K100LT died dead!!! Mystery!! Need advice!

[gadwal]

Can't figure this one out; hoping for some idea's from the forum. :dunno
Three beautiful days on the Blue Ridge, just me & wife; weather, wife & bike perfect. Stop for lunch; then load up & hit starter; absolutely nothing, not a sound, no lights, no horn, no starter, no nothing!!! Turned iginitiion off & then back on; then all lights came on, idiot lights bright, hit starter & all lights go out and slight hum (faint) comes from somewhere beneath tank and/or seat; plus the tachometer begins climbing up scale. Turned it off fearing I would burn something up. Checked everything that I could without getting under the tank. All indications were, that the battery (2 week old Wesco sealed) had gone bad, and I might have been running past 2 hours on the altanator alone. Thought if I could get it stsrted, I could run on the altanator 30 miles back to our lodging. Called the nearest service 17 miles away and they came($40.00) with a booster pack. Hooked booster to the battery and the friggin think started & ran like new.
Rode it in 3rd & 4th all the way back to condo to build the battery back up; then when we got back I turned it off and then tried to restart; the very same sequence of events...No starter, no lights, tachometer trying to climb.
I just got it back home (trailer) and have not had time to start looking for the problem, and don't know where to look anyway!!!
I need some help!!!

[cjack]

Can't figure this one out; hoping for some idea's from the forum. :dunno
Three beautiful days on the Blue Ridge, just me & wife; weather, wife & bike perfect. Stop for lunch; then load up & hit starter; absolutely nothing, not a sound, no lights, no horn, no starter, no nothing!!! Turned iginitiion off & then back on; then all lights came on, idiot lights bright, hit starter & all lights go out and slight hum (faint) comes from somewhere beneath tank and/or seat; plus the tachometer begins climbing up scale. Turned it off fearing I would burn something up. Checked everything that I could without getting under the tank. All indications were, that the battery (2 week old Wesco sealed) had gone bad, and I might have been running past 2 hours on the altanator alone. Thought if I could get it stsrted, I could run on the altanator 30 miles back to our lodging. Called the nearest service 17 miles away and they came($40.00) with a booster pack. Hooked booster to the battery and the friggin think started & ran like new.
Rode it in 3rd & 4th all the way back to condo to build the battery back up; then when we got back I turned it off and then tried to restart; the very same sequence of events...No starter, no lights, tachometer trying to climb.
I just got it back home (trailer) and have not had time to start looking for the problem, and don't know where to look anyway!!!
I need some help!!!

So what is the battery voltage when you turn on the key and there are no lights, etc. without trying to start the bike?
If the battery is at 12.5 or whatever, then look to the starter brushes.

If the battery is 9 volts or something, then look to the battery. I would say that the alternator would be ok since you were able to ride a ways after the booster pack start.

[PacWestGS]

Two week old battery?

Check to make sure it is connected well at the terminals, good ground and all.

I'd be suspect that the battery is bad; never pre-charged, or lacking something inside. Something inside could have fried causing a cold voltage of normal and a load voltage of something less than needed.

Good luck hope you find the problem...

[gadwal]

So what is the battery voltage when you turn on the key and there are no lights, etc. without trying to start the bike?
If the battery is at 12.5 or whatever, then look to the starter brushes.

If the battery is 9 volts or something, then look to the battery. I would say that the alternator would be ok since you were able to ride a ways after the booster pack start.

Starter brushes sounds reasonable, since the battery is new; was preped properly; installed correctly; all connections clean & tight, and shows almost 13 volts before attempting to start; I now think the battery is not the problem.

The tachometer issue worries me. Would starter brushes cause the tachometer to start reading up & down from 0 to 1500rpm each time the starter button is depressed????

Any other idea's???

[DarkCloud]

I'd check the ground wire on the battery. The K100 has a very light gauge wire for the ground that may have broken. The next thing would be the load shedding relay.

[Kayseventyfive]

You guys are making me want a voltmeter.

[cjack]

The tachometer issue worries me. Would starter brushes cause the tachometer to start reading up & down from 0 to 1500rpm each time the starter button is depressed????

Any other idea's???

