V7 III No Start - No Anything

[Mayakovski]

Hello All;

Well today was the day to bring my Anniversario back to my new place. I installed the battery (the original) which had been trickle charged about a month ago and turned the key. The dash booted up almost as normal, but a little slow and the lights not as bright. I pressed the starter and there was a click and then nothing. No lights or anything. Dead.

I took the battery back to my place and plugged it into the trickle charger. As it charged I read through a bunch of the posts on here and learned that my 750ma charger is not nearly good enough for the battery (this coincided with me discovering the charge instructions on the battery itself, 1.4 AMPs at 5 to 10 hours). About 15 minutes of charging and it was showing 80% charged, then 5 minutes later it was showing full. I took the battery back and hooked it up again.

This time with key on the dash booted full speed and nice and bright. I hit the starter and another click and then nothing. Turned off, removed key and them key back on and nothing at all, no lights, no dash booting. Completely dead.

From what I have read here I think the issue is the battery is toast. I will try and get it load tested tomorrow.

Can any of you confirm I am thinking the right direction on this. Thank You

 

[Louisv97]

Hello All;

Well today was the day to bring my Anniversario back to my new place. I installed the battery (the original) which had been trickle charged about a month ago and turned the key. The dash booted up almost as normal, but a little slow and the lights not as bright. I pressed the starter and there was a click and then nothing. No lights or anything. Dead.

I took the battery back to my place and plugged it into the trickle charger. As it charged I read through a bunch of the posts on here and learned that my 750ma charger is not nearly good enough for the battery (this coincided with me discovering the charge instructions on the battery itself, 1.4 AMPs at 5 to 10 hours). About 15 minutes of charging and it was showing 80% charged, then 5 minutes later it was showing full. I took the battery back and hooked it up again.

This time with key on the dash booted full speed and nice and bright. I hit the starter and another click and then nothing. Turned off, removed key and them key back on and nothing at all, no lights, no dash booting. Completely dead.

From what I have read here I think the issue is the battery is toast. I will try and get it load tested tomorrow.

Can any of you confirm I am thinking the right direction on this. Thank You

Did you try to get a voltage reading while you turned it on?

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Yes. I’ll give 2:1 odds that it’s your battery.

I’d advise against repeated attempts at starting until you get the battery LOAD TESTED, as you will end up most likely causing the relays to “bounce” which can result in generation of a spark in the relay, significant enough to fuse the contacts in the relay, together! Then the relay is shot. So rule #1 is if when starting all you hear is the relays loud “click”, then don’t try that again until you resolved the battery condition.

If I could do one thing, it would be to eliminate those good for nothing 750mA Battery Tender chargers. They do not work for diddly squat! I tell all my customers this.

The minimum size I have discovered that works consistently in charging every motorcycle that comes into my shop with, is the 4A version.

That’s what I have for the standard use unit in my shop. 4A. I have at least a dozen of them and I charge literally hundreds of batteries a year with them. They usually (98%) get the job done for me.

For the really dead (2%) batteries, I have a special unit that has a RECONDITION function utilizing wave form modulation technology, and that has a computer controlled 2A—15A variable charge system. It also takes in consideration the battery construction, like Standard, AGM flat, AGM spiral, LiFePO4, etc and modifies the wave form used for charging.

That little jewel has resurrected utterly “dead as a doornail” batteries back into fully functional ones.

I did one just like that 2 days ago. It was so dead that the 4A units wouldn’t even start their charging cycle because they could not see any voltage in the cells at all.

Now it’s fully charged and showing 370 CCA for a 350CCA rated battery, with only 8 mOhm internal resistance. Battery is working perfect again. Not even the 4A charger would dent that battery, but now it’s repaired.

Battery charging technology is surely interesting.

Good Luck!

 

[Mayakovski]

Yes. I’ll give 2:1 odds that it’s your battery.

If I could do one thing, it would be to eliminate those good for nothing 750mA Battery Tender chargers. They do not work for diddly squat! I tell all my customers this.

The minimum size I have discovered works consistently in charging every motorcycle that comes into my shop with, is the 4A version.

That’s what I have for the standard use unit in my shop. 4A.

I have at least a dozen of them and I charge literally hundreds of batteries a year with them. They always get the job done for me.

For the really dead batteries, I have a special unit that has a RECONDITION function utilizing wave form modulation technology, and that has a variable 2A—15A variable charge system. It also takes in consideration the battery construction, like Standard, AGM flat, AGM spiral, LiFePO4, etc.

Thanks Scott;

I am hopeful that a new battery will solve it. From what I can find I also believe that is the issue.

 

[Mayakovski]

I had the battery load tested at two different motorcycle shops and it is fine. So the issue is something else. I will try doing a very thorough cleaning of the terminals and contact points as one of the shops noted what looked like two small pits on the positive terminal of the battery and suggested it might be arcing. Perhaps that is the snap/pop sound I heard when pressing the starter.

 

[arfingdog]

One thing to keep in mind with all kinds of lead-acid batteries (including AGMs) is that it takes a long time to completely charge up. The closer they get to full, the less current they take. Fifteen or 20 minutes won't mean much to a batt that is even half depleted. I would have thought maybe you have a bad starter except that you said your batt wouldn't run the panel or lights particularly well. If your batt really is OK, then it sounds like a bad connection or ground.

 

[Mayakovski]

And my bike is home and running perfectly.

The battery is fine. The issue was the connection contacts. Though they looked fine to me, they were in fact corroded.

The terminals on the battery are steel or maybe aluminum and are silver, so I thought the contacts on the bike would be the same. I did not know they were copper until I sanded them gently and the true colour came through. Connected the battery up and she fired right up.

