Ok so I take my bike to work... and it starts fine.

At lunch, I come home, and it starts fine. When I leave home, it starts fine.

When I leave to come home (after work), bike refuses to start... the trip and clock had reset themselves, although it'd happily dance around the rev counter while it's priming the fuel system.

Bump started it and took it on a 40mile-ish ride home (about an hour in rush hour), turned it off and it started fine in the garage.

I'm just waiting till the morning to see if the battery goes down again.

I'm just wondering what would cause a battery to magically go flat in the space of 4 hours... AFAIK I didn't leave the parking lights on, either.

It was snowing for about 30 minutes after I got to work, but as I said it started fine at lunch time. It's been sat in the rain all day before without issue.

AFAIK the alternator is fine since it wouldn't have started again when I turned it off, since it wouldn't be charging the battery..

that happend with my moms car to... 30mins before we arived supermarked.. we tok 30mins for shoping... wanted to start car.. but nothing batt was empty.. we called dad for start help.. but if we tryed 5mins again it worked all well....

Maybe some ghost batherys? xD

Maybe it just died? Batteries don't last forever.
You could also measure with a multimeter how much current your bike draws when turned off.

Wouldn't expect it to die suddenly. It's been fine, before.. and batterys start losing charge if you don't use them for a couple of days.

Unfortunatly I don't have a multimetere here. I'm gunna clean it tommorow morning anyway so after I've done that I'll see if it starts up.

Just tried it now (2 hours after I got home) and it started fine.. so I'm assuming it's fine.. unless it doesn't start tommorow..

Still wanna know why though.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Ok so I take my bike to work... and it starts fine.

At lunch, I come home, and it starts fine. When I leave home, it starts fine.

When I leave to come home (after work), bike refuses to start... the trip and clock had reset themselves, although it'd happily dance around the rev counter while it's priming the fuel system.

Bump started it and took it on a 40mile-ish ride home (about an hour in rush hour), turned it off and it started fine in the garage.

I'm just waiting till the morning to see if the battery goes down again.

I'm just wondering what would cause a battery to magically go flat in the space of 4 hours... AFAIK I didn't leave the parking lights on, either.

It was snowing for about 30 minutes after I got to work, but as I said it started fine at lunch time. It's been sat in the rain all day before without issue.

AFAIK the alternator is fine since it wouldn't have started again when I turned it off, since it wouldn't be charging the battery..

had this myself...


just topped the battery up with water, charged it with my brothers car for 5 minutes running perfect ever since...

What sort of bike? does it have an alarm?

my Aprilia does this sometimes, its the "quirky" Italian electrics.

Z750, unalamared, no extra electronical equipment.

Started just now, fine... wtf.

Could be:

• The battery is nearly dead, and took umbridge at the cold.
  
• Dodgy contact somewhere in the starter system, from the start button contacts, through all the associated wiring, and the internal contacts of the starter motor (particularly the solenoid).
  
• You pressed the wrong button in a moment of madness
  
• It was in gear, and has an annoying lock out so it can't be started in gear (a Kawasaki sort of thing, like the annoying side stand switches everyone disables so their bikes can warm up more easily)
  
• About a hundred other things in varying levels of complexity, liklihood and obscureness.
  

A couple of weeks ago, on the sunday it snowed alot, I tried to start the car, lights just flickered and it refused to start.

We had to jump start it. That may have had something to do with the cold though, who knows.

My dad reckons maybe it's a dodgy contact, because I've had dash lights flicker before.

Quote from tristancliffe :

...like the annoying side stand switches everyone disables so their bikes can warm up more easily.

Bikes have that? I've seen bikes that would stall if you left the side stand down, but never saw a bike that wouldn't start because of it.


Does your bike have a main fusible link on it? On my bike, it was a metal link and it was blown. It would sometimes contact and sometimes not at the break. Cuts out the entire electrical system from the battery. Can't find a photo to show on the bike, but here's what they look like...

Quote from mrodgers :

Bikes have that? I've seen bikes that would stall if you left the side stand down, but never saw a bike that wouldn't start because of it.

