Stalling and hesitating

[laddy]

Recently my bike has been stalling while I'm idling for the last week, normally only once a ride. Ive noticed recently that when this happens the instrument cluster will reset so that is why I believe that the bike is turning off. Ive double checked the connections and everything seems to be connected. Anyone have an idea what could be causing this?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Re-setting of the cluster generally points towards a bad battery.

Couple of questions,

What's your idle set at? (should be close to 1200-1300)
How old is your battery?
Do you have a voltage meter and can access the battery?

I suspect its just about toast. Charging it fully then getting it LOAD TESTED will confirm if its bad or not. Most auto parts stores will check it for free but you need to get it out first.

If you have an SAE connector to the battery and a voltage tester, you can get an idea of the voltage, the battery has. 12.8 is fully charged sitting. You should see mid 13's up to 14 volts up to 5,000 RPM's.

Cranking voltage, in your case will likely drop a bunch, below 8 volts I'd guess. Dropping to 11 volts cranking or higher, is about normal...

 

[laddy]

The idle is set around 1k to 1100. I need bump it up, would that cause the battery not to charge? Also my commute has shortened drastically it used to be about 20 miles almost all highway. Now it's 3 miles but all stop and go. Could it be that because of the way I'm riding the battery is not charging?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The idle is set around 1k to 1100. I need bump it up, would that cause the battery not to charge? Also my commute has shortened drastically it used to be about 20 miles almost all highway. Now it's 3 miles but all stop and go. Could it be that because of the way I'm riding the battery is not charging?

Exactly... I like the idle lower too but it takes away from the battery.

Raise the idle while monitoring the voltage at the battery.

Especially, with the short trips, fan kicking on, you want at least 13 volts at idle which should be around 1,300 RPM's..

Please post your voltages at say 1200, 1300, etc...

Bottom line, you need to keep the voltage above 12.8 charging, or your draining the battery..

 

[laddy]

Alright sill haven't tested the voltage but today i tried to manually keep the rpm's above 2k idling and it still didn't help, it is still sputtering and dying every 5ish min it will have a fit and sputter and make a fit them its fine for 5 min. It was even going this on the highway turning 6-9k rpm for about 25-30 min continuously. Does everyone still think its the battery? I think im going to gvae it tested later tonight, just in my opinion turning that many rpm's for that long you would think that it would have charged it up some.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Alright sill haven't tested the voltage but today i tried to manually keep the rpm's above 2k idling and it still didn't help, it is still sputtering and dying every 5ish min it will have a fit and sputter and make a fit them its fine for 5 min. It was even going this on the highway turning 6-9k rpm for about 25-30 min continuously. Does everyone still think its the battery? I think im going to gvae it tested later tonight, just in my opinion turning that many rpm's for that long you would think that it would have charged it up some.

Agreed, the system may very well be charging but if the battery has failed and won't hold a charge (your dash re-setting is a big TIP the battery is about toast). All your electronics, (fuel injection, ignition, etc), is pulling voltage from the battery. If the battery can't carry the amperage pull(worn out), the electronics won't work correctly no matter how much its charging..

I had a carbed Suzuki 650 Savage single that the battery went out. I was able to start it and get home but revving it and trying to keep the RPM's up was a big challenge it ran so bad. No fuel injection, no fuel pump, just the ignition... (Bought it for the GF).. New battery, ran like a top..

Please pull the battery and have it load tested It'll take you longer to get it tested than to just pull it. It should be fully charged when you bring it down there (trickle charge is, 1.25 amp automatic charger is good).

Please post your results of that. If its not checked and known as good, you'll be chasing your tail around.

**IF, you didn't have that dash issue, I would be leaning towards using a strong fuel system cleaner (which can't hurt anyway). Yamaha makes a product called "Ringfree" which is very strong and will clean the fuel system and the top end of the engine. I usually get mine at the marina but saw it last week in a Yamaha MC / jet ski shop. 1 oz / 10 gallons, very strong stuff and you can run it stronger if need be W/O hurting anything. I run it in everything (especially the boat)...

 

[laddy]

Alright so i figured it out the grounding cable was broken at where it was attaching to the battery so that was what was causing it I believe. Thanks for all your help Townsends.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Alright so i figured it out the grounding cable was broken at where it was attaching to the battery so that was what was causing it I believe. Thanks for all your help Townsends.

Your welcome, glad you got it fixed! :thumbup: