Help!Power issue.

[Omerta]

Long time lurker first time poster and of corse it has to be with a problem.

I happen to be at a wirless access Campground so I'm at least able to try and get her going before getting a ride home to get my truck.

It's a 2000 Kat 600,No modifications whatsoever.
I was out today and went for a run of about 80kms and stopped and started about 4 times during the trip.I did travel through some heavy rain for 10 minutes or so.When I got back to the campsite the bike sat for about 3 hours and I was going to go out again.She wouldn't start.

Now this is the strange thing.The clock is on all time right?But now when I turn the ignition to on the clock goes out and there is no sign of power at all.I checked the fuses by the battery box aswell as the two 30A fuses located on the left side.All are fine.
I also tried jumping her by rolling down a hill but no go.
Maybe cables and car would be my next shot.Strange a battery would die in 3 hours though.

Anyways any help or suggestion would be fantastic.

Thanks.

[steves]

Make sure the battery cables are tight.

You can try jumping from a car, just make sure that the car is off.

It might be time for a new battery.

[Omerta]

O.k.


I just got her going from a jump from a car so I guess the battery or generator is faulty.

I find it very hard to belive the battery would just die completly like that though.

Well at least I can get her home now to investigate further.

[scottynoface]

You would be amazed how quickly a battery can die...I had one die on me 2 miles from my house at a stoplight out of nowhere

[thetable]

Motorcycle batteries are little, and more heavily taxed than a car battery IMHO.

Check voltage across terminals at 5000 RPM, 13.6-14.4 volts is what Suzi says it should be.

[Enjay386]

You can get the battery checked at a local AutoZone store, that's what I had done and I believe they re-charge themselves to an extent but not being able to pop start it down a hill.. thats weird. I believe it has to be in 2nd gear to work though, which I used to confuse a lot. Hope that helps some.

[Omerta]

Well I got her home no problem.

After a boost this morning she chugged while at idle and the neutral light and other lights were blinking at the revs of the motor so it seemed as though she wasn't charging.However she did stall but I got her going again under her own power so I guess the battery received some charge.

My drive home was approximately 1hr 15mins and when I got here I shut her down and restarted about a half dozen times no problem.
So I was going to test for charge and guess what?My multi-meter is dead I left it on .So I need a new battery for that.How ironic.Because kept asking my self if the key was on the bike for those few hours.
I'm almost 100% it was off.

not being able to pop start it down a hill.. thats weird. I believe it has to be in 2nd gear to work though, which I used to confuse a lot. Hope that helps some.

Ya,I used third because I didn't have much room and I was on dirt.Didn't want to waste what little hill I had.

What I found weird was the clock ran fine but soon as the key was on it went out and there was nothing.No lights,no clock ...nothig except for a very faint click from the horn.

Now one thing I did notice while boosting the bike the first time was one of the battery terminal screws was lose but only loose like a half turn.
Would that be enough for it to lose contact??It don't seem like it would but I dunno.

Anyways I'm going to let her sit for a few hours and try it again.

Thanks everyone for your quick responses and the more experience I have with the Kat the more I'll be able to contribute to this awesome community.

[philwecksr]

Know that your Kat doesn't charge its battery while at idle, you have to get up above about 2K rpm before you start charging again. Battery might be going, but you might just need a good healthy charging (like a 6 hour highway cruise from cincinnati to the gap ) on maybe a battery tender or something of the like... Turning your brights off and going for a nice long ride might be more fun though... Just keep those rpms up.

[Omerta]

Well it's been several hours now and she's still firing up no problem.

I'm going to have to chalk it up as the battery terminal screw that was loose like Steve had mentioned.I can't think of any other thing right now.

Anyways I'll keep ya'll posted if it occurs again.