electrical question for you biker folks
 

my original battery that came with the bike died after a few months. figured it was old so i bought a new one. i had to add the acid to it and charge, which i did. it worked great for a couple weeks. then the battery died.

i bought a pre activated battery figuring maybe i did something wrong with the other battery. that was maybe 6-8 weeks ago and now this battery is dead. i asked some friends that knew a lil about bikes. they said it could be a charging issue. mentioned something about a stator being bad perhaps? or is something drawing power while the bike is off?

Im going to go over all the wires and stuff

anybody ever have this problem before? My bike is a 99 zx6e

thanks in advance

how long do you go in between start ups/driving...maybe you need a battery tender

not long at all, a few days to a week. i try to ride whenever its nice out.

i did a few voltage checks

the battery as it sits with the key off- 11.5 to 11.6 volts
idle- 12.6 volts (if i remember correctly)
3000-4000rpm 13.7-13.9 volts

i checked the battery when i bought it new, it was right around 12.5 volts with bike off

well dont know how yours is wired BuT --what i have seen many times is the diode in the alternators voltage regulator is back leaking and > its like a trunk light on all the time < the charging system still works but it drains the battery some times in a day -- what i have done for guys with no money is to take the direct line off the battery from the regulator and put it to key on instead __ again dont know if yours is wired this way or not --jz

thanks john. the wiring appears to be unmolested. ijust noticed last night, what appears to be the voltage regulator or rectifier, is getting hot when the bike is running, and this part is located away from all hot things. im going to look into that

i think its not charging as much as it should. my buddies gsxr 750 charges at idle ~ 13.5. ur bike may idle lower or something but that seems a little low. have you tested to see if there is a draw on the battery with the key off?

battery was kinda dead to test and see if it was drawing. it might have been though. i disconnected the battery and tested it, it was around 11.5-11.6 volts. when i had it connected i watched it drop to 11.5.

put a 2 amp charge on it over night first thing to do --

the regulator is going to get hot thats normal its converting electrical energy from magnets --

also i have had lots of new bad or weak batteries in the last 2 years - not like before must be china at its best --

still think it could be the regulator connected from OEM suzzy wiring full time that might be doing it -- check the wire diagram and trace the spot they put the hot into regulator first -- if its on all the time <<<

simple test with the battery full charged put a test light between the pos and a test light see if it lights

my quad does the same thing.