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**DiverRay** · 02-19-2009, 10:12 AM

If you do a search, there are battery threads here that have answered your question. The quick two part answer is:
1. Clean ALL the electrical connections, INCLUDING THE GROUNDS
2. test the output at 3500 RPM, should be about 14.5V. If the battery is older than one year, have it tested at checkers or some other auto parts store.
Welcome to the site.

**thewiz** · 02-19-2009, 10:18 AM

I wonder ..?? ... cuz you haven't said ..

What is the condition of the battery itself? How old? Did you check it's electrolyte level or specific gravity with a hydrometer ... or load test it with a load tester (once fully charged) ? Does the headlight and all other features work when the bike is running? What is not working when the bike is running?

Sorry for all the questions but the answers may help to suss out the solution, I hope

**TopCatGr58** · 02-19-2009, 06:59 PM

Hey Jeffro,

Like Diver said, you being down there in swampy salty FLORIDA, you could have a fair amount of corrosion in many of the contacts. Having 14 volts is fairly good with the engine revving, but I've seen a car battery that would discharge and not recharge due to corroded ground connections!

The headlight wires you found will NOT have any power to them until the engine is running, there is a latching relay that turns on the headlights once the engine is running, and it receives power from the alternator!

Do you also have a lot of accessory lights on the bike? The charging system isn't very strong, and can barely handle the stock lighting, much less any extras!

Other troubleshooting techniques involve putting the voltmeter in line with the battery to see if you can see a power reading which could indicate a slow drain. Then pull the fuses one at a time until the meter reads zero or drops very low, this will tell you what circuit to investigate, to help narrow down trying to find worn frayed wires and such.

But another thing, folks new to the bike will sometimes turn the key/steering lock too far into the PARKING mode which turns on the tail light, draining the battery very quickly!
Good Luck!
T.C.

**jeffro239** · 02-20-2009, 10:07 AM

drained battery

The battery is new recently took it to autozone to recharge and check checked good. the bike is from ohio originally, has been sitting in the garage at my dads for nearly 6 years in fla without starting or riding but has neverseen any type of rain or bad weather. Never had any acc. on it my dad did put a fairing on but very short time and never spliced the wires. Im reading 14.5 when at 3500 rpms. The dimmer switch lever broke so when i took it to a bike shop in cols ohio,he tapped into another wire for the headlight which only gave me low beam. I bought a new switch because i wanted to get the high and low beam to work correctly and have it original. i only used the plastic switch lever itself so i never changed the whole switch on the plastic piece on top. I get confused when I hear about maybe this or that is shorted and how do I check each component for a short or what the values should be and so on. would like to start at one point and go through the entire system Maybe too ambitious huh? Thanks for you're responses

Jeffro239

**jeffro239** · 02-20-2009, 10:08 AM

battery

I have taken apart each connection and there is no corrosion at any of the terminals or wires.

**jeffro239** · 02-20-2009, 10:15 AM

battery

even when the bike is running, i get no power to the green and yellow. everything works when running just after about a half an hour or running, i shut it off and theres no juice to restart it it drains off fresh battery that quick. i have the key in the correct position Im very familiar with this bike as irts been around me and since 1986 Thanks Again Jeffro239

**thewiz** · 02-20-2009, 10:37 AM

just wondering ....

If you leave it sit overnight with a fresh battery in it and WITHOUT starting or running it, would the battery discharge then too?

If so, or if you are unsure, you might try this: With a charge on the battery and the key OFF, being VERY CAREFUL not to accidentally ground it, remove the positive cable from the starter relay and connect a test light (or voltmeter) between the cable and the relay. Any voltage there would indicate a short somewhere ....

**DiverRay** · 02-20-2009, 10:45 AM

f so, or if you are unsure, you might try this: With a charge on the battery and the key OFF, being VERY CAREFUL not to accidentally ground it, remove the positive cable from the starter relay and connect a test light (or voltmeter) between the cable and the relay. Any voltage there would indicate a short somewhere ....

You could also just disconnect the NEGITIVE cable and do the same thing! much easier and less chance of "welding" the cable too the frame.
with what you posted about the head light, that would be the FIRST place I would look! there are NOT that many mechanics who know electricity well. The handlebar switch CAN be fixed or replaced, and I would do so on my bikes.

**bikerphil** · 02-20-2009, 10:52 AM

You could try bypassing the headlight relay which has that latching diode as mentioned above. The relay is under the fuel tank towards the front near the steering stem. Unplug the relay jump the red/yel and blu/blk wires together and you should have voltage at the headlight with the key on. If no voltage, there is a problem with your left handlebar switch most likely.

