Battery Slowly Dying NEED HELP

[4 The F4llen]

I just purchased a 06 Yamaha FZ6, 6800 miles, and PERFECT condition. Not a scratch on the thing. I had 2 other people besides my self check every nook and cranny for anything suggesting it may have been dropped. Nothing.

Anyways, went out to look at it, drove it around for a while and every thing seemed absolutely perfect. Shifted great, throttle felt perfect, everything was 110%.

I got it home and spent about 2 hours driving it around the mall. Working on clutch control, braking, starting, cornering and getting the feel for my bike in general. After a while I came to a stop sign, stopped the bike and all of a sudden it died. WTF? I looked at the heat gage and it was on the highest level, though I never got any warnings or anything. I had suspected that it died because it got too hot. (I had been running it for about 2 hours or so basically only in 1st and second gear. Probably wasn't getting near enough air to cool it down.) Anyways I took the bike home and charged it for about 2 hours when I woke up and it fired up no problems.

I was curious as to why it had died because I was sure that even at low speed, low rpm, and low gear the stator should be charging the battery. Took the gas tank up and tested the battery. It was pushing a steady 12.8 volts when the bike was off. When the bike was on it was pushing about 12.3 at idle and fluctuated a little. Typical range was about .3 of a volt up or down but seemed relatively steady.

I also tested the cables to the stator. All 3 phases read 0.9 ohms and were consistent.

In my mind the stator was working and the battery was working. I put the voltmeter on the battery terminals and rev'd between 3k and 7k rpm and the volts went up depending on how high the rpm's were. Though, at idle the bike lost about .5 rpm from when the bike was off.

In my mind the battery is obviously working, the stator is obviously charging but only at any rpm that wasn't idle.

I ran around and practiced more for the next 2 days. Taking it slow and going up to 45 mph and up to 4th gear, though most of the miles were still put on at the mall to perfect my mechanics. (have not had any heat problems since)

All of a sudden I had it in neutral and it died AGAIN! Tried to crank it and once again not enough juice. I called the original owner and he said he didn't know but assured me that the battery was only 3 months old. I hooked it up to my girlfriends car and let it charge for about 3 minutes. Cranked it and it worked. Let it run for about 5 minutes, even rev'd it a few times. Turned it off and tried to turn it back on. STILL NOT ENOUGH JUICE! I let it charge off my girlfriends battery again for about 20 minutes this time. Let the bike run for about 5 with a few revs and turned it off. This time it turned back on (probably because I let it charge for 20 this time instead of 3)

Can anyone please tell me if they know what's going on? Or what to check? Has anyone else had the same problems?

ANY ADVICE IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

THANKS!

 

[iSteve]

Sounds like your driving around at the mall is killing the battery. It's not enough to just rev it every once in a while. If you must practice in a parking lot take it for a 10 or 15 minute ride every half hour where you can ride with a steady 4k + rpms to let the battery charge. Also at idle you are not charging the battery the charging system puts out just enough to keep the bike running but if your bike is hot the fan comes on you're just draining the battery.

Oh and driving slow speed stop and go puts more wear and tear on the bikes cooling, electrical and engine and clutch then driving at high speed on the highway.

 

[FinalImpact]

Welcome to the forum and the new bike!!! It seems you've found one problems this bike has. The charging system is just not robust enough to behave like a real vehicle should. As such, with to much sustained idle time it will kill the battery as it doesn't produce enough watts to not loose VOLTAGE when below 2500 RPM and/or sitting in traffic with the fan cycling. Added accessories only make this worse; i.e. grips heaters, dual head lights, etc.

Unfortunately, this is normal. THANK you for the details as you covered your bases well. I do have one question, was the g/f car running during the 20 minute charge episode? If so, please repeat your tests and let us know if the charging system is still working! Does it rise to 13.5+ volts about 3500 RPMs. You see the Regulator Rectifier (left side of bike under the tank just ahead of the rear shock) can be damaged by having to dissipate too many watts of energy during JUMPING. Think in terms of the bike not being able to make near that much current so it can live a long life, but not if jumped from a running car. Jumping with 14+ volts and 700+ available Amps is a different story.

