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Old October 22nd, 2022, 06:53 AM   #1
Apex
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Name: Mark
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Exclamation Electrical issue on the Z125

I'm posting this here because it could apply to the ninja at some point.


The Z is tiny and it doesn't go over bumps smoothly due to the weight. Still, I love riding the thing.

I was having an issue on my way home from work last week where the bike would die, the display went blank and the neutral and hi beam indicators went dim. It always happened at after a bump.

My brain thought: short or loose ground.

Kicked on again and got me going. Happened several times before it really died. Luckily I was by a side street to a highway and got out of traffic easily. I poured over the bike and found zero shorts, loose connections, or rubbed wires.

Tried again after a couple of minutes of searching and it was working. Weird. Started it up and got the bike rolling, it died before I got out of the little parking lot I was in. Took more panels off and searched. Got to and pulled the ECU, lightly re-seated the connection, came back on.

Threw my leg over it. At this point, I had been fighting it for an hour. Got it rolling. As I drove down I hit major traffic. An accident. Not what I wanted or needed. U-turned and took a detour. 25 min into the detour it completely died. Messed with it, but no luck. Just gone, zero power. A friend towed me back. At this point it is after 8 pm, I left work at 3:30.

Searched and found nothing obvious that next day. Talked to the dealer, he said he never heard of any issue like that before from the Z. We kept talking and he suggested to check the main ground, as the ground would totally do that. He just said that he had never even heard of a Z needed an ECU replaced for anything even remotely like this. I decided to hold off on swapping an ECU.


Looked at the bike and had a thought. When I got it, it has <600 miles on it. It started shifting badly from 1st to 2nd. I changed the oil because I was like it wouldn't be surprising if the original owner never changed it due to low miles. Changed it and it shifted beautifully.

So I looked at the battery. Probably the same battery that came with the bike in 2018. Pulled it and had it load tested.
1st test: 50% capacity
He twisted the battery around some while we were talking and mentioned he'd run another test.
2nd test: 0%

We both said the battery looked like it was a goner. Picked up a new one, added the fluids and put it on a charger overnight.

Tossed it into the bike and twisted the key, the display ran its initialization process. Shook the bike hard, zero issues

Took it to work, zero issues.


Just wanted to throw this out there just in case you have the same problem come up. Never hurts to check the battery if you can't find an electrical problem!

New ECU was $450 and was not the issue. Battery was $50 and was the issue. It had shorted internal plates, and that is what killed it.
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Old October 22nd, 2022, 11:59 AM   #2
CaliGrrl
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I had an electrical problem, too, and mine was also the battery. I'd turn on the key, all the right lights came on, hit the starter, and everything would go dead. I was advised it was the battery, and they were right. Replaced it, zero problems.
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Old October 26th, 2022, 02:47 PM   #3
dcj13
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Question for both Mark and Kerry:
What type of battery were you using?
Regular old-fashioned flooded lead acid (FLA)? Or absorbed glass mat (AGM)? Or something else?
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Old October 26th, 2022, 09:52 PM   #4
CaliGrrl
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My dead one was lead-acid. It was replaced with a solid state battery.
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Old October 27th, 2022, 07:42 AM   #5
Apex
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Factory battery, replaced with factory level replacement. Should have used a better one, but I just needed to get it on the road again! ��
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Old October 27th, 2022, 08:12 AM   #6
DannoXYZ
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Yuasa batteries, frequently used by OEMs, can last as long as 10-yrs. Once upon a time...

QA and QC has slipped on those too apparently. Now you're lucky to get 3-5 yrs from one...
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Old November 15th, 2022, 01:47 PM   #7
Bob KellyIII
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Yes a GOOD battery is essential for operation of the ignition system !
on my Triumph which I had just replaced the points with an electronic ignition system it plainly stated it needed NO LESS than 11.vdc to operate....
that means if you have an electric start and your battery is questionable
when you hit the starter and draw down the battery past 11 volts your spark plugs will not fire ! it won't even pop !
I ran into that problem on the 2012 Ninja 250R... the battery was weak
I could start it fine usually but if I had to try and start it 2 or 3 times it would not start at all....the starter would spin it but not super fast but sense the electronic ignition needs higher voltage the spark plugs would not fire....
and I pulled the sparkplugs to verify that there was no spark !!!!!
.... I hooked up the charger and had all kinds of spark !
so I replaced the battery....
the weird thing is the starter will still crank the motor over fairly good....good enough to start it.... but without spark it ain't going to start !
.... so it's a new way of thinking you have to do now days !
...... makes you wish for kick starts on these bikes now days Uh ?!?!?!
....
Bob........
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Old November 15th, 2022, 04:06 PM   #8
Triple Jim
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My first Yuasa was around 1978, and I never found that they last any longer than any of the others. In recent years I've used inexpensive generic AGM alarm batteries and they last at least 3 or 4 years. The one in my Moto Guzzi went over 6 years, starting its 1000cc twin.
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Old November 15th, 2022, 05:50 PM   #9
Bob KellyIII
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LOL... Back in the 70's and 80's a bike battery was good for one year Max !
you couldn't buy a battery that would last longer so I just started buying K-Mart batteries. but through the years I have noticed many will last 2 or 3 years if you keep them topped off with demineralized water....(not tap water)
... I bought a AGM battery and it lasted as long as the bike did for my Honda 1100 shadow.... while I lived in Shingletown, Ca. and we had 3' of snow there !
.... and the battery was good till the Ranch fire which melted the bike ! the cooling fins on both cylinders were drooping down front hub was a puddle and many other parts simply melted off the bike.... like all the rest ! the clutch basket was exposed because the side plate melted too.... and it was parked about 30' from the house...... it got real REAL hot ! it takes 1200 degrees to melt that aluminum .... as I recycled many old Honda 90 side cases in my forge
and made aluminum billets to work with on the 3 in1 lathe I had at the time !
.... I still haven't replaced the battery in the TT250 that barely holds a charge
but it does have a kick starter on it...so it's not dire and desperate LOL.
....
Bob......
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