More electrical probs

[zedder]

Hi guys, long time no post

I have had to re-locate so I've been "out of the loop" for a while

But I've managed to resurect 1 of my Paso's and have managed to get a few miles on the clock

I am now having problems with the battery going flat over a few days

The fact that I have now fitted a "high capacity GEL" battery has helped somewhat, as if I ride it "every day" the problem is not so serious as the generator IS charging and a good run puts the charge back in

However I still have not found where the fault lies

I had considered just fitting an "isolator" switch in the positive line but I know that is just "avoiding" the cause of the issue although it would enable me to be sure that it would always be "ready to ride"
(when the weather is reasonable enough, we have had torrential rain storms here in blighty, and although I have no aversion to riding in the rain, it's been so bad here at times I would have needed "floats" and a rear "paddle" to get about ) save on tyre wear though

I think the ignition switch may be the culprit
But before I start to "investigate" following the excellent instruction (gleaned from the forum ) I wondered if anyone could shed light on the problem ?

Many thanks for getting the site up and running again

I look forward to taking a more acitive part in the forums again

Zedder

[higgy]

Check your stator condition first then all of the wiring for hot spots and corrosion and loose connections.

Bad electrical issues tend to overheat the stator and the insulation breaks down reducing its output. Don't forget to check fuel flow. Restrictions here cause the fuel pump to draw more current on an already taxed system

[zedder]

Many thanks for your advice higgy

I'll do some tests on the wiring and check the stator output too

I'll repost with my findings asap

Cheers

Zedder

[delagem]

My Paso does this, but not as bad. If it sits for more than a week, it needs a little boost to start. I have a small jumper pack ready for this. A better battery would likely fix this (current one is at least 4 years old), but I'm not about to buy a new battery this late in the season! Maybe next year...

Another possibility, you could actually have a mild electrical short. remove your negative battery cable, and attach an ammeter across the cable and the battery.

See what your draw is. What is it? (should be in the milliamps range. (EDIT I just checked mine, it is at 500 milliamps, higher than I expected, but maybe that's normal?)

If it's higher, pull fuses, one at a time, until you see a big drop in amps. Trace out the wiring (there's a nice wiring diagram on here, color coded even!), and see what component may be causing this.

Higgy is spot-on about the wiring from the alternator melting and causing a low output (the 2 yellow wires if memory serves me correctly). I have seen this on more than one Ducati. You'll never get a good charge in your batteries with the AC wiring being compromised.

[streetsurfer]

check and clean your off/run/off and start switch. Check if there is a current drop across them. If substantial, a good cleaning will help.

[ducbertus]

Hi Zedder,

I faced the same problems after buying my 907.
a week in the shed and the battery was dead.
after immobilising the clock, by pulled out orange wire on the dash connector block, the problem was gone.
Even with periods longer as a month gives no problem.
if the problem persists, connect a amp. reader in line with your battery.
read what it says with ignition off. if the reading higher as a few mill. amp. start to disconnect electrical components one at the time and look on the amp. meter for differences. by doing so you can isolate the cullprit.

bertus

[higgy]

Good point, If the clock is not working start by removing the power source. Dead clocks cause big draws as it is the current limiting resistor that most often gives up sending battery voltage to the ground raising the load on the battery and the stator.

Paso electrics are not complicated...it ain't rocket science but maintaining them takes diligence after 20+ years. Hell it took diligence once they left the factory

[bobst2]

i changed the way i park the bike. i used to just shut of the key an leave it in the igntion in the shop. i started turning off the igntion switch & removeing the key & turning the on off switch off also. it
helped i think.does not go dead as quickly

[angelix]

The clock could be the culprit, I had a car long time ago and the battery (new, same age as the car, less than 10K miles) would go flat in 5-7days tops when left in the garage without using it.

After playing a little triyng several solutions I discovered that the original clock was the culprit and after disconnecting it the issue simply disappeared ; later on i replaced it with a different unit and the proiblem was solved.

I any case is worth going over the whole wiring loom, using the old good WD40 in all connectors and eventually maching sure that the fastons are "tight", someytimes they get loose and might result in and increas of contact resistance (the more resistance the more the battery discharges and the more strain you pun on the generator)

Another thing to check (seriously) are the battery contacts which are OFTEN overlooked...sometimes they get slighly oxidized and the battery discharges faster and recharges slower.