Does your bike have BOTH headlights on when its running? If so, bump the idle to 1350, do your best to learn AND keep the PRMs above 3000 RPM as 2 hours of circles drops too much energy from the battery.

I personally have never had a problem with dual head lights and minor traffic jambs. But an hour of idling would change my story line.

Charge it over night, don't jump it from running vehicle, do some spirited rides and keep in mind that a flat battery will not recover from deep discharge in 3 minutes.

Get used to search function as many topics have been covered before!

 

[4 The F4llen]

Welcome to the forum and the new bike!!! It seems you've found one problems this bike has. The charging system is just not robust enough to behave like a real vehicle should. As such, with to much sustained idle time it will kill the battery as it doesn't produce enough watts to not loose VOLTAGE when below 2500 RPM and/or sitting in traffic with the fan cycling. Added accessories only make this worse; i.e. grips heaters, dual head lights, etc.

Unfortunately, this is normal. THANK you for the details as you covered your bases well. I do have one question, was the g/f car running during the 20 minute charge episode? If so, please repeat your tests and let us know if the charging system is still working! Does it rise to 13.5+ volts about 3500 RPMs. You see the Regulator Rectifier (left side of bike under the tank just ahead of the rear shock) can be damaged by having to dissipate too many watts of energy during JUMPING. Think in terms of the bike not being able to make near that much current so it can live a long life, but not if jumped from a running car. Jumping with 14+ volts and 700+ available Amps is a different story.

Does your bike have BOTH headlights on when its running? If so, bump the idle to 1350, do your best to learn AND keep the PRMs above 3000 RPM as 2 hours of circles drops too much energy from the battery.

I personally have never had a problem with dual head lights and minor traffic jambs. But an hour of idling would change my story line.

Charge it over night, don't jump it from running vehicle, do some spirited rides and keep in mind that a flat battery will not recover from deep discharge in 3 minutes.

Get used to search function as many topics have been covered before!

No. The car WAS NOT RUNNING. I DID let the car run for about 20 seconds JUST to make sure that the car would not be drained but only after about 10 minutes of charging.

Yes it does get to about 13.5 at around 3-4k rpm.

No both headlights DO NOT RUN.

And sorry for covered topics. I am new to this forum.

Also I am a new rider. This is my first bike. I was heavily advised to put around 100 miles on small and low traffic roads and neighborhoods. Also I do not have access to a legitimate charger. How can I learn my bike and sharpen my skills before really taking it out while keeping it charged?

Also what should I do for tomorrow? I'm sure the battery is still low and I know jumping it for a primary charge source is not healthy for the electrical system. At the time I really didn't have much choice. Do you believe I have done any damage by charging it off a car battery for 20 minutes considering the car was only running for about 20 seconds?

Any recommendations are very much appreciated.

 

[oaks]

Get yourself a charger/maintainer. There are more choices out there, but I know you can find this one at AutoZone or many retail stores for under $20. It's been around forever and has worked fine for me the past few years to keep the battery alive over winter. It will get the battery back in shape in a few hours or maybe overnight. Permanently connect the SAE connector to the battery and hang it out the frame to hook up to the charger so you don't have to lift the tank.

If you don't park near an outlet, guess you'll have to pull the battery and charge it in your home.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SEM-1562A-Speed-Charge-Maintainer/dp/B0009IBJAS]Amazon.com: Schumacher SEM-1562A 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Maintainer: Automotive[/ame]

 

[FinalImpact]

I would guess you're completely fine as it is heat issue over time which would damage the RR.
Not being able to cruise and not having a good charger is an issue and not an easy solution. Are there any safe roads you can stay out of harms way on and keep the R's above 3k?

If in a parking lot, reach up and unplug the one headlamp. Just be sure to put it back before leaving the lot. This will HELP ALLOT!!!

