950ADV Power Problems

Hi Guys, need some help here. The service dealer has no clue of what to do and nore do I.

950 ADv 2005. Can stand for a maximum of 3 to 4 days, when I try and start it - nothing - dead not even ignition lights.

Bought it new in May, did 1st service at 500km complained about batt dying - checked charge system and current draw "nothing suspect" "gave your battery good charge" Whatever that meant ?

- long trip of 1800km in 6 days. Batt dies twice on the trip. Jump start from car (after opening bottom bolts and little bolts on batt cover for the 5th time *&^%$#(#).

Goes back to dealer on return - new battery

Stands in garage for 4 days - saturday moring dressed like a ski man - jump on bike & - nothing !

Back to dealer - "had bad batch of batt - here's new one !"

Do another long trip 1600km 3 days good starts no problems, so assume charging is fine.

Phone KTM dealer come fetch bike - new battery "was definately faulty"

Last saturday completly dead

Long complaint to KTM distributor - bike been there since Tuesday - can't find anything - Friday they take it to an auto electrician who still found nothing - bike still at auto elec.

So now here we are - new bike (5000km)

* 5th battery
* checked charging system
* checked for current draw on off
* no GPS acc or power acc
* African climate (26 deg cel)

Any thoughts ?

I usually leave mine on a trickle charger, but have left it "unplugged" for 3-4 days without a problem. I installed a digital voltmeter to monitor the battery voltage, so I can tell at a glance if it is getting low. It doesn't loose juice any quicker than any of my other 7 bikes (which I, also, keep on trickle when not using). You must have an intermittant problem, if the dealer is unable to measure it with a ma meter. Keep us appriased of what you find
-cp

I had the same problem, it was traced to the dealer using a live feed when fitting the carb warmers.

Hmmm. Assuming that indeed both the battery & the charging system are good, it certainly seems like there is a current drain somewhere. By any chance, have you connected an accessory to the unswitched accessory terminal behind the headlight? I inadvertently wired an intercom to this terminal & the battery was dead the next morning.

Well, it's about time! I've had very similar problems. First the dealer said the battery was no good then it was fine. Now, it won't start! When I put the Battery Tender on it and leave it plugged in, no problems! When I added the heated grips, it totally died and wouldn't start. It was wired properly but drained the battery somehow. It's like the wiring in the bike is messed up. I did everything properly. It was checked but a technican. After I unwired it and the battery was charged up, no problem! Freaky! The bike has stranded me 5 times! I hesitated to post because people here usually trash you for negatives about this bike! Thanks for getting this out there!

I love the bike but the starting problems are a real hassle. I'm replacing my battery with a gel battery from Westco. Motion Pro has a proper charger that I am also going to purchase for it. Hopefully, this will fix it. If not down the road she goes!

Wow, I feel much better now, for some reason! :huh

S Won

I have a GPS mounting kit, new aux lights ----- all still in boxes waiting for this to be sorted out first. So there are no modified elec bits to review, standard bike only (I suspected that I would be blamed for chewing through a wire so I left it for now).

I think I am missing something though .... some of you guys mention that you buy chargers and keep your bike on an external charger. In 12 years I have never needed to charge a bike and sometimes I did not ride for more than a month. (I did buy one for the 950 though) Here I am talking about 3 to 4 days.

Do any of you put the bike on a charger for short periods such as 4 to 7 days? Does this mean that you undo the bolts and clamp on a charger every time?

The turn of the steering is adjustable!! I widened the steering angle, fiddling with the stoppers and had the wires strangled!! Thisproduced a shortcut and burned my headlight!! Could it be your problem?? Check it out!! as the bike is usually parked with the steering fully turned!!
Another thing brought up is carburetor heaters!! They may be standard on your bike so check this out as well!!
Good luck and keep us posted!!

As mentioned... check nothing is wired in to the ACC 1 connector behind the headlight that shouldn't be - i.e. anything that constantly draws a current (carb heaters?).

Install an accessory BMW style plug and plug it in whenever you pull in.

Nothing to unbolt. I use these for all of my batteries.
http://batterytender.com/product_info.php?products_id=2

Over a dozen in 4 different locations on 7 different motorcycles. Simple to plug and unplug. I usually plug in any vehicle that will set for more than a week.
-cp

Wow, Dustchomp, I feel for ya. That kind of problem is definitly unacceptable. I do agree with cpmodem that it should show at least a milli amp draw [ very slight, yet constant ]. It could be a pinched wire somewhere in the harness or a bad diode in the rectifier / regulator, letting a tiny bit of current backfeed to ground. Surely a qualified technician should be able to figure this out. At least replace some of the charging system parts to get the ball rolling. Personaly, I wouldn't put a trickle charger on it and mask the problem. Repair it first and use the trickle charger to keep the battery maintained during storage. There have been problems with the stators coming loose or something like that, which would affect charging, maybe search that and see what comes up. Good luck.;...---Mark---

No, you should not need to charge your battery. There is somthing draw'n power that shouldn't be. Electical probs are hard ones, and I'm cluless on this one, sorry.

BTW, dont listen to S Won, he is an idiot, and will change his story with the change of the wind.

I posted about this same electrical problem earlier and got my head bit off by the haters! You just go through life being a pain to everyone don't you! Get a LIFE!

S Won

I have NEVER(yes never) charged my battery up on my 950adv and just lately...god knows why...i aint been getting out on it as much as i should.Sometimes it is in the garage for over a month without being started and the battery spins the engine real fast and it starts with a quick flick of the starter.
Something aint wired right or it has a short.

I have a right wire problem on my exc though....cos i wired a jackplug direct from the battery to run the GPS off it.I dont leave the GPS wired but i do the jackplug but the freaking thing manages to flatten the battery in two days even though i run the same set up on my 950adv!!:huh :huh God knows where the power is going.I will try a new jackplug cos it's the only thing connected!!

Story is.....if it's draining the battery then something IS screwed....i doubt it's all them batteries.

+1. I was away this summer for 2+ months. When I came back my 04.5 950 started right up like it was the day before. I'd be surprised if it's the battery. My guess is it is a drain on the system. That is easy to see if indeed there is one.

T.

Ya, well your short and ugly.

I belong to the never charge and let the bike sit for months club. You might pull all the fuses and see if it still goes dead.

What does that have to do with anything?

S Won

I agree, easiest way to check for an electrical drain is to remove the fuses when you park the bike for a few days. It won't catch all problems but is an easy first step in diagnosing the problem. You might want to start with just the two ACC fuses as they're the most likely to be causing the problems due to incorrect installation of alarm, carb heaters, heated grips, gps etc.

BTW I once had an intermittent drain on a previous bike which I could never find. Checking the alarm for current drain showed no problem but I still suspected it after checking everything else. I disconnected it and I never had a problem again.

I can leave mine for amonth or so and it will be fine, I left it for three months last year and it was dead. I use an optimate charger now (a lead is supplied to stay attached to the battery, the charger simply plugs into the lead). But, that doesn't sort your problem.

I have had a similar problem on a VFR I owned some years ago. Could leave it for a few days sometimes and not others. Could take it out for a long run have some lunch and get back on it with no hope of starting it. I had the electrical system checked and the battery was fine. I paid out quite a bit to try and find the problem. I eventually changed the kill switch for another one (I did this as it was something I had considered but until later not done) and hey presto no further problems! Turns out that the kill switch had an intermittent contact problem. Can I suggest you short the kill switch for a while and see if it gets any better?

Hope you get sorted soon.