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High beam draining the battery on my Norge 2008

R

renelouis

Just got it firing!
Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
1
I had the "click" problem since a while now. So the motorcycle being unpredictable, I change the battery, put a new alternator, did the light relay modification on the yellow wire, as well as a 16 gauge wire replacement of the yellow/orange wire to the solenoid. Confident on my modifications, I went on a ride to Nelson,BC an hour away from home. No problem after several stop. On the way home, I stop in Salmo, half an hour away from home and "click". Fortunately a friend was riding with me and pushed me and we were able to start on third gear and about 20 minutes from home, the Guzzi start choking...and stop running. Now no click at all. We had to trailer the bike home...
The next day the voltmeter on the battery was 11.9, so I exchange the battery, I had another one on the charger at 12.69V and installed on the Norge and he started right away. At 1500rpm, voltmeter showed 13.69, put the flasher on 13.69, horn same, low beam same, then high beam induce a voltage drop progressively to 12.4
Any suggestions at this point. Could it be a short-circuit of hi-beam to ground inside the headlamp? I checked all my fuses and they are ok.
Thank you for your input. I love my Norge but now I need confidence in this bike.
Rene-Louis
 
renelouis said:
…I change the battery, put a new alternator, did the light relay modification on the yellow wire, as well as a 16 gauge wire replacement of the yellow/orange wire to the solenoid…
Click to expand...

I am unfamiliar with this yellow wire modification of yours and I searched and read a couple people mention it in passing, but I could not establish a “why” reason for doing this?

Instead of all those expensive and crazy parts you swapped out, why didn’t you just do the simple thing and replace the relays with new ones?

The other problem is like most novices, you are assuming that surface voltage, is a reliable indicator of battery health. It is not. You need to have your battery “load tested” at an auto parts store or service garage that has a load tester.

This will give you a true picture of what the condition of the battery really is.

Unfortunately, at this stage, you have so many variables that are unaccounted for here now and it is impossible to determine which, if any, of your modifications has any proximate cause to your issues.
 
Last edited:
renelouis said:
I had the "click" problem since a while now. So the motorcycle being unpredictable, I change the battery, put a new alternator, did the light relay modification on the yellow wire, as well as a 16 gauge wire replacement of the yellow/orange wire to the solenoid. Confident on my modifications, I went on a ride to Nelson,BC an hour away from home. No problem after several stop. On the way home, I stop in Salmo, half an hour away from home and "click". Fortunately a friend was riding with me and pushed me and we were able to start on third gear and about 20 minutes from home, the Guzzi start choking...and stop running. Now no click at all. We had to trailer the bike home...
The next day the voltmeter on the battery was 11.9, so I exchange the battery, I had another one on the charger at 12.69V and installed on the Norge and he started right away. At 1500rpm, voltmeter showed 13.69, put the flasher on 13.69, horn same, low beam same, then high beam induce a voltage drop progressively to 12.4
Any suggestions at this point. Could it be a short-circuit of hi-beam to ground inside the headlamp? I checked all my fuses and they are ok.
Thank you for your input. I love my Norge but now I need confidence in this bike.
Rene-Louis
Click to expand...
My 2009 Norge has a carbon copy of your problems. Ive done: new battery. determined that that wasn't the problem. I've replaced the alternator. It ran fine for awhile but still unreliable with the startus ineruptus malady. I have now removed the new alternator and am trying to figure out how to prove it either good or bad on the bench. I my take them to an alternator shop to have them tested and rebuild if found to be bad. When i do have a problem, i charge the battery and it seems to work fine for a couple of short rides.
If you find out any secrets that will cause the alternator to respond to increase in load and actually charge the battery please post here or pm me.
I will let you know what i find out with the alternator shop research.
I'm going to ask the shop if they can do something to increase the output of the alternators. I love the bike but im getting tired of the unreliablity.
 
It is quite difficult to bench test an alternator, you can check the diodes but a bit of electrical knowledge is required, far easier to take to an auto electrician who can set it up and run it up to speed. I'm sure the output is around 540 watts, so make sure your not pushing it, add up lights, heated grips, engine electronic requirements etc. Before you removed the alternator did you put a voltmeter across the battery with the engine at around 2000rpm and measure about 14 volts, (not sure what type of battery you're using)
 
Again, we see the same story.

David Powell said:
…It ran fine for awhile…
Click to expand...

Please, tell me specifically what make and specification of battery are you using?

I’d be willing to bet, it’s the eBay or Amazon or Autozone, cheapo battery. Those all suck so bad. They will absolutely cause exactly what you are describing.

