Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I have a problem with my ZX9 today. I took it for a short ride to the shops with no problem starting it. In fact I rode it every day this week. Went into the shops for about 10 minutes and come out to start it and there is absolutely nothing electrical working. No ignition lights and not even parking light when I put the ignition into park. Checked all the fuses and they are all fine.. Even replaced the main fuse with a spare just in case. Could a battery die like that so suddenly? I suppose it could if there was a short but that should also cause a fuse to blow. I haven't tried a clutch start yet. Any suggestions?

Colonel wrote:... Could a battery die like that so suddenly? ..

*Normally* they take longer , you get symptoms like slower wind-over of the starter motor, lights becoming noticeable dimmer, etc. They dont normally just *die in the arse* , but its a possibility.

If you have no idiot lights, nothing, then a bump-start is a waste of time.

Break out the multimeter and start checking........(its like Groundhog Day in here .... )

Colonel wrote:I have a problem with my ZX9 today. I took it for a short ride to the shops with no problem starting it. In fact I rode it every day this week. Went into the shops for about 10 minutes and come out to start it and there is absolutely nothing electrical working. No ignition lights and not even parking light when I put the ignition into park. Checked all the fuses and they are all fine.. Even replaced the main fuse with a spare just in case. Could a battery die like that so suddenly? I suppose it could if there was a short but that should also cause a fuse to blow. I haven't tried a clutch start yet. Any suggestions?

Sounds like your battery may have dropped a cell (yes they can go with no warning), How old is the bike/battery?
Check voltage across the terminals, with a multimeter!


Neil

1998.. I think the battery is as old as the bike.
I read in the manual that if you don't have enough electrolite it can cause sedimentation and cause a short in the battery.. What does that mean?

Possibly a regulator fault? A mates VFR just died one day from exactly that out the middle of BFN, had to ride to Sunshine pick up a spare battery to at least get him home.

Colonel wrote:1998.. I think the battery is as old as the bike.
I read in the manual that if you don't have enough electrolite it can cause sedimentation and cause a short in the battery.. What does that mean?

it means that your battery will dry out - the electolyte referred to is the battery fluid. A lot of bikes have these - they are also referred to as *wet-cell* batteries.

Over time, you need to keep the fluid up (using distilled water) to the high mark on the side of the battery. Normal charging cycles for the battery (ie just riding it, using the lights etc), cause the battery to use the electrolyte. If you don't top it up, it will eventually dry out, and this results in a dead battery - the dry cell will probably have *sulphated* badly - this is the white crap in the cell you can see from the outside. Some people refer to this as 'sedimentation'. It is just the result of the chemical reaction that occurs inside the battery under normal conditions of charging. If you allow a cell to dry out, sulphation will render that cell useless.

Take your battery out - I bet it is stone motherless dry, and 2 or 3 cells are fully white. probably both the +ve and the -ve cells at the very least....

Toss it in the bin, and buy a new one. 9 years is great life from a wet-cell battery that hasn't been topped up

I have experienced that once (car). Was working fine, parked, and just died with no warnings.

Other times it has been some symptoms like unable to crank for the 3rd time etc.

I'm assuming it must have been the battery.. A friend gave me a hand to get it home last night with the aid of a spare battery. I went to supercheap today and got a new battery and it seems to be working fine now after a charge.

My bike (ZX9R C1) uses a sealed battery so you're not supposed to open it and top it up. How long are these batteries supposed to last?

Colonel wrote:1998.. I think the battery is as old as the bike.
I read in the manual that if you don't have enough electrolite it can cause sedimentation and cause a short in the battery.. What does that mean?

mate if the battery is that old it probably needs to be changed.

if not electrolite, battery farks up and dies.

Maybe it is disconnected

Have you checked the earth.

greeny wrote:Have you checked the earth.

give that man a ceegar!

no juice like that sounds like a battery terminal (or 2) need cleaning and the batt to frame lead too. you may have inadvertantly done this replacing the battery... which sounds like a good idea anyway.