Team-BHP - The Royal Enfield Mechanics Thread: All mechanics requirements and queries here

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rennjit (Post 2464875)

4 year old batt- its closing on normal life time, these can go open circuit with no warning. Wish you luck in 30km batt power run. you may be setting a bench mark:), do let us know.

Rennjit Chetto,

Finally made it home.Now I am record holder:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim (Post 2465414)

Alter_Ego

If you do not own a "volt/ohm meter" you might consider purchasing one. There should be some relatively inexpensive ones available and they can be of great help when one needs to find electrical faults.
If you choose to buy one of these make sure it has the ability to check AC (alternating current). This is the type of current your alternator supplies to the rectifier diode.

While your riding, the alternator should be charging the battery at all times with the excess current going to power your ignition circuit, your lights and horn. Unfortunately, if the battery is defective it may take the charge but be unable to return it to the electrical system.

Hi ArizonaJim,

Thanks a ton for the detailed description.That gave me a lot of insight into the workings of a RE.Really appreciate the time and patience you took to clearly describe everything to the point.

As soon as I connected the charge battery to my enfield it started immediately.And did not stop for the next 5 minutes.That gave me some confidence that it won't on the way back home.
Rode like crazy as I had to drive around 30+ kms back home from office and was very convinced that it would stop midway.
So somehow controlled myself not to press the horn or indicators.
Used handsignals.

There's one electrical mechanic who takes care of my safari's electricals too , so took the bike straight there.
Asked him to verify whether the battery is getting charged.

He connected a voltmeter to the battery which was showing 12V and then asked me to start the bike again and then he switched on the headlight, indicators and started pressing the horn meanwhile asking me to raise the accelator.And showed me on the voltmeter that the battery voltage was nearing 13-14V and said that there are no issues with the battery charging.
He then looked at the battery and said that its a 2007 model and now has run for almost 4 years.what more do you expect:uncontrol.

He advised me to purchase a new battery and confirmed that with the new battery this issue will never be seen.

On asking him the price he said a new one would cost around INR 1.2k.
So not to purchase in a haste I came back home and now want to do some market research on the price of various brands of batteries before purchasing one.

So feel that the old battery was the cause of this entire episode.(Though totally surprised as this battery never showed any lack of performance and the horn and lights were functioning perfectly and the battery went dead suddenly.Aint it supposed to degrade slowly with the performance degrade being noticeable.)

So will be purchasing a new battery over the weekend.
Will update in case history repeats itself.:D

Meanwhile thanks a lot to all the t-bhpians who pitched in with their inputs and helped me get out of this situation.Love you guys.

Pleased to hear you made it home safely with your motorcycle.

You are correct in saying that a battery should die slowly.
Sometimes the plates break down over a period of years and the debris slowly builds up in the bottom of the cells. As the debris is conductive it will often short out the plates in the cell causing a notable weakening of the battery's power and its inability to hold a charge.
This doesn't seem to be the problem with your battery although it may have been a contributing factor.

With the newer battery designs a more common failure seems to be one (or more) of the internal metal connectors that connect the 6 battery cells together suddenly, without warning, break. This is apparently what happened to your battery.

Here in Phoenix, Arizona where the summer temperatures are very high (116 F. (46.7 C.)) batteries in automobiles often don't last 2 years before this internal breakage happens.

I think the 4 years of service your battery gave you is rather good.
It is certainly much better than the battery that was in my old BMW K-75 motorcycle which I had to replace every two years. :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego (Post 2466814)

Rennjit Chetto,
Finally made it home.Now I am record holder :D
... Rode like crazy as I had to drive around 30+ kms back home from office and was very convinced that it would stop midway. So somehow controlled myself not to press the horn or indicators. ...

No Aniyaa, you didnt adhere to the 'batt power run' term. You were to run on battery power only ie., no alternator charging the batt back. With fully charged batt & functional charging system the attempt is disqualified :rules:.
And had you checked the charging at batt shop itself you could have had a safe non-crazy ride back home.

Did you try E-starts? If the batt holds for a few times, its good to use. Not just voltage but load current also matters. Remember the 'Ammeter' on some RE models, they give an indication of batt, charger's status & health.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rennjit (Post 2464160)

Now, a service manual says TCI can function on as low as 7 volts. ..... I need to hook up a weak 5yr old 12v ups battery next days to see what turns out.

Here it is, TCI can start even from a 6v battery clap:
Tested with 6v 14ah rated automotive batt delivering 7v to be precise.

In an attempt to pre-charge a 7ah Sla batt, i ended up reviving it. It was given fluids & put on charge for ~24hrs & left disconnected for ~12hrs. Bugger refused discharging to 7v whatever load i put on, but current went drastically down. Turn lights on & it wont start but reading 8v with no other loads it did easy start.
Need to find out min amps rating for Tci.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim (Post 2466837)

With the newer battery designs a more common failure seems to be one (or more) of the internal metal connectors that connect the 6 battery cells together suddenly, without warning, break. This is apparently what happened to your battery.

Oh yeah.I guess this might what have happened.
Thanks for the detailed description.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rennjit (Post 2467043)

Damn:Frustrati
There goes my sense of achievement.

And so there are still chances of the battery being right and the ampere/current going down due to connection issues?

So you suggest that I check the ampere levels too?

Or did I just confuse myself?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leepower (Post 2466650)

Disk brakes, the whole set is a straight fit. You will get it for around 8-9K
Don't install a front lock, just buy a big, fat chain and lock. And robbers never dare to steal a Bull -- all thanks to its amazing weight and right gear shift. At the most, they will flick it's battery. Try installing a kill switch under the seat. Without that the bike just won't start!!!

Hi What i meant by fork lock is to have a fork lock like Hero honda CD 100 SS and not like the once's integrated with ignition like unicorn or passion.

Current bullets come with fork lock where after switching off the engine you need to remove the key ,turn the handle bar and lock the fork. My bike has a godrej lock,which i need to unlock and lock every time:Frustrati

To give more idea i am attaching the pictures and fork lock is marked

Expecting reply for Chennai Bikers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshguy (Post 2467744)

Hi Josh,

The side lock should cost you less than 100Rs. You can either weld it or screw it down.
The disk brake conversion should cost you somewhere around 8-9k as the Pricol kits are somewhere around 7-8k and you would have to change your rim for the same.
I would suggest you take it to JAF at Pudupet.

--Cheers--
Ramesh

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram.west (Post 2469617)

Hi Josh,

The side lock should cost you less than 100Rs. You can either weld it or screw it down.
The disk brake conversion should cost you somewhere around 8-9k as the Pricol kits are somewhere around 7-8k and you would have to change your rim for the same.
I would suggest you take it to JAF at Pudupet.

--Cheers--
Ramesh

Hi Ramesh

Thank you,but i guess JAF is too expensive? my father has been there once i guess.Do you know him personally? then probably you can introduce me to him.

I was quoted around 4k for the disc break conversion in GP Road.In anycase i need to change the rims as they are rusted or need to electroplate them