[Uthor]

So I go out to try out some new "gear" (thermal underwear and a wind breaker that'll fit over my leathers), pop the bike in neutral (little light goes on), pull the choke, hit the starter, and get a short "brzzt" followed by no power/lights.

I've pulled the battery and put it on a charger, but it was reading 12V across the terminals as soon as I brought it in the house, so I have a bad feeling that it's something else. Hopefully a fuse blew because I don't know how I could fix any other problem without calling a tow truck and taking it to the shop.

If it's a fuse, how would I find out? Do I just pull the fuses one by one and check their resistance with my multimeter? If it's a short, what's the best way of tracking it down?

The bike's been sitting outside uncovered since Saturday when I last rode it. The temps been in the low to mid 30's overnight with one night getting down to 28F or so. I don't think that's enough to make the battery go bad. Had a bit of frost on the bike yesterday morning, but the bike's been out in the rain without a problem, so I don't see how some frost could be the problem.

It's a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. They're also known for having problems with having bad connections to the battery, but everything was cinched up tight when I took the battery off.

I'm hitting up all the boards I know because I need this fixed in the next week so I can get the bike into storage. Sorry if you see this topic somewhere else.

 

[OKC_Kent]

It sure sounds like a weak battery. Check the electrolyte, fill it up to the top line with distilled water and charge it up. If you get a chance buy a small hydrometer at the auto store and check the battery condition. If you get anything less than 100% readings on a battery a few years old, you should probably replace it, in the spring.

 

[Uthor]

It's about 18 months old. I've had some problems before with it cutting out on me, but that was after I completely drained it and decided to keep riding after a jump instead of fully charging it. A day on the charger solved that problem.

I need it to run for 1.5 more weeks so I can get it up to Chicago for storage, so I'm not too concerned about the condition of the battery as long as it keeps the bike running for about 4 hours.

 

[N3FOLN3FOL]

If I were you, I would focus more on the battery and give it a nice slow charge to capacity. Do you have a battery tender/conditioner? If not, your local Sears store can supply you one. Good Luck.

 

[Uthor]

If I were you, I would focus more on the battery and give it a nice slow charge to capacity. Do you have a battery tender/conditioner? If not, your local Sears store can supply you one. Good Luck.

I've pulled the battery and put it on a charger

.

 

[Spok]

yeah, loss of power usually happens at the alter..

oops, sorry, wrong context

nothing to see here, move along

 

[honestlyinsane]

A battery can and often will read 12 volts until its loaded so if you are just using a multimeter ignore it and charge the battery for awhile and se what happens

 

[Vulcan900]

Fuses are easy to check with the battery in, you should have 12V on both sides. Otherwise visually inspect, or use the meter.