Just old Battery or Drain?

Anything to do with the 1200 'Scrambler' series
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Musclemoto
Posts: 32
Joined: 28 Oct 2011 12:50
Location: India
Location: India

Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by Musclemoto »

Hey guys i did a 200+km run on the Scrambler yest and in the evening towards the end i had to stop by and when i tried to start again the motor cranks weak. Temp was at 98 Deg but she never stalled before in hotter times. Then i push started the bike and realize its the battery! I have Ctek smart connector which displays the state of charge and it was red. I rode the bike the whole day and cant seem to understand how she can fizz out like that? When i dont ride she is always connected to a Ctek Smart Charger. I had the battery icon on the digital display showing in the day but i was enjoying the ride too much to wonder if its always there or not. When i tried to crank the display went blank, kinda reset itself and showed up a m9e or some sort of a code and my clock on the display went 00:00. The bike was picked up new last year from 3x and i hardly put any miles on it, do you think its just old battery or other things to look into?
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72degrees
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Joined: 31 Aug 2007 21:24
Location: West Midlands

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by 72degrees »

I've heard that high temperatures can be hard on conventional 'wet' lead acid batteries but I don't know if the new Morinis have those. Even 'gel' batteries can play up if subjected to heat and vibration. I had two die prematurely on the Voxan Roadster where the battery is located very close to the rear exhaust header.

First thing to try is charging up the battery again on the Ctek to see if it takes a charge OK. If it does, then if you have access to a 'multimeter' put it across the battery terminals. Check the voltage and then start the engine. The voltage should rise from 12 volts or so to 13.5 volts. If not then the charging system has a fault. If the voltage rises to a lot more than that the system is over charging which could 'boil' the battery.

On my Voxan the battery just shorted out internally. This was intermittent at first. You could switch on and everyhthing was fine. Switch off and back on and there were no elctrics at all.

With luck a new battery will cure it. A Gilera owner in Nigeria reckons the extra expense of a Hawker Odyssey is worth it in hot climates.
Musclemoto
Posts: 32
Joined: 28 Oct 2011 12:50
Location: India
Location: India

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by Musclemoto »

Thanks for the info 72degrees.

Firstly the batt was recharged and is holding a charge. I start the engine and the multimeter stays at around 12.06 V. Im not sure if this is the charging voltage, which i feel should be definitely more if it has to charge the batt. Secondly, the Ctek smart connector indicator light is orange when the bike is running which means that the battery is below optimal charge, when it has to be green. This is directing towards the rectifier. Also the engine idle is some what not stable but im not sure of this though. What do you think?

I will look for a Odyssey batt once this issue is resolved and when changing the batt.
MickeyMoto
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Joined: 22 Nov 2008 17:41
Location: Even further oop North

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by MickeyMoto »

In my experience, the voltage across the battery should rise when the engine starts, I have seen 13 to 14 volts when the engine revs rise. 12.06 loks like the battery voltage and therefore you aren't getting a charging current.
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72degrees
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Location: West Midlands

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by 72degrees »

Alas it sounds like a charging system issue. It could be just a loose or burnt connection Italian electrics !) somewhere rather than a faulty rectifier/regulator or failed stator coils. You need to do some more tests to be certain but it needs the diagnostics for the new bikes which hopefully someone on here can advise on. Poor idling might be linked but I know nothing about the modern Morinis. Someone who knows may be along soon.
John Bunting
Posts: 104
Joined: 25 Nov 2009 13:36
Location: Kano Nigeria

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by John Bunting »

Here in Africa with the high temperatures battery's don't last, a normal zero maintenance battery lasts about a year max and can fail without warning, I have had to bump start a bike on a ride out after stopping for a break.
I have since used Hawker Odyssey which though costly has now been in use 4 years, I have more recently (9Months) used MotoBatt which area lot cheaper and have just bought 2 new ones for other bikes to save me swapping them around :roll: battery's and number plates on and off like prostitutes pants :lol:
John
Musclemoto
Posts: 32
Joined: 28 Oct 2011 12:50
Location: India
Location: India

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by Musclemoto »

Now, i hope the Morini factory has an online link up to diagnose my bike as im in India or i would have to buy the VDST software diagnostics kit which is expensive. Im sure they can figure an online link up with a client software and an adaptor cable that can hook up my pc/mac with the bike (wishful thinking). I have to email 3x and the factory now. I will also try to check for any loose contacts around the wiring but unless i know where the issue is i cant look for it :(
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72degrees
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Location: West Midlands

Re: Just old Battery or Drain?

Post by 72degrees »

As you have a multimeter, all you may need is the recommended resistances and voltages measured at the regulator/rectifier connections and the stator coils. That may be in the workshop manual if you can get hold of one - possibly on-line.
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