So the moral of the story is make sure the contacts are clean with a gentle sanding.

Now it’s time to ride.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Resistance is an electricity killer.

Better Living through chemistry!

Once a year, contacts cleaned with wire brush and lightly sprayed with this.

I also clean and spray ground straps too.

Never had an issue.

1 can is a Lifetime Supply.



Or, Walmart has the tiny spray can, which is most for anybody with only 1 motorcycle.

 

[Mayakovski]

Thanks Scott;

Just ordered the large one. Will do for my bike and my partners, and hopefully a Norge in the near future.
Really appreciate the advice and suggestions for everyone who chimed in.

 

[Mindis]

Now it’s time to ride.

So ya ready for a rip-around together? I was in your neck of the woods today, ya know, 45mins trip on twisty backroads just to get that $2 hot dog at Costco LOL

 

[Mayakovski]

So ya ready for a rip-around together? I was in your neck of the woods today, ya know, 45mins trip on twisty backroads just to get that $2 hot dog at Costco LOL

Getting close. Still finishing a few small upgrades. Should be on the road in a week.

 

[avlis]

End of my rope with my no-start 2017 V7III.
Here's what I've replaced so far:
Starter relay (OEM)
Starter motor (OEM)
Battery
Here's what I've disassembled and cleaned:
Starter button
Kill switch
Battery contacts
Starter contacts

Additional clues:
Before I got the new battery, I was able to jump start it one warm-ish day using a 12v boat battery I had nearby. Ran fine stationary.
The neutral light is erratic. The bike is in neutral but the light is off. Lift the bike off the side stand and the light might flicker on. If not the impact from the side stand retracting against the bumper will trigger the light. Press the start button: the starter relay clicks and the N light goes out. Every time.
I unplugged the neutral switch and tried to start with the clutch pulled and side stand retracted. No click, no start.
I also tried bypassing the side stand switch with no luck.

Some guesses: this may be temperature dependent. May work better when warm.
The N light state seems to be gravity and vibration dependent.
I don't think it's any of the switches but willing to try a more systematic troubleshooting if that's recommended. I was worried it was the ECU, but the erratic N light doesn't seem like it would be a symptom of that.
Any other ideas? If not, next stop is the dealer, which I'm certain everything will work fine when they try to reproduce the problem...

 

[Dino Rossetti]

End of my rope with my no-start 2017 V7III.
Here's what I've replaced so far:
Starter relay (OEM)
Starter motor (OEM)
Battery
Here's what I've disassembled and cleaned:
Starter button
Kill switch
Battery contacts
Starter contacts

Additional clues:
Before I got the new battery, I was able to jump start it one warm-ish day using a 12v boat battery I had nearby. Ran fine stationary.
The neutral light is erratic. The bike is in neutral but the light is off. Lift the bike off the side stand and the light might flicker on. If not the impact from the side stand retracting against the bumper will trigger the light. Press the start button: the starter relay clicks and the N light goes out. Every time.
I unplugged the neutral switch and tried to start with the clutch pulled and side stand retracted. No click, no start.
I also tried bypassing the side stand switch with no luck.

Some guesses: this may be temperature dependent. May work better when warm.
The N light state seems to be gravity and vibration dependent.
I don't think it's any of the switches but willing to try a more systematic troubleshooting if that's recommended. I was worried it was the ECU, but the erratic N light doesn't seem like it would be a symptom of that.
Any other ideas? If not, next stop is the dealer, which I'm certain everything will work fine when they try to reproduce the problem...

Bump, Has this been solved? I am having a similar issue.

 

[avlis]

Bump, Has this been solved? I am having a similar issue.

Yes I solved it. The ground lug/cable on the back of the engine was loose. I removed the nut, wire brushed all mating surfaces and tightened the nut with Loctite. All that time I wasted and money spent replacing parts. It was a 5-minute fix.

 

[Dino Rossetti]

Yes I solved it. The ground lug/cable on the back of the engine was loose. I removed the nut, wire brushed all mating surfaces and tightened the nut with Loctite. All that time I wasted and money spent replacing parts. It was a 5-minute fix.

The one on the gearbox case close to the clutch cable holder?

 

[avlis]

The one on the gearbox case close to the clutch cable holder?

Yes, I think so. It’s a pretty heavy gauge ground cable.

 

[Dino Rossetti]

Yes, I think so. It’s a pretty heavy gauge ground cable.

I cleaned mine and replaced the nut, when I tried to start I had multiple clicks from the starter relay, and then a couple of days later the bike went completely dead no lights no click on dash nothing. And this is with an Antigravity battery also...

 

[avlis]

I cleaned mine and replaced the nut, when I tried to start I had multiple clicks from the starter relay, and then a couple of days later the bike went completely dead no lights no click on dash nothing. And this is with an Antigravity battery also...

Mine always powered up but wouldn’t start. Part of my trouble shooting was to run jumper cables from a known good regular lead acid battery (from our boat).

 

[Dino Rossetti]

Mine always powered up but wouldn’t start. Part of my trouble shooting was to run jumper cables from a known good regular lead acid battery (from our boat).

Im charging my stock battery that came with the bike now, hopefully, I might get somewhere. If not I'll get some jumper cables.

 

[scottmastrocinque]

If you continually tried to start the motorcycle with a depleted battery or bad connection, you can arc the points in the relay and they can stick and fuse in position. When you hear that “clicking” when trying to start, STOP. Do not continue trying to start as you will eventually burn or fuse the starting relay.