Yup, mine won't start with the side stand down, unless you hold the clutch in , which is apain in the arse when you pull up at your garage, want to leave the engine running while you get off and open the garage door, but you can't

check the acid in the battery, there are some tools for it, and those are very cheap, if it isn't good enough, or the amount of the acid is too low, then you can fill it up with "distillated" water, like your radiator without antifreeze stuffs, then you can charge it up with a charger
but if this things are ok, then check your generator, maybe it's broken, my car(29 year old vw) has the same problems too, it sucks the battery in one week if i don't use the car, so i pick off the cables from it if i don't use it

Quote from tikshow :

check the acid in the battery, there are some tools for it, and those are very cheap, if it isn't good enough, or the amount of the acid is too low, then you can fill it up with "distillated" water,

He probably can't check the acid level, as far as i know motorcycles are fitted with sealed gel batteries.

If it's as intermitted as he says (starts, starts, won't start, starts, won't start...) then it's not the battery. It's either a loose connection at the battery (he said clock reset, thus total loss of electrical) or I'm putting my $20 down on my post above with the fusible link.

If the battery is shot and it's as intermitted as that, then I would expect you to get some click at the times it isn't starting.

Motorcycle batteries will not charge unless you are in higher revs, such as 2-3k continuous, FYI.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Could be:

• The battery is nearly dead, and took umbridge at the cold.
  
• Dodgy contact somewhere in the starter system, from the start button contacts, through all the associated wiring, and the internal contacts of the starter motor (particularly the solenoid).
  
• You pressed the wrong button in a moment of madness
  
• It was in gear, and has an annoying lock out so it can't be started in gear (a Kawasaki sort of thing, like the annoying side stand switches everyone disables so their bikes can warm up more easily)
  
• About a hundred other things in varying levels of complexity, liklihood and obscureness.
  

First two could be correct, although it's been started about 4 times today while going about and it's been fine.

Definatly didn't press the wrong button

I can start the bike with the sidestand down as long as it's in neutral, which it was. Otherwise it just wouldn't even kick over.

Hmm.. a hundred other things.

Anyway.. for the moment, it seems fine. If it goes wrong again, I'll just take it to the dealer so they can drill the seat bolt out (never bothered to fix it ) and replace/test the battery.

(Fuseable link is beyond me since I have no idea about electrics.. at all. :razz

If it happens again I'll just replace the battery and see where it goes from there.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

(Fuseable link is beyond me since I have no idea about electrics.. at all. :razz

If it happens again I'll just replace the battery and see where it goes from there.

Fusable link is about 18 cents each over here ($0.18). Batteries cost around $35-50. Google your bike and figure out where the link is, it's not difficult. All it is, is a thin piece of metal connected on each end by screws. It would pay to spend the money and buy a handful of the fuses for less than the price of a candy bar to have extras.

What bike to you have, I'll look it up for you. It is no more than removing 2 screws and replacing it. To check, you just look. Poke it with your finger and if it's broken, you will see. Or remove one of the screws and if half of it falls out, it's broken.

I searched and hunted all over my bike for a week trying to figure out why mine was starting sometimes and sometimes not, just like what you sound like your problem is. I finally figured out the fuse.

maybe u have battery drain,i know its not like a car with full of electronics,but never know

Quote from mrodgers :

Fusable link is about 18 cents each over here ($0.18). Batteries cost around $35-50. Google your bike and figure out where the link is, it's not difficult. All it is, is a thin piece of metal connected on each end by screws. It would pay to spend the money and buy a handful of the fuses for less than the price of a candy bar to have extras.

What bike to you have, I'll look it up for you. It is no more than removing 2 screws and replacing it. To check, you just look. Poke it with your finger and if it's broken, you will see. Or remove one of the screws and if half of it falls out, it's broken.

I searched and hunted all over my bike for a week trying to figure out why mine was starting sometimes and sometimes not, just like what you sound like your problem is. I finally figured out the fuse.

I have an 04 Kawasaki Z750. I had a quick google just now but I coudn't find anything, and I have to go to my college course naow.

Update... bike did it again now.



Strange.. really. It was fine yesterday, I'll just assume it's a duff battery.

If I can get it bump started, I will be taking it to the dealership today.

Update x3 (sorry for tripple posting!)

They tested the battery and the charging is fine, but it was losing charge so it's safe to assume it was a duff battery. New one was fitted for the sum of measly sum of £46, they fixed the duff seat bolt (yay trickle charger) and I'll assume it's all fine and dandy. What's even better is that they didn't make me pay labour, which was pretty nice of them!