, Unplug the RR.
- If the RR was the leak, you need a hand held multimeter capable of diode test function to confirm an internal fault (leak) in the regulator rectifier.
- If it was a fuse, confirm what that circuit does and look for damage. For the most part with the key in the off position, the cluster and Starter Safety lockout circuit are the only items connected unless the MAIN switch is so dirty it leaks (internal short).
Some light reading on the FZ6 sister site on charging issues.
Troubleshooting & maintenance guide, Fuel Pump, Battery & Charging, Brake Bleeding posts 3 & 5. 5 looks specifically at drain issues, 3 at charging issues...
Good luck!
- Do the following with the key and all accessories off!
- With a 12V test lamp (incandescent bulb), disconnect the NEG battery terminal and connect your test lamp to the battery NEG and the other end to the bikes Ground lead (NEG) wire. If the test lamp is glowing you have current flowing which is draining your battery.
- To isolate the drain, begin by removing fuses and tracking the lamps brightness. With all fuses removed, you should have diminished the test lamp drain. If not, Unplug the RR.
- If the RR was the leak, you need a hand held multimeter capable of diode test function to confirm an internal fault (leak) in the regulator rectifier.
- If it was a fuse, confirm what that circuit does and look for damage. For the most part with the key in the off position, the cluster and Starter Safety lockout circuit are the only items connected unless the MAIN switch is so dirty it leaks (internal short).
Some light reading on the FZ6 sister site on charging issues.
Troubleshooting & maintenance guide, Fuel Pump, Battery & Charging, Brake Bleeding posts 3 & 5. 5 looks specifically at drain issues, 3 at charging issues...
Good luck!