Topic: headlight blows, battery dead...what's going on???

[Andrew Foss]

hey all,
took my bike on the first long trip (philadelphia, PA to otis, MASS). the ride up was fine, but about 3 dayis into my vaction, my battery was dead. The bike kickstarted and ran fine, no problem. so i rode back to connecticut (rents house) and the one time i would have to ride at night (from danbury to new milford) the headlight blows as soon as i give the bike some juice, so i switch the light so that only the high beam works and point it down as far as i can, and that blows about 1/2 mile later. the battery is still dead. i since blew 2 more bulbs (and wasted some money). it just keeps getting brighter as you rev up then blows. i ended up taking a bus back to philly, and left the bike in my parent's garage. so i was planning on trying to figure out a few possibilities, getting some parts and then trying to get up there and ride it back....who's got some ideas for me???
-andrew

[dusterdude]

andrew,hate to say it dude,but you messed up when you crossed into mass.

[TwoTired]

Not a lot of real data to go on.

But, maybe the battery went dry on a cell, and the bike's Vreg is stuck on high alternator output.

Contradictory remarks:
Battery dead-engine runs fine.

A truely dead battery won't fire the spark plugs.

Bring some distilled water with you to the bike and a voltmeter.  Might need a new battery.

Cheers,

[StevieMac]

I'm thinking it's possibly over charging and boiled away all your battery fluid hence dead battery.  Blown headlight because too much power is going to it when rpms increase.

As always,  I could be completely and totally wrong.

[Andrew Foss]

two tired-
i know that the bike won't run with a dead batt. when i first had it i had a nearly dead battery and if i dropped rpm or even turned on a blinker it would stall. i just mean the there is very little juice in it. the battery is only about 5 months (and say, 2500 miles) old; so though i may need a new battery because i fried this one somehow, i dont think that the battery itself is the source of the problem.

stevie mac-
this is what i am thinking too.

i did not have any time to really check the bike out (but i did have enough to accidentally drop my headlight glass and smash it -DOH!). I had to catch a bus back to philly so i could get to work today. i will call my brother and ask hime to pull the battery and look at the fluid level (which i did check before i left philly and it was just below the 'max' line on all cells).

if the fluid is low, then something is throwing too much juice out in the charging system(or would it be something else?). where do i start with that? should i just get a new voltage regulator and put it in to be on the safe side (it is kind of a one shot deal cause ill have to fix it and ride back either the same day or the next) or could something else be causing the battery to lose fluid? i have a manual, but i am having trouble diagnosing anything with it. also, no other bulbs are blowing but all get brighter with rpms-it is like they are directly connected to the throttle.
-andrew

[StevieMac]

I'd test the charging system before you buy anything.  With the bike running you can rev it and see what volatge is being returned to the battery.

I think it's supposed to be about 14 Volts at 3000 rpm off the top of my head.  No doubt someone will pipe up with the exact numbers.   The voltage regulator is adjustable on the old SOHCs if it's a stock one so IF that's you problem you can try adjusting it before replacing it.