had to get another jump again!

V

Victoria :) :)

New member
well im getting a little fustrated at this intruder 800 ive got i put a new battery in it the other day and to day it dident have enough juice to get it cranked. it seems its getting drained some how when the bike is off. i might need a new battery maby this one is crap. i put a full 1amp charge on it before i put it in and its just keeps going out. who makes the battery i got mine at auto zone. is their any way to test if its getting drained some how??

thanks for all the help guys

cole
 
Yup, sounds like a battery drain while the bike is off.

Pull your battery back out and charge it at least overnight on the charger. Put in back in, hooking up the positive cable but not the negative one. Get a volt meter and put on lead on the negative terminal and the other on the negative cable. If it shows no voltage, you have a bad battery. If it shows voltage, you have a key-off battery drain.

Now, one at a time, pull out the fuses, checking with the volt meter after removing each one. If you pull one and the meter reads zero, then you know there is a short or drain in that circuit. Check your manual to see what runs off that fuse, and start looking for a short or dirty contacts.

The most common sources of drain at the starter solenoid, starter motor, starter button, and ignition switch.


Oh, one more thing: make sure you are turing the key to "OFF" and not to "Park" when you pull it out, 'cause "Park" leaves the tail light on. Also, make sure the tail light goes off when you turn the bike off, as a previous owner may have messed with the ignition switch and put it back on wrong.
 
so where do you check after you pull the fuses ? do you just leave it hooked up to the battery terminals or the actual fuse terminals to test for the drain? man you shure know you stuff when it comes to motor cycles. ive already replaced the starter relay silinoid! guess thats narroed out i know the battery is good cause i can charve it and itll work for a while but after a day of not being started thats when is goofs on me!


thanks ill try this tomorrow and get back to ya!
 
Leave the meter hooked between the negative terminal and the negative cable as you pull fuses. When you pull a fuse and the current flow stops, you have the fuse out of the circuit.

If you get a Clymer manual, and it has a wiring diagram to show you what is on that ciruit. Check each connection and switch on that circuit until you find a short, ground, or loose wire. This can be time consuming and frustrating, but eventually you'll find it.

In the meantime, you could remove the nagative cable after each ride. But it is hard to reach, so you could add a stub wire from the battery terminal to a good, heavy-duty switch from Radio Shack. Hook the negative cable to the other side of the switch, and turn off the switch when you are going to let the bike sit for more than a day to save your battery. Not a perminant or pretty solution, but at least you can still ride your bike and work on it as time allows.
 
ya im gonna have to go buy a multi meter today and test it out maby itll be some thing easy like a key switch. but ill have to hook up that switch for the mean time. what amp rating switch should i use from radio shack im the mean time? thanks

cole
 
by the way i did notice some thing the other day i was using a test light to find hot wires on the fuse box. i touched the test light to the positive terminal on the fuse box you know the little phillips screw on the bottom, this was when the key was in the off position, should that stay hot all the time? i was thinking that would only come on when the key was on? i wasent sure if the fuse box terminals were always hot or not. if their only hot when the key is on is need a new key switch?
 
The fuse block is always hot since it's wired directly to the battery. Relays controlled by the ignition switch handle the circuitry in some cases.

No, don't lower your oil's weight unless your manual says to. I've never heard of that on a motorcycle, though. Easier starts are nothing compared to engine damage.
 
Yup, what he said.


I believe the Intruder alternator puts out about 24 amps, so look for something pretty heavy duty. My local ACE Hardware yeilded a heavy-duty, on-off switch for household current with pre-wired with leads, intended for things like vacuum cleaners, etc. I bet Radio Shack, Home Depot, or your local hardware store would have something similar.
 
well that worked great hooked up the kill switch with no problems what a good idea! ill have to slowly figure out whats going on with this drain problem but if i cant figure it out ill just keep using the kill switch!
 
