Electrical Woes In My New '07

[wolfc70]

I wonder if some '07's have bad batteries, as mine has been suspect too. Mine will barely start if I let it sit for more than 3-4 days. I did BD's headlight mod too, but it acted up before I did the mod. I called the dealer and they did not seem shocked that the battery is weak, just said to bring it in and i will get a new one. My bike was uncrated in February and sat on the Optimate III charger till the weather got nice. The charger always indicated my battery was "weak". I thought that it was do to the cold weather, but now I am sure it is the battery.

If if disconnect the ground and let it sit for three days, the battery voltage is 11.1 volts. So I wonder if a bad batch of batteries got sent out.

 

[wolfc70]

Got a new battery, and what a difference. Now the bike cranks over with vigor!! Dealer was excellent, just gave me a new one, no questions asked, well he tested it and said it was marginal at best. Hope you get yours resolved quickly.

 

[kerpal]

Got a new battery, and what a difference. Now the bike cranks auto body part over with vigor!! Dealer was excellent, just gave me a new one, no questions asked, well he tested it and said it was marginal at best. Hope you get yours resolved quickly.

What was the problem with yours bro? I changed my batteries too

 

[wolfc70]

What was the problem with yours bro? I changed my batteries too

If it sat for three to four days it would not have enough juice to start. I constantly had the thing on a charger. I think I just got a bad battery as the new one makes the bike start almost instantly, and it cranks over much faster.:Flash:

 

[Spike1423]

I am currently experiencing the same problem. I have an 07 with 4800 miles (daily driven). As luck would have it, as soon as the warranty went out, I had charging problems. I was told by the service department that my likely problem was the battery. I purchased a new one and installed it myself. A week later I was left stranded with a dead battery. This happened after riding around town. I am scheduled to take my bike back to Yamaha a week from now. Gonna cost a flat fee of $75 to tell me what's wrong.

 

[Zebratounge]

Has anyone noticed if you put down the kickstand while the motor is running it shuts off but the headlights stay on. I do not not know if the lights stay on if you stall the motor but they may. then you would be trying to restart with the lights on. This would be a drain on the battery.
Go and try it.

 

[Boneman]

Has anyone noticed if you put down the kickstand while the motor is running it shuts off but the headlights stay on. I do not not know if the lights stay on if you stall the motor but they may. then you would be trying to restart with the lights on. This would be a drain on the battery.
Go and try it.

Well if that's the case, then just turn you key off, then back on again to get the headlights to turn out before re-starting.

As for a stall, dude if your bike can't start after the 2.3 seconds it should take you to pull in your clutch and thumb the starter, then you battery is garbage and should be replaced!! Besides your bike should be able to start with having the lights on with no problems. I've had my lights on for over 15min while trouble shooting some mod wiring and it started up just fine. This should not be an issue for your bike.

 

[AJ Babaganoosh]

Let me add my name to the list here. Bought an 07 new in November. Had no problems until 13 Apr 08. It was the 2nd day of the MSF rider course and I had been doing a moderate amount of starting and stopping for 3 hours or so. I was not leaving the key on while stopped and not running hi beams. I got back on the bike and it wouldn't start. Just got the clicking sound. The display died and the engine light came on briefly. I got the bike started by pushing it off and left it running for the rest of the course (@2 hours) after which, I took it directly to the dealership. It would not start there. They tested the "stator" and the "rectifier" which were ok then left the battery on charge overnight. They told me it was not a bad battery, it just needed to be charged. The instructor of the course, who happens to be the manager of the dealership, said he had seen this happen several times in the MSF course because of all the stopping and starting. I haven't had any problems since but it hasn't even been 2 weeks so we will see. I did have bd43's headlight mod installed and the bike had about 2750 miles.

 

[Beknatok]

Just to update everyone, the dealership said they couldn't find anything wrong with the battery. I retook possession of it, and armed with some new knowledge that I'd gleaned from the various forums, checked the voltage of the battery upon receipt (14v) and have been keeping tabs on it since. I had the FZ6 out on Saturday for a few hours, and the voltage dropped ever-so-slightly. I'm going to continue to monitor it (thank goodness for those battery tender wiring harnesses).

The dealership also did recommend that I bring my bike in and they would check the electrical system's output, which I'll probably do as well (once I get some free time) just to make sure.

 

[Spike1423]

I got my bike back from Yamaha. Only cost me $75 bucks to learn what I already new (thanks to this forum). I was told there was nothing wrong with my charging system.

I was having problems after riding around town with my high beams on. My battery would end up dead. My engine light would come on at idle speed, and would turn off after picking up speed. I bought a new battery and still had problems. I thought I had a bad altnenator or regulator/rectifier. I scheduled an apointment to have the system checked.

I found this forum and learned that my Idle speed was way too low. It had been around 800 ish. Being that cars operate around this speed, I thought this was normal. I bumped up my idle to 1100 rpms. I had installed two 100 watt after market bulbs after buying the new battery. I learned that during Idle, even with the 1100 rpms, the two 100 watt bulbs were too much for the system during idle and were drawing power strait from the battery. I was told not to turn on my high beams until I reached an RPM of 2k or above. So I now turn on my highs when cruising and off at traffic lights. I reinstalled my old battery and my bike has had no new issues after knowing the ins and outs of the charging system. :Flash:

anyone interested in a new battery

 

[Beknatok]

I got my bike back from Yamaha. Only cost me $75 bucks to learn what I already new (thanks to this forum). I was told there was nothing wrong with my charging system.

I was having problems after riding around town with my high beams on. My battery would end up dead. My engine light would come on at idle speed, and would turn off after picking up speed. I bought a new battery and still had problems. I thought I had a bad altnenator or regulator/rectifier. I scheduled an apointment to have the system checked.

I found this forum and learned that my Idle speed was way too low. It had been around 800 ish. Being that cars operate around this speed, I thought this was normal. I bumped up my idle to 1100 rpms. I had installed two 100 watt after market bulbs after buying the new battery. I learned that during Idle, even with the 1100 rpms, the two 100 watt bulbs were too much for the system during idle and were drawing power strait from the battery. I was told not to turn on my high beams until I reached an RPM of 2k or above. So I now turn on my highs when cruising and off at traffic lights. I reinstalled my old battery and my bike has had no new issues after knowing the ins and outs of the charging system. :Flash:

anyone interested in a new battery

Interesting. I did boost my idle up to about 1350-1400 right before I had the second failure. Did some more riding last night and checked the battery voltage again and noticed that it had dropped a hint again. Aside from the dual headlight mod, I have nothing else that would cause additional strain on my electrical system and know many others in the forum have piled on electrical accessories like crazy. That, and I ride with very high RPMs, so the occasional stop 'n go shouldn't really be too bad I'd think?

I'm going to continue monitoring my voltage, and may spring for a high-end battery if it continues to wither. Time will tell.