it died - electrical

[cjrly]

I bought an XJ1100 a couple of months ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it! It has its problems but has been runnig well after a pretty complete tune up. My son took it out for a ride and did not turn the switch off when he can back so when I went out to ride I had a dead battery. Recharged it, and away I went. I got on to go to work yesterday, turned the main switch and " nada, nothing, zip", I have recharged to battery and still nothing. I have searched for a switch diagram and only found ones for Xs1100s... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have search this site for about everything I can think of and still am at a loss. oh.... In addition the fuse box loaction seems to be avoiding me as well.

Thanks in adavance!
Clint from Montana

[Pat Kelly]

I have seen batteries (cycle and auto) discharged to a point they won't hold a charge anymore. This might be the case here.
As to the fuse box...... I dunno, I have an XS. I'm sure an XJ/XSpert will chime in.

[bkr]

Dead Bike

Hi Clint May sound dumb but check kill switch on right handelbar, fuse panel is under right side cover on XJ bikes, they are a piece of S!!! You may want to replace it with a blade type as in Autos. Good Luck bkr

[bkr]

Dead Bike

Clint Forgot about Main Fuse under seat, 2 red wires into a black fuse holder. May be blown. bkr

[cjrly]

Thanks for the input, the fuses are all good, battery next, then....

[cjrly]

It is resurrected, a flakey connection that works some times and sometimes not... easy fix. and you are right the fuse box is POS I broke two connectors just taking fuses out...


Many thanks!
clint

[fusionking]

Really charge it!!!

The battery will need to charge for SEVERAL hours to be fully charged. (like 15 or so) We get a lot of battery cores at our store that really are not bad just deep cycled to the point that a quick charge or jump start isn't enuff later on. Hope that helps!

[Bud Manley]

how long is a battery good for? I live in Ohio so it gets real cold in winter. Hell, it's real cold now and its Oct 2nd

[Jerry]

Battery care/life topics come up fairly often. 3 years life is about average. Several factors can increase or decrease battery life.

New batteries...charge at 10% of rated capacity before installing. This means if you have a 75 amp-hour battery, charging at .75 amps is best. Why? Charging at to high a rate can cause the plates to deform from heat, which will decrease battery life.

Electrolyte level...check level frequently to keep above the plates. Do not fill with battery acid, use distilled water.

Check/replace old batery cables. Corroded wires have a higher resistance, causing a working battery to run hotter than needed. Heat and vibration, plus low fluid level, are the biggest killers of batteries.

Storage of off-season batteries...use a trickle charger or 'floating' charger to keep the battery charged. If not, plates will become 'sulfated' and capacity decreases. Again, less than an amp is sufficient. Gemplers (www.gemplers.com) has a floating charger for around $12.00 that does a nice job.

I normally get about 5 year out of a conventional lead-acid battery. Did put a sealed (AGM) batery in the XJ spring of 2002, and with 2 seasons riding on it no sign of decrease in power or other problems.