Dead Viffer. '06 Battery Problems.

So I had the Viffer out the other day, rode around no problem. My volt meter showed the usual 12ish volts.

Tonight I get it out, and notice that the key is on hazzard, not sure how that happened. Anyway, I have zero juice, won't turn on at all. I get out the jump pack and hook it up, she starts right up. I watch the volt meter and it shows 12 volts. I take off the jumper and put it away. As I'm walking up I noticed the highbeams were on, so I turn them off, as soon as I click the switch, dead again. No juice. Pull everything out again and jump it, again it starts up. This time with it on low beam it dies the second I take off the jumper. I push it back into the garage and hook up the charger, it clicks at me a few times and shuts off. Nothing new, I've had it do this on toasted batteries before.

So my question is, what is being powered when I have it on hazard, without the hazzards on?

Second, shouldn't the bike continue to run once started even with a junk battery? Or are they different than a car? Cars I'm pretty good with, bikes I'm still learning.

Is a new battery going to fix it, or do I have bigger problems? It's 2am and I can't exactly get a battery this time of night. Knowing me though, I would if I could.

 

No one? Just checking before I go get a battery.

 

I'm waiting for an answer to your questions, too, especially the second one.

 

no battery juice = no run
unlike a car that pulls 12v from the alternator, bikes pull from the battery.
the stator just can't handle that much draw given its size.

i know the classic car trick to see if your alternator is dead or not by just pulling the + terminal off the battery while the car is running. if car dies, your alternator is shot etc...

sadly, it doesn't work that way with bikes. any time you pull the + terminal off the battery she will die.
besides, bike stators produce AC voltage. that's where the ever so important Regulator Rectifier comes in handy

get a new battery in there, fire her up, and test to make sure you're getting 13-14v at the battery. should be fine after that.

 

Chances are if you have been storing your bike for periods of time without using a battery tender or similar, along with some accidental battery abuse I wouldn't doubt that your battery is failing. I'm assuming you're on your original battery, most likely from 05 sometime. If your battery was taken care of then it may be worth taking it off your bike and charging it properly.

 

Actually, a modern car pulls charge from both the battery, and the alternator. If an alternator goes bad, as long as you are not using your headlights, or AC/heater motor, you can run your car for a good amount of time.

Also, a car's alternator produces AC current. The alternator's power output is fed through diodes, which convert the AC power to DC power.

 

right. but all internally within the alternator without the use of an external regulator rectifier.
some older american cars i do recall use a regulator. but they are far and few.