Electrical Fun...

[sdkid]

I accidentally locked the bike ('03 R11550RT) with the parking lights on for several hours...Grrrrr! Dead.

After a lot of hassles, I got it push-started (BTW--2nd gear works better than 1st). I revved the hell out of it, and rode at higher RPMs for a while to help get some juice back in the battery. My commute home is over 40 miles, and on the way, I was unable to use my radio or adjust the windshield. I figured there just was not enough juice for those luxuries, and a night on the charger would do the trick.

I get home, and put the charger on (using a connection from one of the power ports.) The charger is set at 2 amps max, and automatic. I get a good ground off the shifter, and the juice trickles in. Right when I connect the ground clamp, my radio turns on, (Yay!) and I give the windshield adjuster a try and it moves. Alright! We'll get 'er charged up, and we'll be back in business.

Next morning, the charger is giving me a green light, saying the battery is fully charged. Cool. I disconnect the leads, fire up the girl (and she starts immediately and easily), and off to work I go. I get a few blocks away, and I realize no radio. Hmmmm. I look-- the clock says 00:01. Hmmmmmm. I try the windscreen adjustment---zilch. Hmmmmmmmmm. Do I continue or go back? Lights, horn, and turn signals work. The ABS is working. I decide piss on it...I'm going to work.

After work, it fires right up IMMEDIATELY--no sense of any battery problem in starting. All lights and indicators are full brightness. The clock says 00:00 again, no radio, no windscreen adjustment. I didn't try the power grips. The ride home is great, though I am missing my radio.

I get home, get out the charger, and upon hooing up the leads, voila, the radio comes to life, and I have my windscreen adjustment back. I reach down and disconnect the ground clamp. The radio dies and the other items don't work. Back on, they work (and the charger immediately says my battery is full). All fuses are fine, btw.

My conclusions:
1. my battery is fine.
2. my charger is somehow providing juice for those accessories through some other pathway.

My Questions:
What the hell is going on???

[towerworker]

Odd, strange and curious.

Can I assume the ignition switch was off when you hooked up the charger? And does the radio normally work with the switch off?

Seems there is some mystical computer stuff going on. I had an 03 R but not certain of the electrical similarities between the R and the RT. Is there any battery or motronic/electrical reset procedure in the owners manual? I know you feel like the battery is ok but how old is the battery? From what I hear and read our R's have sensitive electrical systems to battery voltage.

[boxermania]

Sounds like a ground issue for those items which is being made when you hook up the charger. In other words, where you attach the charger ground it makes a direct path to the ground of the radio/screen that don't work with the key. Just my 2 cents.

[towerworker]

I went back and reread your post. You say you attached your charger to one of the power ports. What happens if you attach to the other one? Same thing? Seems to me that Boxermania's diagnosis is probably spot on.

I would start looking at that port and follow the path the wiring takes to the battery.

[Croc]

Just my pennies worth but I seem to remember reading somewhere that if the battery is not 100% some of the electric will work fine and other circuits will cut out. Hence when you connect up the juice all circuits run fine - disconnect the juice and some of the non-essentials cut out. Just a thought.....

Croc

[harrisphil]

sounds like a blown fuse or fuse with dirty contacts
when you connect the charger to the power port it feeds power to the opposit side of the blown fuse!

[sdkid]

sounds like a blown fuse or fuse with dirty contacts
when you connect the charger to the power port it feeds power to the opposit side of the blown fuse!

You got it exactly right. The number 3 fuse was blown, and putting the charger on the way I did simply introduced current to the dead side of the circuit.

[Croc]

Man ... the collective knowledge of this board is something....


Croc