[IllinoisREI]

****. Finally a decent riding day, but no juice. After charging the battery, lifted the negative terminal and checked amps. I've got a ground that pegs the meter on the 0-250 ma scale. It goes away when I pull the 30 amp fuse. Pulled all the fuses in the fuse box with no affect. Its an 07 SV 650S.

Anyone have a similar problem? Any ideas?

 

[tcl]

No specific advice but look for answers in those places that you have effed with in the past. That is, it is more likely to be something you or a PO did (installed/ modified) then a spontaneous problem with the bike.

Also, make sure the key wasn't removed while in the "P" position... and the ignition wasn't still left in that position when you were checking current.

 

[IllinoisREI]

Thanks TCI. I thought for sure it would be the Lojack that was installed before I bought it but nope. What's weird is the OM says the 30a fuse feeds lights only (turn signals, brake, and position) but I disconnected them all and still have the ground? Bike has been n the garage so probably not a moisture issue. This is gonna be painful. I might just have to put an inline switch to isolate the batt when not riding.

 

[tcl]

what makes you say it's not the lojack? even if you ostensibly removed it, there could be a relay remaining that is drawing down power.

the 30A fuse powers EVERYTHING, not just the turn lights and such. Removing the smaller fuses one by one is a good way to narrow down the search but there are some things not isolated by the smaller fuses.
focus on the lojack install.

Thanks TCI. I thought for sure it would be the Lojack that was installed before I bought it but nope. What's weird is the OM says the 30a fuse feeds lights only (turn signals, brake, and position) but I disconnected them all and still have the ground? Bike has been n the garage so probably not a moisture issue. This is gonna be painful. I might just have to put an inline switch to isolate the batt when not riding.

 

[IllinoisREI]

Thanks again TCI. I found where they tapped in for power for the Lojack and disconnected it. There was only one feed to the box that I could see. I removed all the small fuses first and ground was still there. Today I popped off the relay coupler and the ground went away. I'm not sure if that tells me anything since other loads seem to pass through that coupler.

 

[FatCat]

Did you jump start the bike? A bike's battery needs to be fully charged before running. If you run a bike with a very low battery you can fry the rectifier. The rectifier cannot handle the load of uncontrolled charging of the battery.

The rectifier is basically a set of diodes that transform the AC signal produced by the generator into DC. The diodes only allow current flow in one direction, away from the generator, thus eliminating the alternating current. If one or more of the diodes are faulty, they will allow current flow back to the generator from the battery, and cause a draw on the battery.

Everything is protected by the 30A main fuse in the starter relay. The only two things that are not separately fused by the smaller fuses are the ignition switch and the rectifier.

TCL was on the right track with the park lights that run through the ignition switch, but since you have ruled that out, the next step is to unplug the rectifier and remeasure the draw.

 

[tcl]

The only two things that are not separately fused by the smaller fuses are the ignition switch and the rectifier.

I don't think this is true. I blew my 30A fuse twice (while riding) trying various (failed) license plate light arrangements and none of the smaller fuses blew.

 

[FatCat]

The various marker lights are fed directly from the ignition switch and the 30A main. That is why you blew the 30A and none of the smaller fuses. The park lights were the most likely culprit, but since you already covered that and he ruled them out, that really only leaves the rectifier.

Maybe I was not clear, but with the ignition switch in the off position, anything after it is ruled out.

 

[tcl]

Maybe I was not clear, but with the ignition switch in the off position, anything after it is ruled out.

You were making a good point that I didn't get.

 

[FatCat]

Hopefully these will help some.

 

[IllinoisREI]

Thanks guys. Since pulling the relay coupler killed the ground, I checked each of the 4 pins to see which ones were causing it. The two going to the rectifier were the problem.

Fatcat: I didn't jump start it. I pulled the battery and charged it then started searching for the ground. I think you're right. It still must be the rectifier. I'm going to test it today. Its been f'n pouring rain here the last few days and there's no room to work in the garage with two cars in there.

 

[IllinoisREI]

WTF?!?! Disconnected the rectifier and the ignition switch and still have massive current drain off battery??? I'm thinking this has to mean a short in the harness. Also, I checked continuity between the two leads going to the rectifier with all the connectors uncoupled and it pegged the meter. Somewhere between the starter relay and the rectifier those leads are shorted together. No signs of damage to the harness anywhere. Wonder how much a new harness will set me back?