Yes, that symptom bothered me too.
There is an upgrade on the battery neg lead. The first one was a thin 12 gauge or some such, and I wondered about the wires.

[gadwal]

Big 30ah Westco battery. Two (2) months old, purchased August this year for $99.00 :deal ??

Carried it to AutoZone today and had them test it. Test result-BAD BATTERY!!! I called Westco, but of course they are closed on Saturday. I will call them Monday to see how good their waranty is. :mad

[cjack]

Big 30ah Westco battery. Two (2) months old, purchased August this year for $99.00 :deal ??

Carried it to AutoZone today and had them test it. Test result-BAD BATTERY!!! I called Westco, but of course they are closed on Saturday. I will call them Monday to see how good their waranty is. :mad

If you bought it at a dealer, the dealer can just give you a new one and MK Battery (Wesco) replaces it to them.

[gadwal]

Living half way between hell & no where; there are no Westco dealers. I called Westco's 800# and ordered direct. I do not anticipate a problem, just down time waiting for replacement.

I thank all of you for your advise, opinions, suggestions and support.

[DarkCloud]

Living half way between hell & no where; there are no Westco dealers. I called Westco's 800# and ordered direct. I do not anticipate a problem, just down time waiting for replacement.

I thank all of you for your advise, opinions, suggestions and support.

My local Auto Zone and Advanced Auto can't test motorcycle and other small batteries Kentucky must rate ahead of Indiana in technology. T&B motorcycles at Linton, IN carries Westco Batteries. I tried the smaller 23 AMP Westco in my K100 at Cjack's suggestion and had great luck with it. Easier to install than the big battery.

[kbasa]

You guys are making me want a voltmeter.

You really can't do any kind of electrical stuff without one. The first item in any electrical troubleshooting is "check to ensure the battery is fully charged and in good order".

[gadwal]

I didn't know that T&B were still in business. Are they there full time and if so, can you give me a phone #. I checked Westco's website for dealers and found 3 or 4 in Indiana; plus the dealer in Louisville, but they didn't show T&B as a dealer for their batteries. I might drive up there and swap out old for new, if they have them in stock.

[cjack]

I didn't know that T&B were still in business. Are they there full time and if so, can you give me a phone #. I checked Westco's website for dealers and found 3 or 4 in Indiana; plus the dealer in Louisville, but they didn't show T&B as a dealer for their batteries. I might drive up there and swap out old for new, if they have them in stock.

They still to motorcycle work, although they are no longer a BMW dealer. Their ph# in the 1984 dealer book is 812-847-7791. See if that works.
It comes up on reverse ph# lookup...

http://www.whitepages.com/10001/search/ReversePhone?phone=812-847-7791

[cjack]

You really can't do any kind of electrical stuff without one. The first item in any electrical troubleshooting is "check to ensure the battery is fully charged and in good order".

I have noticed that sometimes, and with the AGM batteries in particular, a faulty battery will appear to charge up to voltage and recover to a proper voltage after a big drain like the starter. But while trying to start the bike, the voltage will go quite low. To maybe between 6 and 9 volts. So voltage at rest is not the whole story. This used to mean a high impedance cell. I don't know what it means on an AGM, maybe the same or just severly reduced capacity from sulfation, etc.
A good clipon DC ammeter is great to have too. Although they are somewhat expensive.

[gadwal]

Jack, this battery (WestCo 12v/30) initially tested 12.8V, and then dropped to less than one (1) volt @ .22 under load, and it was less than 2 months old. I'll try one more before I write them off. :dunno

[cjack]

Jack, this battery (WestCo 12v/30) initially tested 12.8V, and then dropped to less than one (1) volt @ .22 under load, and it was less than 2 months old. I'll try one more before I write them off. :dunno

You should be ok. I have seen/heard of few bad ones.

[gadwal]

:twirl
"WestCo" sent a new replacement battery and had UPS pick up the old (2 months) one.
New battery installed and the K bike is happy again.

I still don't know why this 2 month old battery stranded me at a resturant in the Blue Ridge mountains.
I have read that sealed batteries give no warning when something is going wrong, and this is the exact case here. Stopped for a photo opp and all was fine; stopped for lunch 30 mins later and it was dead as door nail. :confused: :dunno