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CalSS Electrical Gremlins

iamjim

iamjim

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
28
Fired up the '02 CalSS to go to work yesterday, and about 30 minutes into the ride the battery warning light came on. The turn signals started acting up, and then the tach went haywire - looking stuck at 3k and jumping wildly between 3k-4k when it should have been a pretty steady 5.5k. About 5 minutes later, the tach died completely (dropped to 0 and stayed there) although the bike continued to run just fine. For another 10 minutes or so anyway, when the engine sputtered and died.

Coasted into a convenient turn-out, parked the bike, and did a quick cursory check. The headlight, taillight, and dash lights still worked but the turn signal were gone and there was not even a peep from the starter when trying the ignition. I scanned some of the wiring, and it looked like one of the wires to the equalizer (aftermarket LED turn-signals) had come loose from its butt connector but it did not appear to be shorting on anything.

Trucked the bike home, and checked again in the evening. Fixed the loose wire, but still no response from the starter. Voltmeter on the battery said 11v so I hooked up the charger and left it sit overnight.

This morning the charger said the battery was still not charged. This is a pretty new battery, Oct '09. The previous battery had problems, but never anything like this - it would at least take a charge and run for a while before needing to be re-charged.

Will try another new battery today and see what happens, but I'm thinking there must be something else going on. Blown alternator? Cooked regulator?

Any ideas or suggestions?
 
Once you get a battery in her and if she starts, check the voltage at the battery with a DMM. If you have over 13.5, you should be good. If not then troubleshooting the charging system is needed. There are articles on the forum for how to test the system.
 
Jim nothing more to add on what John says above, however did you keep the battery on a tender while you were gone, or did it just sit? AGM's are hyper-sensitive to this. Keep us posted on what you find.
 
No, I did not leave the battery on the tender while I was gone. Should have, will do from now on to be sure.

Anyway, although the battery was not charged after about 12 hours, after about 24 hours it was. Or at least the charger said it was. Voltmeter said 12v, so I figured I'd give it a try. Put the battery back in, and the bike fired right up. The battery light was still on though so back out with the old battery.

Picked up a new battery, and have it on the charger since last night to make it good and fresh. We'll see what happens tonight.
 
iamjim said:
No, I did not leave the battery on the tender while I was gone. Should have, will do from now on to be sure.

Anyway, although the battery was not charged after about 12 hours, after about 24 hours it was. Or at least the charger said it was. Voltmeter said 12v, so I figured I'd give it a try. Put the battery back in, and the bike fired right up. The battery light was still on though so back out with the old battery.

Picked up a new battery, and have it on the charger since last night to make it good and fresh. We'll see what happens tonight.
Click to expand...

OK, looks like you have a charging problem. The charging light should go out even with a poor battery. Download the California97_03_At(GB_D_NL).zip file on this page http://guzzitek.org/gb/ma_us_uk/1100/ It will tell you what AC voltage you should get from the alternator at specific rpms. If you get the voltages, then the regulator/rectifier is bad. If you don't get the AC voltages, the stator is bad. The higher failure rate item is the regulator/rectifier
 
Put the new battery in last night, bike fired up and ran around the block with no problems.

Rolled out this morning, and sure enough the $#!% battery indicator came on again right away.

Thanks for the service manual reference John. Found the info and will be checking it tonight.
 
Jim, nine times out of ten it's either a fuse or voltage regulator... though I have now replaced two stators; one with a broken wire, and one recently on a Quota that just died (of old age :pinch: ).
 
Voltage on the alternator was within spec. Pulled the regulator off and it certainly looks cooked. Will be shopping for a new one today.
 
Well hell and damnation.

Replaced the voltage regulator with a new one from ElectroSport, new Weather Pack connectors for everything, and left the battery on the charger for a few days.

Took it out this morning, fired right up and was running with no problems except for the turn signals not working. Rode into town (about 12 miles), stopped for gas ... and now she won't start again. Just spins the starter, no attempt at ignition.

Argh.
 
iamjim said:
Well hell and damnation.

Replaced the voltage regulator with a new one from ElectroSport, new Weather Pack connectors for everything, and left the battery on the charger for a few days.

Took it out this morning, fired right up and was running with no problems except for the turn signals not working. Rode into town (about 12 miles), stopped for gas ... and now she won't start again. Just spins the starter, no attempt at ignition.

Argh.
Click to expand...

Well, one problem done, but a new one appeared. Again, check fuses, relays, and of course the engine cut off switch. Has the side stand switch been disconnected yet?
 
Check the electronic petcock, these suckers fail pretty regularly, should here it click when the ignition is turned on, sounds like sidestand switch or relays/fuses
 
So after I brought the bike home, I put it on the charger for a few hours and it fired right up.

Checked the fuses, and sure enough one (the big 30A) was blown, so I replaced it.

Started the bike with no problems, rode it around the neighborhood about five miles with no problems and parked it.

Two days later I started it again and rode it up and down the block, again no problems.

Left it overnight, and the next morning it would not start again.

Checked all the fuses again, and they're good. Checked all the relays, and they are all working. The battery shows 12v.

I'm pretty sure it's not the sidestand switch, because if I try to start the bike with the sidestand down nothing happens whatsoever. Put the sidestand up, and when I hit the starter I can hear the starter clicking loud and fast but no ignition.

Argh.
 
iamjim said:
Put the sidestand up, and when I hit the starter I can hear the starter clicking loud and fast but no ignition.

Argh.
Click to expand...

Clicking or turning over? Just because you have 12 volts, doesn't mean you have enough amps to turn the starter.
 
The engine is not turning over at all. Just rapid loud clicking from the starter.
 
GT-Rx said:
Jim nothing more to add on what John says above, however did you keep the battery on a tender while you were gone, or did it just sit? AGM's are hyper-sensitive to this. Keep us posted on what you find.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input Todd, I have sometimes left my Cal SS with an AGM sit for 5 months while riding the eldo and griso, and it started up, but I suspect I have shortened the life of the battery. It's now on a battery tender plus as the little sucker (BT junior) wont support an AGM.
Thanks for the input, I've got the fleet on BT's now except the eldo, it has a $19 lawn tractor battery and it gets ridden most every day
Cheers,
jon
 
Replace the battery.
Click to expand...

That was the first thing I tried. The previous battery was only 9 months old, but I replaced it anyway. The current battery is just a few weeks old.
 
Jim, for giggles, run a jumper wire from the battery positive, to the solenoid/starter wire jumper on the starter. My Jackal had this issue for short while until I replaced the starter. If that doesn't do it, try the old "tap the solenoid" trick.
 
run a jumper wire from the battery positive, to the solenoid/starter wire jumper on the starter
Click to expand...

OK ... did that. What should I be expecting? As soon as I touch the battery I can hear the starter spinning. Not the loud fast click like when pressing the ignition switch, but definitely spinning.
 
iamjim said:
OK ... did that. What should I be expecting? As soon as I touch the battery I can hear the starter spinning. Not the loud fast click like when pressing the ignition switch, but definitely spinning.
Click to expand...
So then you have a glitch in the system from the battery to the starter solenoid... they are known to do this, mine did. Start by cleaning the on/off and start switch in the handlebar cluster, and check all of the wiring with a DVM for continuity. Also, be sure to start with checking the fuses... simple things first (again).
 
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