Zorro Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 After a short period of time, my new battery has no juice to turn over the engine on my 2003 Honda 400ex. I'm unsure of the the definition of "short period of time"...maybe 1 to 2 weeks. Once I use my trickle charger to power it back up...no problems.I guess I have a short.Two things I've noticed...1. When charging on the trickle charger, 'red' light means that the battery is charging while the 'green' light means the battery is fully charged. While charging it this past weekend, I noticed that it finally went green...but then went red...and then went green...and continued this cycle. I figured that was proof enough that a drain/short was present. When I disconnected the ground wire and started charging again...the green/red cycle stopped and the light stayed green.2. After riding for quite some time and stopping for a short time to rest, it seems like my battery will be weak occasionally on restart. I'm wondering if there's a wire that's loose that cause this short/drain. (this is probably the worst case scenario).Anyway, I have a hot/cold DC tester. Before I start taking the thing a part to see where power should not be when the ignition is set to 'off', I figured I'd throw it out to the forum. In addition to that...if i do get power in some odd place, I'm not certain that it's supposed to be that way or not. So, does anyone have any suggestions? I like beer and I like to grill...so if you wanna come take a look at it...beer and food will be your payment Thanks in advance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 After a short period of time, my new battery has no juice to turn over the engine on my 2003 Honda 400ex. I'm unsure of the the definition of "short period of time"...maybe 1 to 2 weeks. Once I use my trickle charger to power it back up...no problems.I guess I have a short.Two things I've noticed...1. When charging on the trickle charger, 'red' light means that the battery is charging while the 'green' light means the battery is fully charged. While charging it this past weekend, I noticed that it finally went green...but then went red...and then went green...and continued this cycle. I figured that was proof enough that a drain/short was present. When I disconnected the ground wire and started charging again...the green/red cycle stopped and the light stayed green.2. After riding for quite some time and stopping for a short time to rest, it seems like my battery will be weak occasionally on restart. I'm wondering if there's a wire that's loose that cause this short/drain. (this is probably the worst case scenario).Anyway, I have a hot/cold DC tester. Before I start taking the thing a part to see where power should not be when the ignition is set to 'off', I figured I'd throw it out to the forum. In addition to that...if i do get power in some odd place, I'm not certain that it's supposed to be that way or not. So, does anyone have any suggestions? I like beer and I like to grill...so if you wanna come take a look at it...beer and food will be your payment Thanks in advance...Swap out the flux capacitor and viola, problem solved. You welcome... Oh, and I like my steak cooked medium. J/K, wish I could help more. I'll offer you the same suggestion I offered Cleaner when he asked for help with changing his tire, I'll come over, drink your beer, and scratch my head, that is the extent of my help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 make sure the leads off your battery is tight for the first thing.but if that isnt the problem i seemed to have a similar problem on my car last week. my charger was doing the same thing.....flashing full charge then back to charge. but when i would go to start the car nothing unless the charger was still connected. i found out after taking the battery to advanced auto that i had a busted cell. its possible that maybe your battery was a refurbish and maybe its was junk when you got it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 If it's not what Kawi said... you probably have a floating ground somewhere causing a current leakage. If it's not from the connections to the starter / battery - you're gonna have a helluva time tracking it down.Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APCh8r Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 yea check all your leads and wires, if still having a problem take the battery back to wear you got it and get it tested. most batteries come with a 6 month warranty so you should get a replacement for free if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 Sounds like a ground issue. Start it and disconnect the battery. does it stay running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 Sounds like a ground issue. Start it and disconnect the battery. does it stay running?yes. what does that mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 It means the alternator is good, at least on a car. On a quad, i believe its called a stator. Check for shorts to ground and shorts to the hot side of the battery. Check the ground for voltage. Remove ground to battery, but meter lead on ground wire and the other lead to a frame ground. if you have voltage, you have a short to ground(hot wire contacting frame or something). If none present the battery may be bad. Is it new? If not, get a battery. Glass mat. It is probably the issue.Good luck, electrical gremlins suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted June 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 It means the alternator is good, at least on a car. On a quad, i believe its called a stator. Check for shorts to ground and shorts to the hot side of the battery. Check the ground for voltage. Remove ground to battery, but meter lead on ground wire and the other lead to a frame ground. if you have voltage, you have a short to ground(hot wire contacting frame or something). If none present the battery may be bad. Is it new? If not, get a battery. Glass mat. It is probably the issue.Good luck, electrical gremlins suck.Thanks, i'll try this...more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DangBruhY Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 I agree with what was stated above. One other thing... Do you have any mods done? Intergrated turn signals, speed-o-healer, lighting? I hooked up some LED windshield washer thing-a-ma-bobs up to my plate light wires... Needless to say, I had the same problem. I cut them out and threw them in the garbage and I haven't had the problem since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I agree with what was stated above. One other thing... Do you have any mods done? Intergrated turn signals, speed-o-healer, lighting? I hooked up some LED windshield washer thing-a-ma-bobs up to my plate light wires... Needless to say, I had the same problem. I cut them out and threw them in the garbage and I haven't had the problem since.No mods...it's all stock except for the rims/tires...oh...and the customized crash marks I took it to Honda Northwest, aka Ohio Motorcycle, which is the place I bought it. They were experiencing the same thing i was...which was this...2 weeks after riding, i'd attempt to start my quad. the battery would be too low to turn the motor over. after 15 mins, my trickle charger indicator light would turn green, meaning it was charged. Sure enough, the battery barely had enough to turn the engine over once.At HNW/OM, they took it to the super secret back room to charge it. 5 mins later i hear the kid telling the older employee that their charger went green...and that the tester stated that it had no juice. Then the guy went back to the super secret back room to charge it. After 30 mins or so, he spoke to the older employee...i couldnt catch what he was saying. But he told me that I'd have to leave the battery over night so they can charge it to the warranty specification. :confused:After that, if it doesn't hold a charge, I'm guessing they'll give me a new battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I assume that you have recently bought a battery at HNW for it to be under warranty? Otherwise, Damn!!?? If they are replacing 5 yr. old batteries under warranty, I am taking my bikes there for service from now on.:grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted June 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I assume that you have recently bought a battery at HNW for it to be under warranty? Otherwise, Damn!!?? If they are replacing 5 yr. old batteries under warranty, I am taking my bikes there for service from now on.:grin:No...it's not 5 yrs old. Sorry for the confusion. I bought this battery from them in Feb or March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 you said you have a custom crash mark on it when did that happen? i only ask cuz you might have jarred the battery and busted a cell in it, and that is what is causing your trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Thanks to all that replied. Ohio Motorcycle gave me a new battery. Hopefully this was the cause of my drainage.Admin...feel free to close this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Suhweet. I thought it might be the battery. Keep that puppy on a trickle when not in use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 haha winnar!!!enjoy it mow man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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