All Italian motorcycles, and ESPECIALLY THE NORGE, absolutely “hate” poor electrical supply.

www.guzzitech.com

V100 Error Messages

Hello...I have just taken delivery of a V100S, trading in my V7iii in the process but keeping my V85. It is a complex machine and I expected teething problems and I have them so I thought I would start a thread for error messages and what caused them. SO I have the 'Alarm Service', no other...
www.guzzitech.com www.guzzitech.com
 
Kevin.NZ said:
It is quite difficult to bench test an alternator, you can check the diodes but a bit of electrical knowledge is required, far easier to take to an auto electrician who can set it up and run it up to speed. I'm sure the output is around 540 watts, so make sure your not pushing it, add up lights, heated grips, engine electronic requirements etc. Before you removed the alternator did you put a voltmeter across the battery with the engine at around 2000rpm and measure about 14 volts, (not sure what type of battery you're using)
Click to expand...
Yes it is difficult to bench test an alternator. That is why i am going to an alternator shop and hope they can verify operation for me. Failing that, i will learn how i can test on my bench. Yes, voltage was 13.2 at the battery but 12.1 on the dash. It seems like a good voltmeter reading on the battery terminals but i don't believe the dash is correct or if it is ,, there is a problem charging..
The battery is: CYLA20CH-BSXTA, 12V 20CH-BS AGM 12/0, XTAX20CH-BS. I bought it at Batteries+Bulbs. $100.00.
I'm looking at the receipt and i guess its about 6 years old. Probably time for a new battery anyway whatever the outcome of alternator test. I needed to replace the belt anyway and change the oil.
 
For the millionth time…

You do not check the condition of a battery with a voltmeter! This tells you diddly squat.

You check the condition of a battery by load testing it.

This is discussed ad nauseam in the forums here.

David Powell said:
I'm looking at the receipt and i guess its about 6 years old.
Click to expand...

🤦‍♂️
 
My Breva 1100 had the same voltage discrepancy as yours. I cleaned all the electrical plug connectors and fuse holders one time and the best I got was 0.7v difference. I believe the reason is the long run and thin wires causing a volts drop.
 
scottmastrocinque said:
Again, we see the same story.



Please, tell me specifically what make and specification of battery are you using?

I’d be willing to bet, it’s the eBay or Amazon or Autozone, cheapo battery. Those all suck so bad. They will absolutely cause exactly what you are describing.

All Italian motorcycles, and ESPECIALLY THE NORGE, absolutely “hate” poor electrical supply.

www.guzzitech.com

V100 Error Messages

Hello...I have just taken delivery of a V100S, trading in my V7iii in the process but keeping my V85. It is a complex machine and I expected teething problems and I have them so I thought I would start a thread for error messages and what caused them. SO I have the 'Alarm Service', no other...
www.guzzitech.com www.guzzitech.com
Click to expand...
The battery is: CYLA20CH-BSXTA, 12V 20CH-BS AGM 12/0, XTAX20CH-BS. I bought it at Batteries+Bulbs. $100.00.
 
David Powell said:
The battery is: CYLA20CH-BSXTA, 12V 20CH-BS AGM 12/0, XTAX20CH-BS. I bought it at Batteries+Bulbs. $100.00.
Click to expand...
Yes, I saw that above. I also saw where you said it was about 6 years old.

I promise you, it has a bad cell or more due to its age. If you take it to a local auto parts store like Autozone, and have them LOAD TEST it, which they all perform for free, it will fail or be very marginally ok.
 
One thing that has not been mentioned here is that marginal batteries take more charging current as they get older/weaker. The extra current draw can lower the running voltage on a motorcycle with a marginal charging system. The lower voltage results in lower state of charge of the battery so the bike may not start after being parked for a while. Also, the starter and solenoid will have slightly higher internal resistance when warm after riding and a brief stop. Under these conditions, the voltage of a weak battery may be low enough to be unable to engage the solenoid and starter.

As others have already noted, cleaning electrical connections and replacing the battery will probably solve the issue. Charging system output should also be checked to make sure it can deliver the appropriate voltage and current.
 
Thanks go out to each who contributed to this thread. I have found a guy who tested both of my Norge alternators and they were found to be good.. So i did not need to buy the new one years ago. I have found that the battery is bad. Time passes by so quickly.
I am taking this down time to clean the engine, replace the alternator belt, change the oil and filter, adjust the valves and of course replace the battery. Im getting another one just like this one ,,, i mean it lasted about 5 years or so. This fine machine should again be reliable fun ... I cant wait to ride.
 
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