Cool, glad it worked for ya. Take your time and track down the drain as time and patience allows- remember, the most common sources of a key-of drain are the starter, starter button, and ignition switch, so you might want to start there.
 
just curious but i noticed that when i shift i can kinda feel the gears especialy when i down shift. some times its hard to get into first cause i can feel the gears catch a little my bike has 24k on it and i know the previous owner was kinda hard on her. do you think the clutch might need to be replaced? or is it some thing else or are they all hard to shift? thanks

cole
 
When it is time to replace the clutch, it will slip under hard acceleration; when you twist the throttle the motor will rev but the bike won't accelerate, then you'll feel the clutch catch and the bike will take off.

24K is not rediculously early for a clutch, but they usually last a bit longer than that. A new aftermarket clutch from EBC or Barnett will certainly improve shifting, but it is not worth the effort unless you need a clutch anyways.

Rough shifting can be caused by the clutch not releasing all the way, which is a sign that either there is a little air in the hydraulic clutch system, or it is time to change the clutch fluid. Have you done that yet?
 
Use the same brake fluid you use in the brakes.

It's not hard to do. Loosen the two allen bolts that hold the clutch master cylinder on the handlbars, and rotate it and more it around so the top is as level as possible. Remove the cover, and get as much fluid as you can out with a turkey baster, spoon, or whatever. Leave just enough fluid in it to keep the bottom covered, so you don't get any air in the line. The fill it with new fluid.

Now remove the chrome cover on the left side, not the one with the big circle but the one behind it held on with three small bolts. Behind it is the clutch master cylinder.

Put a rubber hose over the bleeder, so the fluid goes into a can or bottle. Gently pull in the clutch lever as you use a wrench to open the bleeder. Shut the bleeder before you release the lever. Repeat, adding new fluid to the master cyclinder as needed. When the fluid coming out the bleeder is clean, you are done. Tighten the bleeder nice and tight and put everything else back the way it was. If the lever feels sloppy, there is air in the master cylinder from step one, so crack the bango bolt as you pull in the lever to bleed the air out of the master cylinder. Put a rag under the fitting, and cover the tank and fender, as the fluid will take off the paint.

Do the front brake the same way, adding clean fluid at the master cylinder and bleeding at the caliper.

Do this once every couple years (I do it once a year when the plate is due, as I put a LOT of miles on a bike in a year), and for ten minutes work you will never have any clutch or brake problems.
 
just curious whta kind of brake fluid do ya use? can i just pick it up at auto zone?? is it the same as car brake fluid? thanks im gonna hook it up to morrow if possible
 
Just use store brand DOT 4 brake fluid in both the brakes and the clutch. Do not use DOT 5, as the silicone based fluids will eat the rubber gasket on the master cylinder and cause all kinds of problems in an older bike.
 
well the kill switch dident work i was riding down the rode to day and it just cut out i pulled to the side of the rode and the battery was toast would barly crank over. i couldent find the short so i guess im gonna have to take it to a shop.
 
Hmmm...if it went dead riding down the road, then you probably have a 'key on' battery drain, instead of, or in addition to, a 'key off' battery drain.

I suspect the voltage regulator, but there really isn't a good way to check it yourself at home. It could also be a stator problem, or in the wiring...too many posibilities to diagnose over the internet. A trip to a shop is probably in order.
Good luck and let me know what they find.

Oh, I looked around the shop, but I did not find a rear seat for the 800, only a sissy bar bad.
 
well i think the guy with the purple intruder needs the seat mine is black but thanks for the help youve been the best help ive ever encountered! im a jet engine mechanic for the air force so i dug right in the trouble shooting but its just butkiss! i really like this bike but its turning into a nightmare i just want a daily driver to and from work ya know trying to save on gass mileage and all. ill let ya know what the shop finds im taking it to a shop with a good rep so ill see how it turns out i just hope they dont rip me on the price!

later

cole

ps as soon as i get this thing fixed im gonna hit up deals gap. i saw it on your web site and its not but about 2 hrs away!
 
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