Hey, I really am NOT trying to get you harmed. Ride at a safe pace and CHARGE longer as needed to be safe. I was lucky and live in the country where I could cruise to "figure it out" and learn the required street skills.

Don't forget to plug the head lamp in!

 

[4 The F4llen]

I would guess you're completely fine as it is heat issue over time which would damage the RR.
Not being able to cruise and not having a good charger is an issue and not an easy solution. Are there any safe roads you can stay out of harms way on and keep the R's above 3k?

If in a parking lot, reach up and unplug the one headlamp. Just be sure to put it back before leaving the lot. This will HELP ALLOT!!!

Hey, I really am NOT trying to get you harmed. Ride at a safe pace and CHARGE longer as needed to be safe. I was lucky and live in the country where I could cruise to "figure it out" and learn the required street skills.

Don't forget to plug the head lamp in!

Thanks for the information. I'm glad nothing is wrong with my bike. Or at least I hope that's true. What you've told me seems to convince me that it's not the bike. I'm just operating it outside the perimeters it is designed to be operated. I just have a hard time believing that an 06 with 6k miles has problems.

Anyways I got it for $3700. Does that seem fair? 06, 6k miles, never dropped, very very garage kept, well maintained. only non stock addition was an upgraded spring for the suspension under the seat. (Smoother rides).

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Just something to add.

Make sure your idle is set around 1,300 RPM's(as posted above). I've found on my 07 (and another members 06), between approx 1,000 RPM's (your running off the battery-below 12.8 volts), and 1,200 RPMs, your just charging (just above 12.8 volts). With the fan kicking on, of course that'll drop it slightly.

If in a closed parking lot, (practicing) if you simply unplug the headlight that's lit(again as posted above), it'll also help a bit with charging at slow speeds for long periods of time. DON'T FORGET TO RE-PLUG IT once going back on the road.



BTW, did your cooling fan actually kick on? You didn't mention it except that you about pegged the temp gauge. The fan SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT THE TEMPS DOWN if its working correctly.. (Note: Its not unusual for a rock to jamb up the fan motor and then the fan fails.) If it never kicked on, please post again, that needs to be addressed.


Once your on the road regularly, idle set correctly, and don't sit for long times in traffic, the battery should be fine...

*I purposely have my idle set at 1,000, have dual headlights (low beams), (don't sit in much traffic) and don't have any charging/battery issues.. That's under normal driving conditions, NOT hours of slow speed parking lot maneauvers.

(The idle adjustment screw is on the left side, between the tank and frame-kind of star shaped). Adjustment instructions are in your owners manual.

If no manual, heres a link for a free one:
Boneman's FZ6 Site - Mods

And welcome to the forum! :thumbup:

BTW, the original owner of my bike, (a new rider, my friends son) killed the battery on the bike the next day practicing (brand NEW BIKE) as you did, practicing... The shop did replace it under warranty...


And yes, you seemed to get it at a good price, a picture posted would be nice!

 

[4 The F4llen]

Nooby question, but how do I tell what precise rpm it is idle's at? The gage isn't incredibly precise. I feel as though I would have a hard time getting it right at 1350 without some other type of tool / knowledge

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Nooby question, but how do I tell what precise rpm it is idle's at? The gage isn't incredibly precise. I feel as though I would have a hard time getting it right at 1350 without some other type of tool / knowledge

Just get it as close as you can...

With your volt meter, at about 1300 RPM's you should be just above 12.8 volts (charging slightly). You just don't want to be discharging voltage at a low idle.

 

[92Bit]

Do you have the original owner's manual? I found that reading(skimming) through mine really helped getting familiar with the bike. You can get a 'precise' numeric readout of engine speed by cycling through the options with the select button on the instrument cluster. Or it might be cycling through the clock display I can't remember at the moment. At any rate the owner's manual covers this.

I too have an '06 fz6. I would say you got a good deal on your bike I paid similar money. Mine had fewer miles, 2500 or so, aftermarket exhaust and a few scratches on the passenger grab bars. But, it has never gone down and was garage kept, although it had a few webs and dust all over it. :spank: