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Suzuki gs500f battery problem

21K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  vandujar42 
#1 ·
I am new, hello. I will start by saying that I took two years of auto mechanics, and am intuitive. But am at a loss right now.

I own 2005 gs500. I went out for a ride, got it started. ran on choke for 30 seconds. I then turned the choke off, as it is a warm nice day. Gave some gas carbs were still cold so I kept at the throttle for another 2 seconds. That is when it died. Was able to restart it only for it to die again.
Now is the kicker, The lights will not come on, it will not turn over.

Steps taken thus far:
1) Removed terminals from battery, still has a clean connection.
2) Put the terminals back on the battery. Not helping.

I have to be at work in 45 minutes and have to take my pos truck, which i hate driving while it is nice out.
I will be back home around midnight tonight, need to buy an ohm meter to test the battery, but since charging after winter have not had anymore battery issues at all except this...

Thank you for reading.
PS. Just found out about this forum and have no clue how I have lived without it.
 
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#2 ·
so everything is just dead?

check main fuse and connections leading up to there.
I think you meant a voltage meter to test the battery. First is to make sure it has 12v. Then turn the key and make sure you still have 12v. Since your bike is brand new i'd suspect the battery before anything else. Sometimes a cell dies completely and the whole battery gives you nothing. Had that happen with a cheapo walmart battery once, died completely by just sitting overnight.
I'll repeat what I've said in every electrical thread lately... try jumping it with your truck battery (truck not running).

If that's not it, while you have meter out, poke around with it to see how far the 12v goes. I.e. is the hot side of the fuse box hot? That should help you find the break.
 
#3 · (Edited)
So everything is just dead
I reckon.

Thanks for the response. I was about to get on and post the less stressed, mental evaluated better question.

How to check the fuse box: where is it located?(guess; in front of the battery?) Is there things that need removing to access it?

Isn't an Ohm meter the same thing as a voltage meter? If I cannot find or borrow one, it may have to be bought

I took the spec-v to work instead, a funny thing to note. The truck has a dead cell battery which needs replacing. :hide

I was going to try and jump it off another battery but I didn't have the time before work.

Thanks again for the help.
 
#4 ·
Don't know where the fuse box is on that bike, but the owner's manual should tell you. Usually you can get to them with minimal effort and tools. Most seem to be somewhere close to the battery, like behind a side panel, under the seat, or such. Some bikes even have them out front in the fairing.

An ohm meter measures ohms (resistance), a voltage meter measures volts. Different animals entirely. You usually get a multimeter which can measure both along with amperage (amount of current).
 
#6 ·
If you turn on the ignition and nothing lights up (headlight, instrument cluster, license plate light, etc.), then it's either the battery or the main fuse (near the battery). If some things work and others don't, look a the individual fuses in the fuse box. They're colored with numbers on them just like car fuses. The fuse box lid should have a legend as to what each fuse powers.

I'm assuming your battery is 5 years old and sits without a trickle charger all winter? This is hard on batteries which are amazingly prone to spontaneous failures (shorted cells etc.). With a failed battery, a charger will say it's charged, but the battery won't hold the charge.

You can get an inexpensive digital multi-meter (volts (DC and AC), ohms, continuity beeper, maybe even amps) at Radio Shack for about $25 that will work fine. I'd bet that your battery voltage just sitting with the ignition off is now below 10-11V. I'd suggest you start there.
 
#9 ·
12.0? how about when you turn the key on? or crank?

what do you mean charging?
turn the key and see if it starts with the car battery's help.

btw, don't run the car, its charging system can put out more juice than an mc battery can safely accept.
 
#10 ·
THNX, I bought a battery, Had to fill it with the acid it came with. got a charger. charged until light was green which was about 3-4 hours. battery was at 13 volts as soon as it came of and has leveled off at 12.8

Is this normal? If so I am going out to give it a shot
 
#15 ·
Glad to hear that things are better.

Batteries die under weird circumstances. I once drove my car from work to lunch and all was fine up until then. When I came out from lunch to drive back to work, the battery was dead. Nothing electrical left on in the car either. I think a cell had shorted.
 
#16 ·
My bike died on the highway today. I had to walk it to my nearest autozone. I plugged a tester to it and it was reading 0% Charge and 10V .. id figure since its the second time it dies on me id get a new battery to see if that was the issues( 50$ for a battery id figure it wouldnt hurt to try) so I bought it and filled it with the liquids and charged to 85% i had to go to work soon so i needed to take the bike home, the guy at the store said id be fine with the 85% and to get a charger so i can charge it overnight so it doesnt keep dying. I rode it home fine, when in to take a shower and eat and when i went to go turn the bike on to go to work it wouldnt turn over at all. Usually when the battery dies it atlease does the "clicking" indicated me it is atleast TRYING to turn on but no. So is it the battery or some kind of short or can it be the alternator which is what i keep hearing. PLEASE HELP.
 
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