Ok I got one for ya

[kickinit]

My bike usually fires right up, sometimes it is a little slow on the starting usually when its hot out (or after or a stop on a ride). May take 3-4 tries and its like the battery is dead. Get it home on the charger and it wont take any, it comes and goes. Can this be the rectifier? What exactly does it do?

Also the starter getting old? Need a higher cranking battery?

TIA

 

[carlsbadbusa]

what year bike? can be number of things...you shouldnt need a higher cranking battery..but the whole slow start when its hot out or after a ride might mean something else

A rectifier adjust ac and dc currents. The energy produced by the stator goes in waves (+/-) through the rectifier which only lets one of these waves pass through to charge the battery since it can only use one of these...There are diodes in there that regulate it..Complicated and a lil elaborate. If all else Trouble shooting fails...Get the rectifier tested with a circuit tester, it should flow in one direction and not the other..if the rectifier is bad...it might be letting battery juice flow back to ground...

 

[2busa]

May take 3-4 tries and its like the battery is dead. Get it home on the charger and it wont take any, it comes and goes. Need a higher cranking battery?

TIA

Sounds more like the battery. How old is it? "May take 3-4 times like the battery is dead.' 'Charger won't take."

Quotes sure sound like the amps just don't have the gusto anymore. A load test would tell. Maybe a poor-man's load tester would be to watch the ohm meter draw down the volts across the battery posts.

Say you see 12.8v with key on. That is a perfect battery. Say you have the leads of the meter set at 20v so this falls within the 12v range. Now, you start the bike, watch the battery volt draw down to 11v or 11.9v and there you go. Something like that being a load test.

If say the battery is 3 years old and never was charged during the non-riding season, or sat for weeks at a time without running.... Battery is my guess.

 

[carlsbadbusa]

If say the battery is 3 years old and never was charged during the non-riding season, or sat for weeks at a time without running.... Battery is my guess.[/QUOTE]

 

[mike1180]

Check the battery:

 

[kickinit]

I just had the battery tested about 3 weeks ago, and charged it up. Most of the time the battery sounds really strong and fires right up, but sometimes it seems after riding for a while its harder to start, but when it does no problem. Its not consistant by any means, a battery is either good or bad so I really dont think its the battery. I will troubleshoot more but figured it might have happened before to someone on here.

Thanks for the info carlsbadbusa I will check that out. I mean it doesnt change any perticular time of day its just completely random which makes the trouble shooting alot harder. I figured with my luck I will test and everything is good but then ride and it happens again and then test and good, and over and over until sometime I find out what is intermentant....

thanks again guys..

By the way my bike is an 04 with alot of extras.

 

[tclause]

If it's not the battery my bet is the starter when they are wore out they drag when hot.

 

[kickinit]

If it's not the battery my bet is the starter when they are wore out they drag when hot.

That was actually my original guess, but my buddy said I was crazy. Anyway I will look into tomorrow.

 

[aussiekeeper]

It is the starter. As heat rises, resistance also rises. If the starter is ok for a cold start and lags on a hot start, it most likely be the starter. It will heat soak after a hot shut down.

 

[dadofthree]

By the way my bike is an 04 with alot of extras.

Get a battery tender. If that's the original battery it's probably giving up the ghost.

If you want, there is an entire section of the on-line manuals devoted to simple troubleshooting of the electrical system. You might have a few drains depending on what your extras are.

A rectifier changes AC to DC using steering diodes ( old school ). An IC controlled SCR regulates the voltage. It's all one unit.

 

[bandito]

I had a similar situation stopping for gas last night. I have a stock 05 with 4,000 miles on it, recently purchased, battery about 4 weeks old. First attempt to start after fill-up failed - it cranked slow for just a few seconds and stopped. I waited maybe 10 seconds and it cranked fine. After another 50 miles to the house I tried starting it a couple of times and it started with no problem. I'm going to look for a loose connection in the starting circuit somewhere.

 

[dmallord]

+1 on the battery. my 04 did the same thing, and because i am oh-so cheap, i put a switch on my headlight circuit so i could start sans headlights. i got another 3 months out of my old batt, then replaced it and havent had the issue recur (even with the light on). a hot start will draw more amperage even with a good starter. it may be just enough to frown your maybe marginal battery.

 

[hennesseycpl]

mine has done it a few times since it was new honestly but i just wait a few and start it mine is an 06 im betting battery since i bought mine in 07 new as a closeout im betting they didnt take care of the battery too good

 

[kickinit]

Get a battery tender. If that's the original battery it's probably giving up the ghost.

If you want, there is an entire section of the on-line manuals devoted to simple troubleshooting of the electrical system. You might have a few drains depending on what your extras are.

A rectifier changes AC to DC using steering diodes ( old school ). An IC controlled SCR regulates the voltage. It's all one unit.

I actually have one and it sits on it all the time when parked in the garage.

Thanks for the info...

 

[kickinit]

I had a similar situation stopping for gas last night. I have a stock 05 with 4,000 miles on it, recently purchased, battery about 4 weeks old. First attempt to start after fill-up failed - it cranked slow for just a few seconds and stopped. I waited maybe 10 seconds and it cranked fine. After another 50 miles to the house I tried starting it a couple of times and it started with no problem. I'm going to look for a loose connection in the starting circuit somewhere.

Let me know how it goes, sounds just like mine..

I'm going to troubleshoot and then buy whats cheap first if need be.

 

[HiYaBruceA]

I just had the battery tested about 3 weeks ago, and charged it up. Most of the time the battery sounds really strong and fires right up, but sometimes it seems after riding for a while its harder to start, but when it does no problem. Its not consistant by any means, a battery is either good or bad so I really dont think its the battery. I will troubleshoot more but figured it might have happened before to someone on here.

Thanks for the info carlsbadbusa I will check that out. I mean it doesnt change any perticular time of day its just completely random which makes the trouble shooting alot harder. I figured with my luck I will test and everything is good but then ride and it happens again and then test and good, and over and over until sometime I find out what is intermentant....

thanks again guys..

By the way my bike is an 04 with alot of extras.

I too have an 04 with a lot of extras which when they were mostly electrical (PCIII, YellowBox, Gear indicator, Bluegauge dimmable gauges) it was not a problem. Then I installed Brock's top end kit and the bike wouldn't start when it was hot because of the heavier cranking required for the heavier pistons and cams which wasn't there because of all my electrical extras. I installed a two battery configuration, the main being a heavy duty, from Vortex and the problem was solved; now my '04 doesn't start, it explodes.

 

[piratediverjefff]

My '03 fires right up when cold,but once it's hot and i kill it/go to restart it does the same(drags,etc. a few times before it starts,has done this for a couple years now).I've also been told it's more than likely the starter.