1st real ride, 1st breakdown. Battery drained

[bsanorton]

Went out for a sunset ride with my buddy tonight. 15 minutes into it the V11 starting to stumble and as I pulled over died. No warning lights. Would not even click when hitting the starter button. After a few minutes it started to click when trying to start like the battery was trying to regenerate. Trailered her home and got 10.8 volts from the battery. Have the Odyssey battery charging and now she slowly turns over. So you know I was having problems with my Odyssey battery. Today it read 12.8 before heading out. The date on the battery is June 2020. Should be good. I'm suspecting a charging issue. PO said the voltage regulator and alternator was replaced. So where do i start? When running the reading on battery was not above 12, might have even been 11.8. Do I start with a new battery or go straight to the charging system? Did i buy a bike with gremlins, oy!!!!  

[Lucky Phil]

12 minutes ago, bsanorton said:

Went out for a sunset ride with my buddy tonight. 15 minutes into it the V11 starting to stumble and as I pulled over died. No warning lights. Would not even click when hitting the starter button. After a few minutes it started to click when trying to start like the battery was trying to regenerate. Trailered her home and got 10.8 volts from the battery. Have the Odyssey battery charging and now she slowly turns over. So you know I was having problems with my Odyssey battery. Today it read 12.8 before heading out. The date on the battery is June 2020. Should be good. I'm suspecting a charging issue. PO said the voltage regulator and alternator was replaced. So where do i start? When running the reading on battery was not above 12, might have even been 11.8. Do I start with a new battery or go straight to the charging system? Did i buy a bike with gremlins, oy!!!!  

You start with getting the engine running and putting a multi-meter on the battery terminals and seeing if you get around 13.8 to 14.2 volts when the engine is revved to say 2500 rpm.  

Ciao 

[bsanorton]

Yupper. A bad battery wouldn't interfere with the  reading correct

 

[Lucky Phil]

1 minute ago, bsanorton said:

Yupper. A bad battery wouldn't interfere with the  reading correct

 

Nope

Ciao

[docc]

A ring terminal left off either the positive or negative side could negate the charging. Also, inspect the green 30 amp charging/regulator fuse in the fuse block.

Observe if the headlamp, stop lamp, horn, and tach are all working normally. A faulty Relay#2 (or #1 on the early Sports) can impede charging. When the relay(s) are the fault, the warning light also fails, IIRC.

Next most common charging issue might be a failed yellow wire soldered connection coming off the stator under the alternator cover (hard to see!). Mine did this twice

[bsanorton]

Thank you Doc, will inspect this afternoon

 

[PeterT]

Apart from the 30A charging fuse and fuse-holder that you have been advised to check, the other place to look is the plastic 4-wire connector (two +ve and two black) that the alternator regulator are plugged into that takes the power to the fuses at the rear of the bike.   Mine is cable-tied onto the front frame just inside and at the front-left of the fuel tank.  Because it is 4x 15A/connection, it isn't of the sealed AMP type but a less sealed connector, and, as a result, can get wet and corroded if it isn't well protected by Vaseline or anti-corrosion grease.  Having parallel connectors and wires is also a fundamentally poor bit of electrical design since if any one connector goes high resistance, all 30 A can go through one 15A wire, overheat it, and potentially damage other wires in the wiring loom. 

[bsanorton]

9 hours ago, docc said:

A ring terminal left off either the positive or negative side could negate the charging. Also, inspect the green 30 amp charging/regulator fuse in the fuse block.

Observe if the headlamp, stop lamp, horn, and tach are all working normally. A faulty Relay#2 (or #1 on the early Sports) can impede charging. When the relay(s) are the fault, the warning light also fails, IIRC.

Next most common charging issue might be a failed yellow wire soldered connection coming off the stator under the alternator cover (hard to see!). Mine did this twice

Doc, do you mean like a missing 30amp fuse? WTH! why would anyone pull that fuse? Paul (KINDOY2)? Thank you Peter

[Chuck]

Maybe because there is a short that is blowing the fuse?

[bsanorton]

6 minutes ago, Chuck said:

Maybe because there is a short that is blowing the fuse?

I hope it was an oversight. It would have been nice to know from the PO that sold me the bike  

[Chuck]

Reading between the lines..

Quote

PO said the voltage regulator and alternator was replaced.

I was blowing the 30 amp fuse,  didn't know what to do after blowing through the money of buying a new alternator and regulator, and pulled the fuse.

That's my guess, anyway. Not to worry, you are in the right place to get it sorted.

[KINDOY2]

11 hours ago, bsanorton said:

Doc, do you mean like a missing 30amp fuse? WTH! why would anyone pull that fuse? Paul (KINDOY2)? Thank you Peter

Actually I remember now..after having the bike in my garage a few months  I pulled the fuse before putting it on the charger as I had read that is a good idea to prevent feedback to the voltage regulator..and I simply forgot to put it back in ( I had 3 V-11's at the time and lots of stuff on my benches..including spare's from the tool kit, I remember finding a lose 30 amp on my bench and just figuring it came out of the tool kit...( my memory is for Sht these days)..Not to worry it wasn't intentionally pulled because it was blowing and sold to you with that knowledge..I'm not that sort of guy. Thats probably what the root of your charging issue is..just that fuse...everything else was new before I got the bike from Surj.

 

[bsanorton]

10 minutes ago, KINDOY2 said:

Actually I remember now..after having the bike in my garage a few months  I pulled the fuse before putting it on the charger as I had read that is a good idea..and simply forgot to put it back in ( I had 3 V-11's at the time and lots of stuff on my benches..including spare from the tool kit, I remember finding a lose30 amp and just figuring it came out of the tool kit...( my memory is for Sht these days)..Not to worry it wasn't intentionally pulled becasue it was blowing and sold to you with that knowledge..I'm not that sort of guy. Thats probably what the root of your charging issue is..just that fuse...everything else was new before I got the bike from Surj.

 

Thank you Paul for weighing in! That's a big relief. I also found about 10 30 amp fuses in the tail cubby hole. I guess this is why I was having charging issues. I'll put one in and check the charging readings. I also should charge the Odyssey again using my 10amp charger.  

[Chuck]

Quote

I'm not that sort of guy.

Well, that's a relief. I didn't realize it came from a forum guy.. no offense intended.

[docc]

Simple enough, then! Back in with fuse and do the voltage check that Lucky Phil posted at about 2500 rpm looking for 13.8-14.2 volts.

FWIW, I always disconnect my regulator from the battery when charging. As I recall, EME (where I get my regulators) emphasizes this procedure.