Died during a ride, no power.

cmobe2

cmobe2

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Hey all,

1981 XS400 H or SH

Today I was on a ride and my bike failed at idle after a 30 mile trip. No electrical power. No oil lamp or neutral lamp when key turned.

Got it home. The battery was fine, but when I turned the key on the voltage bottomed out to zero. Tried to jump the solenoid, but same problem.

During the ride I noticed the bike would miss when I would turn my blinkers on. Once home I saw my rear left blinker was sagging with wires taunt (it had broke a couple weeks ago and I taped it up until I could fix it properly).

No fuses blown, but I found a faulty connection with the ignition fuse. The prong on one end of the red/white wire was half missing and hanging down. I believe I have it connected well enough for testing issues at the moment. All fuses conduct current.

I have been having another issue with the engine racing and 2 weeks ago took the carb boots off and put a high temp sealer to see if air was leaking through. When I put everything back together the bike would start, but with no headlight. I am moving back to Texas this next week and put off the headlight until then.

Also, I installed a 9v gel battery and removed the battery box. I kept all hardware by relocated in various areas. It is not enough juice to use the electric starter, but it has kicked started fine the last month. I did not remove any of the starter system, just dont use it.

I am at a loss as to where to begin trouble shooting, any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
You must mean 9 amps, I doubt you can fire your electronic ignition at that voltage. Anyways, check the connections at your ignition switch.
 
I goofed on the voltage. It is a 12v ballistic evo2 50 gel cell (http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/EVO2-50.php). The scooter version. It is reading 9v now, leading me to believe the battery is done for. I hooked it up to a smart charger, but it will not charge. I hooked it up to my dads bike and I was able to see the indicator lamps in the control panel.

The long ride may have done the battery in since it is made for smaller applications. I am going to fire it up in a bit and check the rectifier to make sure it is functioning properly.

I still wonder if there is a short somewhere due to the blinkers causing the engine to miss when engaged.

If it is just the battery I may go one size up in the ballistic battery to the evo4 http://www.ballisticparts.com/products/batteries/4cell.php which is only 30 less cca than stock battery. Still have some trouble shooting to do though.

Thanks for the replies.
 
Started up fine with kickstart when being jumped. Charge is a max of 14.4v while I held it around 4500 rpm's.

I am worried it may go higher and ruin the size up in the ballistic as well, they both have the same max charge rate just with different amps (5A@13.2-14.4 for the evo2 50 and 10A@13.2-14.4 for Evo2 4 cell). What do you guys think? I noticed Drewpy had an Evo2 50 with an electronic r/r, but I believe it still went out on him. Do you guys think the size up would do the same, or will the 5 to 10 amp difference help in some way? Not really sure.

I noticed a few people recommending the A123 packs on ebay... better option? I have read a good bit of the battery threads, but still am a little confused on the issue. :confused:

Blinkers would not engage at all...
 
yea mine went on me as the charging system is too eratic .I could keep it below 14.4 when the revs went up it goes to 15v which is what is was designed to do really!
 
I just emailed the guy at RB. It sounds like the max charge rate is 14.4, but I could not find it directly stated, nor what kind of lithium. Assuming it is the LiFePO4 like the ballistic though. :shrug:
 
The evo 2 is not suitable for the XS400 nor is the evo 4, but I think you know that now. The RBbattery is not recommended for temps below 40F plus it is vulnerable to voltage above 14.4v so I would forget about that one as well. I understand these types of batteries are small and light weight, but what is your fascination with them? You are willing to spend good money on a battery, so why not get an AGM style?
 
Size mainly. I removed the battery box for aesthetic reasons, and the smaller the battery the easier to place out of site. The LiFe04 offered the size I would like, but with the obvious problems. The AGM style are great battery's but I am working with limited space. May have to make room though. If you have a link to a 4" x 2" x 2" AGM you would make my day!
 
Looking through some threads and the repair manual I noticed there is an adjustment for the voltage regulator.

Think it could be adjusted down to accommodate one of the smaller LiFe04 batteries? Just brainstorming a bit...
 
The adjustable regulators are old technology and were used early in the production run. I know the 1976 XS360 used one and I believe continued for a year or two. They were taken from the XS650 which was a late '60 design. They were indeed adjustable, but won't work with your electronic ignition with out a lot of retrograde engineering. Your model has a combined electronic reg/rec and is a sealed unit with no adjustability.
 
Bummer. Thanks for the info Specdog, I will keep up my search, but more than likely I will end up with an AMG as you suggest.
 
Has anyone used the ballistic batteries successfully? It seems to me some minor chnges to the charging system/regulator could fix the over voltage issue... no? I've been brushung up on my circuit design (wow it's been a while) and I'll let tou know if.i find anything on my end...

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I think Drewpy may have had an electric rectifier and maybe more, and his still went kaput. I don't want to put words in his mouth though.

Let me know what you find! I haven't bought anything yet, but I would like to get a battery soon to get back on the road.
 

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