SV 650 2001 quickly flattens battery.

Hi there.I recently purchased a new sv 650 off gumtree, and was aware it had been stood idle for 3 months. I have noticed the battery quickly runs out of power, whether or not I ride it. I also noticed there are 2 negative leads coming out of the battery, and only one positive. The lads at the garage wired it up that way, but I've never seen this before. Could it be affecting it? I've changed the battery, and the same thing happens. Cheers

[aesmith]

Do you have access to a multimeter? What I'd want to check, not necessarily in this order is (a) is the battery being charged when the engine's running, and (b) does the battery retain it's charge when it's disconnected from the bike.

Hi there. Thanks for the reply. It does retain it's charge when disconnected from the bike, but at present I don't have access to a multimeter. I took it for a 20 minute drive the other day, but 3 stalls in quick succession were enough to flatten the battery.

Also I don't suppose you happen to have an idea of why there are 2 negative electrodes? Just seems a bit strange :S

or rather, 2 black cables coming out I should say

[jambo]

The best thing to do with the 2nd black connector is to visually trace it back, it's not a factory set up, so while we can guess at any number of potential reasons the best bet really is to get some body work off and check yourself. If that sounds unhelpful I'm sorry but you could have a dozen suggestions here about alarms, bypassing duff bits of loom, additional accessories and they'd all be guesswork.

The wiring for the SV isn't too complex, but dealing with it without a multimeter and wiring diagram makes it very hard. Pick up a multimeter from maplins or similar, make sure it does DC voltage up to at least 20v in 0.1v increments, AC voltage up to about 100v, current up to an Amp or so, and resistance in Ohms up to several KOhm. A connectivity tester is helpful. You shouldn't need to spend more than £20, and I'd expect less.

When you have one you can turn the ignition off, connect the positive terminal of the battery and then connect the negative in series with the multimeter so the current has to flow through it to provide the connection. This will tell you your current drain and you can work back from there to find out what is causing it.

Jambo

[aesmith]

Not sure on the cables, as I can't remember what cables mine has at the battery (I've got a remote connector for charging). Without a meter you don't have so many troubleshooting options. You could try and see if the lights brighten a little when you raise the revs from tickover. Otherwise I'd be inclined to try disconnecting the regulator/rectifier leaving everything else still connected. See if the battery holds it's charge left like that. A faulty diode in the rectified could allow the battery to discharge, and would also stop it charging (or charging properly).

Do you have a manual?

Thanks very much for your help guys, guess im gonna have to invest in a multimeter and take it from there. Appreciate you taking the time to answer

[jambo]

Megabucks these things are not, and the stores don't have to be specialised see here for one example (battery not included)


Jambo