**T99Ford** · 02-20-2009, 06:29 PM

The Wiz brings up a very good point. Just because the bike will not restart does not mean that the battery is dead, particulary if the bike ran until it was shut off. Not to say that it couldn't, it is just unlikely. If the bike is fully charged and then let sit, will the battery still go dead? In this case, some electrical circuit of the bike is remaining on even though that circuit should be off. If it only goes dead with the bike running, then the most likely cause would be a charging system fault. The alternator of the bike is not charging the battery to replenish the current used from the battery to operate the lights and ignition.
A new battery can be still be bad. Most of the autoshops use some variety of "internal resistance tester" to determine the state of a battery. While this technology does work, it is highly dependent on initial battery charge to be accurate. Also, an accurate tester of this type is very (read VERY--$1000's) expensive, and most autoshops do not fork out the money for a truly accurate meter. I have had Snap-on testers of this type that are not even close to accurate, and we all know what that stuff costs! Still the most effective method of testing a battery (though arguably not the safest) is with a load tester. This tester will pull specified current load on the battery for a set period of time. If the battery can supply this load without losing too much reserve power, then it is good. If not, it will be quickly evident that the battery is bad. Most auto and diesel shops have a tester of this nature still and will test the battery for little or no fee. In either case, charge the battery fully prior to testing.
Also, it is important to remember that charging systems do not charge in VOLTS. They charge in amps at volts. Amps are what you need to measure in order to determine true alternator output. A three phase alternator (not sure whats on an XS) will charge the specified charging system voltage on any one leg, but will only supply ONE THIRD of the total amp output of the alternator. Thus all three legs of the alternator are required in order to reach full alternator output. What this means is that if you have a minimal load (requiring only a few amps current to maintain), then it is possible that your battery will show charging voltage, since the light load can be supported by a only a portion of alternator output (say two of three legs). So it is possible to have a partially bad alternator that will show proper volatge. Only an amp rating test of the charging system can determine true charging system performance. This can be done with an inductive DC amp clamp set on the positive battery cable while the bike is running and the cable is still attached. These are available for increasingly less money also, and will work for any DC charging system.
Also, the problem you are referring to is most likely not a "short". Short referrs to an electrical circuit that bypasses its work load. Usually this bypass leads directly to a ground source, and will result in a blown fuse or melted wires and fire (if no fuse is available). Short tends to be used for any electircal failure, but in reality is specific in nature.
I hope some of this helps in addition to what you have already read form others. I do this sort of technical assistance on production agrcultural equipment on a daily basis, and so I am alittle sensitive to terminology and process. Sorry if I come across too blunt. Let me know if you have further electircal theory questions!

**thewiz** · 02-20-2009, 07:44 PM

I think you're just fine, t71

... thanks for chimin' in ..

We're all just tryin' to help the man .... and learn something ourselves (in my case, anyway) Mental exercise keeps the brain healthy and fends of Oldtimer's Disease.

I agree totally ... first things first. Be absoultely certain that the battery is not a DOA and hasn't had a lot of water added to the acid diluting the gravity or some such otherwise not unheard of thing. Were you able to fill the battery with acid yourself, Jeffo, or; was it done where you bought it by someone else or; is it a gel? Sorry for the questions

I have a little 50 amp load tester/volt-ampmeter that I bought at Harbor Freight for less than 20 bucks ... tells the battery/charging system tale in a heartbeat once the battery has a long slow charge on it.

**TopCatGr58** · 02-21-2009, 08:23 PM

Also if the bike is being run at mostly idle for 30 minutes, then it is also not charging the battery at that Rpm. Geezer's Reg/Rect unit provides a stronger charging current at the lower idle rpms, but the XS's oem can actually be discharging at idle, that's partly why the test for generating proper charging voltage is done at the 2500 + rpm point, not just at idle!

Also, bad charging connectors...the 3 white plugs behind the fuseblock are the 3 legs of the charging system Ford spoke about, and if one of them is badly corroded, could be just like stated, not creating enough AMPs??
T.C.

**latexeses** · 02-21-2009, 08:42 PM

Must be caused by global warming.

**oldyam80sg** · 02-22-2009, 08:12 AM

I had a battery that i swore was bad because i would hit the starter button and nothing-Auto parts store said battery was good.So i cleaned all the grounds,upgraded my fuse block to one of TC's blade type units, and purchased one of Geezers regulators.All of these things helped me.Also i read the manual that came with my AGM battery and it tells me to charge battery at least once a month when not in use.I have a battery tender hooked up to it when i stop riding when my body doesn't respond well to the cold weather.Biggest thing i would do is take the connectors behind the fuse block and clean all the connectors very good and put some dielectric grease in them before you reconnect them.I did that back in November 2008 and the bike starts every time now.I just wish it would stop snowing so i could give it a ride.Also have you checked the water level in the battery?Is the vent tube pinched?

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