Motorcycle battery drains very quickly?

Question

I have had my 1989 Honda VTR 250 for several years and been through several batteries. When new, the battery seems to work alright for a while, but pretty soon it decides that it doesn't want to hold a charge anymore. It seems to me that something is wrong with the electrical system with the bike but when I've taken it in these half-assed mechanics just keep telling me to get a new battery or be sure to ride for long enough periods to recharge the battery every time (which I do, in fact I just did about a 2 hour, 150 mile ride and the battery was dead when I stopped to fill up). It seems like the bike is actually draining the battery even when running-- is this possible? Or else maybe the electrical system is just leaking power all the time? Any ideas?

Answer 1

That either means you have something draining a lot more power than allowable, or your charger (alternator) is close to gone. ~
Use an ammeter to check the charging current as well as the discharge with various devices on.

Answer 2

You've gone thru several batteries? Yikes!!!!!
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Inanimate objects do not "decide" to do anything.
This was the first lesson I learned from my grandfather when I was a boy learning how to fix our tractors.
There is always a reason why something goes wrong.
It requires a little detective work and lots of common sense.
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Second lesson- a lazy mechanic that does not take the time to think about a problem and fix it right is not worthy to be called a mechanic. A good mechanic will listen to you, ask questions and then go to work and do a good, thorough job to your satisfaction.
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You obviously have a battery that is not being kept charged, and yes, those idiots at the shop are half asses!. Your regulator or alternator could be bad and that needs to be checked.
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A good mechanic will make sure your battery is being charged and that nothing else is wrong.
I can't do it for you, but if you ask around you should be able to find someone who knows what they are doing. Consider taking your Honda to a different dealer, heck, even a Yamaha dealer could at least test it properly. The 12 volt system on your bike is similar to every electrical system on every bike, car and truck on the road today!
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Then..look it up on the web, and call the Honda service center and make a complaint. At the very least, you might get some money back.
Honda does not like their dealers to mess around with THEIR customers!
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Answer 3

> It seems like the bike is actually draining the battery even when running-- is this possible?

Yes. You need a multimeter (mine cost about $25) and a friend.

Use a battery charger to charge up your battery, then re-install it into your motorcycle.

Set your multimeter to read voltage. Start your motorcycle up.

Have your friend hold the probes to a positive and negative on the motorcycle (doing the battery terminals would be best, but you can't get to those on all motorcycles -- I don't know about yours). Rev the engine to a steady 3000 rpm. The voltage you read should be between 12.5 volts and 14 volts. If it isn't there, then:
either there's something wrong with your charging system (stator or regulator/rectifier),
or
you have a short somewhere
or
something has a bad ground connection.

You can further diagnose by buying a Clymer manual for your motorcycle, and performing the tests for stator and rectifier diodes, tests that you can do without taking your motorcycle all apart.

You can further look for a short by checking continuity in the several ciruits protected by fuses -- remove the fuses and put 'em back in one by one to see which one drops the voltage. (This is not a safe thing to do, and I am not liable if you fry yourself doing this).

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Anyway, with my motorcycle, it was a fried stator.

Answer 4

Hey there guys I have a 2003 Honda shadow spirit 750 I just bought off a guy a few months ago, here s the problem I bought it and since day one I noticed it was dying so I removed the battery took it to an auto part place they said it was bad so I bought a new one it was fine for a few weeks then from one day to another it killed the battery nothing was left on.. I removed the battery charged it and put it back in then it died all over again so I took the battery back to the auto parts they gave me a bigger new one was running great for a few weeks without a problem then I didn t start it for 2 days so by the third day I want to start it and it came on for a few minutes then it just died and wouldn t start so I connected the battery charger and I started it and was on for about 20 to 30 minutes turned it off tried starting it again and nothing I connected it a few times and it turned on all the times but as soon as I turn it off it won t start anymore.. I need help I don t know what to do I m not a mechanic I don t know how to remove parts... Any suggestions??

Answer 5

Take the bike to an electrical rebuilder shop--one that rebuilds altenators,generators & starters. They will test your charging system in just a few minutes at no charge---and be able to correct the situation. I would guess the altenator needs a rebuild.

Answer 6

Sounds like the regulator rectifier and/or stator needs to be replaced if you are running on a fresh battery. If thats not the problem , it possible you might have a "short to ground."

Answer 7

check your rectifier/regulator, your turn signals to see if any unintentional grounding is happening. invest in a battery tender, it will charge your battery and tell you if anything is wrong with your battery. if none of the above is the issue check the alternator.

Answer 8

Purchase a shop manual and check the charging system yourself. It's not a complicated test. The manual will explain everything.
http://www.motocom.com/motorcycles/
Either fix it yourself, or bring your bike to a different shop.

Answer 9

the voltage regulator is bad and or alternator, they should both be replaced as a unit