I got a little electrical problem.

[infinitewhiskey]

tl;dr: won't start, can't figure out why. Possibly starter? Battery?

I can't pinpoint why she won't start up, so I'll include every little detail. Everything was fine beforehand.

Yesterday, she started up fine and I took the freeway (at ~75 MPH) for about 5 minutes instead of cruising through local streets cause I was running late. Parked the bike, went to class, came back less than two hours later and she wouldn't start. I managed to bump start it, rode it around for about half an hour, and parked again. It was able to turn on after turning it off. Then I came back about 5 hours later and it started up just fine, so I figured it was just a gnome.

Now, this morning, didn't start up at all. Could not, for the life of me, bump start it, so I got another jump. Took local streets, got to class, and parked. This time, I took out the power cable for my Trail Tech speedometer because I gave it more thought and assumed that my wiring got messed up and was somehow draining the battery. Came back again less than two hours later, would not start or bump start. Got a jump, rode around for about 20 minutes, went to a hardware store (instead of going home, foolishly), and she wouldn't start at all. Got another jump, and it died when the RPM's dropped. Got yet another jump, died again as the RPM's dropped. For some reason it wouldn't start in neutral until I pulled the clutch in (I assumed this was due to a ****** kickstand safety thing, so I disabled it for now), and whenever the clutch went out it just died. Me and some strangers managed to get it running (seriously, thanks old dudes), and I rode home.

The battery is a Shorai Li-Ion, 9* months old, tops. I charged it with a tender until it was full, let it sit for a bit and tested the voltage, which came out to 12.8V. As I was charging it, I went over ALL of the wiring and fuses and couldn't find a damn thing. I thought the speedo power had a weak ground (was on one of the radiator bolts) so I spliced it to the black/yellow ground coming from the battery. I also checked the diodes on the regulator and it was fine.

After that, I hooked up the battery. I hear the solenoid click, then it cranks like normal for a second or two, and then the cranking just slowly dies off. If I start it again after that, there's just a buzzing sound from the solenoid.

I don't have any reasoning for the starter being the problem, but as for the battery, going from the FAQ, it's supposed to be at 10V when you crank it, but it fell down to about 6V. After turning the bike off, the battery just stays at about 9.8V, from a previous 12.8V.

So is it not starting because the battery doesn't have enough cranking power?

I just find this ridiculous because it was working fine, then died, then worked fine again after dying, and then just completely died.

edit: taking the car to class tomorrow for the first time since forever...

edit2: I just realized I have the original battery still. I'm charging it right now, but after sitting for about 9 months, I'm not expecting anything..

edit3: Does it matter that my commuting rides are relatively short? Local is about 15 minutes, 5 miles tops.

edit4: I found a chart that shows voltage and corresponding capacity for my battery. Immediately after charging, its at 14.8V (100% capacity on the graph). After about 20 minutes or so, the voltage drops to 12.8V (20% capacity). So at this point I'm 95% sure the battery is toast. Now, what could've caused it? The short rides? Something with the charging system frying it?

*originally put 7

[agentbad]

Well if you try the other battery and it works then there's your answer. Is the stator maybe going bad?

[fishdip]

Its your battery they some times just die. Your short rides don't help tho for any part of the bike you need to take it out and do 75mph for 30 or so min once a week.

[infinitewhiskey]

Originally Posted by agentbad

Well if you try the other battery and it works then there's your answer. Is the stator maybe going bad?

Other battery is also toast. Registering at 2V

Unless I'm wrong, since the bike is able to stay running after a jump/push start, the stator is good because it's able to keep it running.

Originally Posted by fishdip

Its your battery they some times just die. Your short rides don't help tho for any part of the bike you need to take it out and do 75mph for 30 or so min once a week.

Yeah, I agree that it's the battery. I'm leaning towards short rides as being the cause since it's the only theory I got. I bought a Shorai BMS charger to maintain the new battery (just bought another one through warranty) from now on. Can't use my trickle charger cause it's a lithium battery.