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No Juice. New Battery

2K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  lonnier1820 
#1 ·
So i have a 2004 VTX1300 S. I bought new NEVER ANY issues. Just bought a new battery a month ago (seemed weak starting) and keep it on trickle. Took it out yesterday for a long ride about 80 miles and take a break, buddy says your front blinker bulb is out. I have one and change it and even though i had a hard time seating the bulb correctly i check it and it seems fine. We get set to go and no power to the bike at all (dead) like WTF. So, remove the bulb within a minute of playing around all of the sudden power returns, leave bulb out drive all day get home. Go get new bulbs today and replace, test, start bike check it seems fine. Go to put back in garage DEAD no power to anything. All battery connections Tight, all fuses perfect, led lights turn on Connected direct to battery and have back on trickle even thought it was running ten minutes ago. Sorry for the long story any thoughts??? alternator ? ignition?

Thanks,
Dan
 
#6 ·
So...the OLD battery is weak and still in the bike and you're losing power?? Then it's time to replace that battery with your new one. Motorcycles don't charge batteries like cars. At idle you actually drain a little bit of power. So if you removed a light, that was just enough to keep the battery alive while you rode around. When you parked it, the battery died
 
#8 ·
Okay, well, if that is so. One needs to look at the manual.
Follow the power cables.
Check your main connector, might be fried.
Negative cable may be corroded.
Also might look and see what is not factory and is connected to power and grounds.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Also, do the ground fix.
GOOD LUCK....
 
#14 ·
There is a 30 amp fuse in the cap of the Starter Relay-- Inspect. Check battery connections. Sometimes some battery bolts are too long. Inspect.. Plus Voltage to Starter Relay--.
There are pictures in the How to Step by Step 1300 section. A voltmeter is handy. . Battery test---Verify transmission is in Neutral. Put a screwdriver across the battery cable and the Starter motor relay. Some sparks and engine should crank..
 
#12 · (Edited)
There is a 30 amp fuse in the cap of the Starter Relay-- Inspect. Check battery connections. Sometimes some battery bolts are too long. Inspect.. Plus Voltage to Starter Relay--.
There are pictures in the How to Step by Step 1300 section. A voltmeter is handy. . Battery test---Verify transmission is in Neutral. Put a screwdriver across the battery cable and the Starter motor relay. Some sparks and engine should crank..
 
#13 ·
There is a 30 amp fuse in the cap of the Starter Relay-- Inspect. Check battery connections. Sometimes some battery bolts are too long. Inspect.. Plus Voltage to Starter Relay--.
There are pictures in the How to Step by Step 1300 section. A voltmeter is handy. . Battery test---Verify transmission is in Neutral. Put a screwdriver across the battery cable and the Starter motor relay. Some sparks and engine should crank..1300 diagrams for Charging, Starting, Ignition, Cooling System
Sir!
 
#18 ·
That is the 3 pin connector going to the ignition/key switch. Not a completely uncommon problem and usually related to adding electrical equipment to the existing circuits creating an overload. So if you do have extras I'd consider not running them on existing circuits. Inside the connector are 2 parallel blade/flat connectors, one is 12V from the battery thru the main 30A fuse and should have power ALL the time, goes thru the connector to the key switch, the other is 12V coming out of the the key switch when the key is turned on going out everywhere on the bike except the fan. The 3rd connector is perpendicular to the others and powers only the fan. If you want to hot wire the bike you just short the 3 female pins in the connector, couple of paper clips work, and power is everywhere without the key. A tip if you lose your key or break it off in the tank. People that replace the seat bolts with pins are literally about 5 seconds away from losing the bike.

You need to get a 3 pin connector capable of at least 30 amps, snip off all that bad looking stuff, strip back the 6 wires appropriate for your new connector, and install the connector. I'd also verify you are getting 12V direct via the 30A fuse from the battery, key does not need to be on. Looks like you had some shorting going on there and it might have taken out the main 30A fuse.
 
#19 ·
Looking online something like below would work well. Don't have a bike so can't check but seems like those wires are about 12ga.

Below is a pigtail I carried on trips in case something happened to my key in the middle of nowhere. Works the same as a key plugged into the female side of the connector.
Wire Electric blue Cable Event Electronics accessory
 
#21 ·
Good find but not what you wanted to see, right? But at least it is not some mystery that you cannot solve.
The electrician in me says to fix it right and wire in a new connector. One that can handle the amperage to avoid this exact same problem in the future.
If you have electrical skills, this fix should be trivial. If not, ask a buddy. Offer a six-pack. (provide it AFTER he wires it up, LOL)
Let us know how you make out!
 
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