Alternator? Battery?

[rrfloyd]

I have a 1999 voyager 1200 and it was stored all winter. I put a new battery on it. I rode it around town for short trips on 6 different days.

Today, I decided to take it on a longer trip. I had treated the gas with seafoam and stabilizer. After riding for 25 minutes, I noticed the gas was dangerously low. Meanwhile the bike was riding very rough, particularly in higher gears. I filled up the bike and added stabilizer to it. I could not get my bike to turn over, the battery was dead. I jumpstarted it and decided to return home. After a half mile, the bike started riding rough, it backfired and quit again. I had to keep jumpstarting over and over again, but the battery would not hold a charge. I don't think the battery is the issue, but I do not know much about this. I live on cape cod and there are not any motorcycle repair places anyplace nearby. I would appreciate any suggestions.

[bikerking.biz]

Have the charging rate checked on your bike. Good chance your alternator is no longer charging correctly.

[Mr Jensee]

If your alternator is not charging your bike is running exclusively off the battery. Once the battery discharges there will not be enough electricity to fire the plugs and the result is rough running and eventually the bike will die. You need to charge the battery, put a volt meter on it before you start anything. It should read at least 12.5 volts. Start the bike and monitor the meter. If the voltage drops, even while revving the engine then suspect the alternator. If the voltage goes up to 13.5 to 13.8 volts then the alternator is probably good. Do your lights flicker, grow dim when idling? Do they grow brighter when the bike is revved above 3000 rpm? If none of this happens again suspect the alternator. If I were you I'd start with a fresh battery for the riding season. I recommend a glass mat or gel battery over the lead acid and buy some brand of battery tender to keep the battery cycling when the bike is not ridden.

[doug of so fla]

Being it was stored for awhile you might want to check your connections on the alternator & ground, and if the alternator is not charging try rapping on the back of it and maybe the brushes could be stuck & that would loosen them. Alternator may need a good refurbish. As said check charging system first to see if it is or is not charging. a simple meter or you can get a digital one that plugs into your cig lighter ( if you have one, if not put one on XII very handy).

[Steve do]

I was doing some work on mine yesterday, put the volt meter on it, 12.5 not running, cranked it charging 13.8 at 2000 RPMs. Mr Jensee's #s are correct. Ele problems can be a lot's of fun, (drive ya nuts), Good Luck.

[voyager55]

Sea Foam is also a fuel stabilizer, No need to add both.

[SgtSlag]

Even if your battery was new, it sounds as though you may have deep discharged it, more than once, by running the bike off of it until it died. This will cause sulfation in a flooded battery, and there is little that can be done to recover from the damage done to the internal plates.

I installed a voltmeter/battery monitor on my XII: had two bikes leave me sitting, luckily in town, when the batteries died. Flooded, conventional batteries only lasted around two years each, even with using a Battery Tender Jr. connected after each ride, and keeping the electrolyte topped off... I will only use an AGM battery from here on out. An AGM may cost twice the price, but they last 4-6 years, or more. A voltmeter will tell you, at a glance, whether your charging system is functioning; it will also tell you, at a glance, if your battery is good, prior to hitting the start button. Worth every penny, IMO.

Voltmeters run the gamut in price: from ~$4 to $50+, permanent wiring, or cigarette lighter plug types. There are several threads on the topic, already posted on this web site. Try the search engine on the forum page, to locate them.

The radio/clock constantly drains your battery, slowly, but it is a constant load on it. If you do not have a smart trickle charger for the bike, I would recommend one. Strongly. Even an AGM will drain over the Winter storage period, because of the radio/clock. Besides that, if you install the permanent connector for the battery, you can just plug it in after each ride, to top off the battery, and maintain it. This will prolong the life of any type of battery, providing you with one that is at 100% charge, every time you start it in your garage. Did this with my '79 Honda 750. There was an obvious improvement in start-up's when it was connected, as opposed to when I forgot to plug it in. Cheers!