Starter / Battery problem ? ? ?

Finally got round to getting the old girl back on the road after winter.Charged the battery put some petrol in and away she went.Rode round the block a few times and was getting 14.5 on the volt meter . . .great. Noticed the lights were off so flicked them on and got 13.5 . . . strange. Should be 14.5 it was last summer.
Saw my buddy and stopped for a chat , then to start her up after and nothing . Everything went out and clock reset.Can't recall if the relay clicked but didn't spin the starter that's for sure. Switched off then on and volt meter read 12.7 pressed start and the same everything goes out clock resets. Switch off and back on 12.7 and she finally started.My buddy said it may be because I haven't used it.
So a few laps of the block and only getting 13.5 with lights on when it was 14.5 solid last summer.
I love the old girl and am worried she's not well.Battery. . .Starter solenoid . . Why the charging voltage drop? ? ?

 

I'd say you probably need a new battery, Lord Vader. In my experience an ageing battery will start well when cold, but fail when hot.

 

Thanks for the replys, I've bought a new battery and now she starts almost immediately.
I've never had a bike start so quickly.Just she's charging at 13.5 with the lights on instead of 14.5 Last summer.That's confusing me ? ? ? A 1 volt drop due to lights is that about right ?

 

Is that at 5000 RPM? Test at 5000 RPM ... if it's not holding around 14.2 to 14.8 then you may have a charging issue.

Mine holds at 14.2 with heated grips and vest on while at 5000 RPM.

 

Cheers Jeff, it charges at 14.5 at idle and at 5000 rpm with the lights off , but with the lights on (side and then full) it's only managing 13.5.

 

Ok ... so it sounds like your charging system is working, but the wiring / connectors are not ideal if it's only managing 13.5v @ 5000RPM with the lights on.

You will want want to go through your wiring to look for oxidization in the connectors, and correct / beef it up. Please see my Electrical Load thread: http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/50566-Electrical-Loads

This should improve your situation drastically.

 

And if you haven't already done it get rid of the connector between the rec/reg and the stator

 

I just doubled up the connection on mine and used high quality bullets so that if I have to replace the stator or RR on a trip, I don't need a soldering iron.

 

Thanks for the replies I really appreciate it. I thought I'd seen the end of all this electricity crap.
I've soldered the stator to the replaced R1 r/r and fitted the vfrness and it worked great last summer charging at 14.5 with the lights on so why now only 13.5 after a winter of sitting in the garage unused? ? ?
Don't want to get rid as its a great bike just don't need the hassle .I wanna be concentrating on the roads not the volt meter. Going to check for corrosion as this is the likely cause I think / hope.

 

I'm wondering if it may be a battery issue, do you have another battery you could put in to see if you get a different reading

 

I agree it could be the battery, though you said you just got a new battery.

That said, I only have to do wiring once and everything is good. The VFRness still has connectors - liberally apply di-electric grease if you're not soldering them.

 

Thanks for the replay especially Jeff, cheers .
I think /hope I've discovered the problem on the 4 spade connector going into the vfrness from the r/r .
One of the spades had pushed back instead of pushing into the female connector on the vfrness.This meant I only had 2 greens and 1 red connected.I pushed it back in and the fired her up.
14.6 at 2000 -5000 with lights off,14.3 at 2000 -5000 with lights on ,high beam on and indicators all on.
So I thing that was the cause. Just need to make a new lead up and hopefully she's sorted.

 

BAM! Nicely done ... those numbers look good!