 

[FatCat]

The two leads? What are the wire colors? How are you testing them?

Of the five wires at the rectifier, three go to the generator and the other two are power and ground. If they were shorted you would blow the 30A fuse. Your harness is fine.

I think you must be testing the wrong wires or not using the DVOM correctly. Continuity tests are not going to be of any use in this situation.

Do a few tests and post back;

What is the voltage of the charged battery? (disconnected from the bike and charger)

What is the voltage of the battery connected to the bike with everything else connected?

What is the voltage with the ignition turned on?

How long does it take to drain a fully charged battery? couple of minutes or hours?

 

[IllinoisREI]

FatCat: I'm focusing on the B/R wires that leave the starter relay coupler and head off to the rectifier, a 10a fuse in the fuse box and the ignition switch.

Battery was pulled and charged to just under 12v. Bike runs fine after battery is charged but battery dies after bike sits for a day. Don't know how fast but after disconnecting neg terminal and checking amps from term to post, it pegs the meter on the 0-250 ma scale with ignition in "off".

I may have been OTL on the continuity check. Now things seem to be acting random. When I pull the 10a fuse labeled "fuel", the ground goes away. Of course the fuel pump relay that comes off that circuit was already disconnected so that can't be it.

I'll do some of the other checks you suggested and post back. Thanks for your help.

 

[FatCat]

Just under 12v is no where near charged. Be patient and let the battery charge completely. If it will not charge and maintain around 12.6V you need a new one.

 

[IllinoisREI]

Good call, old battery was indeed bad. Picked up a new battery. Fired it up. Voltage was 14v when idling and 13v with ignition off. Still getting a huge draw down unless I pull the 10a "Fuel" fuse. Any ideas?

 

[TeeRiver]

Hi IllinoisREI,

If your current leak goes away when you remove the 10 amp "Fuel" fuse, then you are getting close to solving your problem.

I have the wiring diagram here for the SV650K7 which shows

Battery12V => 30 amp main fuse => B/R wire => 10 amp "Fuel" fuse => R/W wire

The R/W wire then directly supplys 12V to the following four components only:

1. Fuel pump relay,
2. ECM, (Engine Control Module),
3. ISC, (Idle Speed Controller),
4. Speedometer,

Unplug each of these four components, and recheck for the current leak.

I would venture a guess that none of these components are faulty, but that your current leak has to do with the Lojack install in some way.

It's worth noting that the "Fuel" fuse circuit is the only one that does NOT pass through the ignition switch in any way.

It makes sense that if someone were installing an alarm system (Lojack), on the SV, then they would tap the "Fuel" fuse circuit since it is ALWAYS hot. All the other fused circuits are powered via the ignition switch.

You're getting close.

Cheers!
TeeRiver

 

[IllinoisREI]

Thanks for the info TeeRiver. I did pull the fuel pump relay, and uncoupled the ECM and also disconnected the power feed to the Lojack, but still had the draw. I haven't checked the ISC or speedometer but will. For now, I put a toggle switch in the R/W wire leaving the fuse box. Much easier than having to disconnect the battery or pull the fuse each time I want to ride, but I hate throwing in the towel like that.

 

[TeeRiver]

Hi IllinoisREI,

I know you said that you already found and disconnected the Lojack system. Even so, Lojack is very sneaky about hiding the system, as they don't want the thief to easily detect it. They even refuse to tell the bike's owner where the system is hidden.

Perhaps the Lojack technician connected the system with a redundant wire so that the "thief" would think they've found and disabled the system but in reality it's still powered.

The Lojack system only draws about 1mA when dormant. Once it gets a command to start transmitting, the current draw goes way up.

Perhaps your Lojack is still connected and is somehow in transmit mode.

One other thing, did anything specific happen *just before* the problem started. Sounds like an obvious question, but it's often pointed me in the right direction.

-TeeRiver

 

[IllinoisREI]

TeeRiver,

Interesting point about the Lojack. The power feed tap didn't seem too stealthy. I'll take another look. If that turns out to be the cause, I'm nominating you for SVRider Tech God of the Year.

No precursors that I can think of for the problem. Bike sat in the garage over winter. Went to start it during a warm day but battery was dead. Charged the battery and it fired up. Thought problem was solved but two weeks later, dead again. That's when checked and found the draw.

Come to think of it, the Lojack was installed by a previous owner and the service subscription was probably up recently. Would they be so low as to trigger the transmit mode when the money stops?