VT1100C Dead Battery, Jump Start, Overheated.....

[Steve-O]

2004 VT1100C. 6 year old battery that has been well maintained with a Battery Tenda.
Rode from Dallas to Texomoma...about 75 miles. Rode fine up there. On the way back I stopped for lunch. Pretty sure I turned the bike off. After lunch the battery was dead.
Pushed started it, but it took awhile to get it going. Figured the battery died, but that I could get home if I never stopped.
Rode it from Whitesboro to Plano in 4th gear to see if that might charge up the battery (just in case I had left it on). It ran fine at 65mph, but sputtered if I tried to accelerate.
Got to plano and the engine temp light flickered, stayed on, then the bike backfired and died. I was just 5 miles and got it towed home (thanks progressive).
Oil and coolant levels were fine, but the temp was 105 riding back.

Any ideas on what the problem is? Battery, Stator, Altenator, Worse?

[thunderglass]

Battery.

[Lou Pietrandrea]

We have just had a flurry of discussion in here about stators, regulators batteries......and all of the problems seemed to steer toward the connector from the stator to the regulators. Start with checking it to see if it failed and allowed the battery to discharge.

Another thing may be oil level. If the oil level gets to low, it causes the stator to overheat and this would result in low output and eventually failure, but you said that all that was fine. You may need to check that your cooling system is working properly.....the fan and the flow of the coolant. I would tend to think if you were moving at 60mph that the fan not coming on would not really allow you to overheat until you came to a stop.

Check that connector first and then pull it appart to see if any of the phases are shorted together.

[Steve-O]

If I replace the battery, would it have enough juice to get me 15 miles down the road to have the stator/regulator checked out?

And what why would the battery/charging system cause overheating? Or are these two separate problems...just coincidence that they happened at the same time....kinda hard to believe I had two big problems occur on a honda at the same time....

[Lou Pietrandrea]

Originally Posted by Steve-O

If I replace the battery, would it have enough juice to get me 15 miles down the road to have the stator/regulator checked out?

And what why would the battery/charging system cause overheating? Or are these two separate problems...just coincidence that they happened at the same time....kinda hard to believe I had two big problems occur on a honda at the same time....

Answer to question 1....yes a new battery will let you go quite a few miles before it fails you without not having the stator and regulator replenish it.

Unfortunately.....I don't know if the overheating problem and the battery problem are related......I would tend to think that the overheating problem could cause a stator/ charging system problem.......but not the reverse.

Hang tight.....the smart guys will chime in soon

[SCOTTBECKOM]

My problem wound up being the connector from the stator to the voltage regulator burned out. Got some insulated butt connectors from auto parts store, changed and the problem went away.

[Steve-O]

Update: Autozone said my battery was bad but did not have a replacement.
Went to Sam's and they said my battery was good! But, it's a 6 year old battery and figured I was on borrowed time - Bought the sealed battery for $68.

Having Gonzo come over tonight to troubleshoot.....since my battery is good, it makes sense that I have a problem elsewhere.

[Lou Pietrandrea]

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Update: Autozone said my battery was bad but did not have a replacement.
Went to Sam's and they said my battery was good! But, it's a 6 year old battery and figured I was on borrowed time - Bought the sealed battery for $68.

Having Gonzo come over tonight to troubleshoot.....since my battery is good, it makes sense that I have a problem elsewhere.

Gonzo will fix it for sure.....be sure to let us know all the details.

[Steve-O]

yellow wires were burnt. soldered those.

Test indicates the stator is bad. Going to get a rectifier in case that's bad too. Already posted another question on where to buy them....

[Lou Pietrandrea]

Originally Posted by Steve-O

yellow wires were burnt. soldered those.

Test indicates the stator is bad. Going to get a rectifier in case that's bad too. Already posted another question on where to buy them....

yet another dead soldier because of those damn yellow wire connectors.....