No Start - Buzzing Question

[larcklorn]

This weekend I was out with a friend doing a quick 4 hour ride. About half way through we pulled over for break. During the ride I had the following going on:

1) Hand warmers on up until 10 minutes before stop.
2) Smartphone plugged in through USB power supply and playing tunes.
3) Bright lights on.

When we stopped I left my phone charged in and playing some music through my helmet and the brights on. Not thinking we would be there too long I did not turn the ignition over to off.

The question: During a 10-15 minute stop - is that enough to cause my battery to not have enough charge to turn over the engine? The instrument panel and everything lit up as usual, but when you hit the starter it would buzz and then reset itself.

Luckly - this guy was so easy to push start. Thoughts? Is it ok for a longer ride this weekend down to Georgia (8 hour trip).

 

[LVNeptune]

That might indicate a battery going out. You definately shouldn't be pulling enough juice to drain it not to start. Not sure on the pull from the brights but it still shouldn't have done that

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Good thinking of push starting, believe it or not, some people don't even realize that this is an option. Your battery will draw a negative charge unless it's running over 4000 rpms. With heated grips and a 12v charger for your tunes, I'm not surprised. Doesn't take long for you to drain your battery if you turn your bike off leaving the ignition on because your lights are still on.

 

[Black_Cirrus]

I'd be wondering if the battery is getting old/weak. Or my understanding is the FZ6 doesn't have much extra juice maybe get a gauge and keep an eye on it the your not over drawing the system.

 

[LVNeptune]

Good thinking of push starting, believe it or not, some people don't even realize that this is an option. Your battery will draw a negative charge unless it's running over 4000 rpms. With heated grips and a 12v charger for your tunes, I'm not surprised. Doesn't take long for you to drain your battery if you turn your bike off leaving the ignition on because your lights are still on.

He said he turned the grips off. it was just the brites + phone charging

 

[larcklorn]

Right - grips were off by this point and this battery is a new Interstate that is less than two months old. Hopefully, it was just the fact that I was letting it use up too much while it was sitting still. Good to know about the over 4000rpm's though - didnt realize that. What type of guage would you recommend?

 

[Motogiro]

Motorcycle batteries don't have much headroom. The FZ6 doesn't have the greatest charging system. As Vegas said you need RPMs up for charging especially with the higher current device such as heater grips. If you're putting around town you're not getting enough charge if you're using grips and added device usage. An Ipod/MP3 and phone or GPS are not high current devices but can help tax the system. When you've hit the kill switch to stop the motor on the FZ6 the headlamps stay on. If you shut the bike off using the key the headlamps turn off and you save valuable current stored in the battery and when you restart the bike the headlamps don't draw current until the motor starts. Yamaha did this headlamp switching to give the starter more cranking current. Whether you use your kill switch or not, get in the habit of turning the key to off.
I bet you'll be okay for the trip....

 

[larcklorn]

Good summary - thanks again to all of you for reaching out and answering the question.

 

[mnuttall87]

I know from my experience working at an auto parts store for a bit that the motorcycle batteries require a minimum charging time before they are supposed to be used as well. Irrespective of whether you did this (or the shop you got it from did this) or not, it could be useful to have them do a quick battery test on it to make sure you didn't get a bad one. At 2 months old most places would still honor a full warranty on it.

 

[FIZZER6]

10-15 min with your highbeams on? That's pulling around 110 Watts to the headlights alone, would not take long to run down a small capacity motorcycle battery like that.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

At this point, I'd charge it overnight and do a load test on it. That'll confirm if the battery is still good or not.

Most automotive shops / Walmart will check it for free.

My local shop won't replace a battery under warranty unless its fully charged and fails a load test..

+1 on turning off at the key. Your just putting unnecessary extra wear and tear on the battery for no reason leaving the lights on. Your not only drawing from both head lights (as noted above) but the front running lights, rear light, tag light, etc....