hey guys , I'd like to appologize ahead of time for all the questions i'm going to end up asking you all before I'm done. Well i just got this '02 996 right, and I put a brand new battery in it when I got it, which was about 2 weeks ago, not much starting it and no riding it, well i went out just a few minutes ago to start it and the battery was dead, now to fill in all the blanks the battery I pulled out of it was pretty swollen up, so My question is where do I start looking for the short in the system? By the way the temps are in the 30's any feed back would be greatly appreciated. and thank you again.

 

My bet is that it has a bad R/R (regulator rectifier).. I think (not positive) that a bad R/R can drain the battery when not running, and I know that it can kill (and swell up) a battery when running.

Yes the 02 has a "better" R/R than the older ones, but they still can go bad.

To test the R/R, get the bike running again (charge battery) and then compare the off voltage with the running voltage (both at idle and 5500 rpm). The running voltage should be ~14v and off ~12v

If this is the problem: The best solution is to get one from Motovoltage only lifetime R/R one can buy: http://www.tiny-media.org/motovoltag...ifier_page.htm

The cheap solution is to buy one of these Chinese ones off ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-H...Q5fAccessories

Of course you might have something else draining your battery, but this is a start at least.

 

Skinny on the symptoms there.

Trickle charge the new battery then, with a VOM attached to the unit, start the bike and get a reading on how much juice is being fed to the battery.

Should be getting about 13+ at idle, climbing to 14+ as RPMs climb and the R/R then limits it to no more than 14.25 or so.

Voltage that doesn't climb with the RPMs is a clue of a none functioning R/R unit.

Hondas are notorious for weak R/R units that fail and either over charge, (causing a swollen or burst case), or don't charge the battery at all leaving you frustrated and puzzled.

No charging voltage at all, getting only a reading of residual battery voltage, speaks to a possible bad stator. Less common, but still a possibility as a reason of no charging.

NW Ark? Sir, a battery tender is going to be your best friend. Good luck out there.

 

If this battery has already frozen (swollen) all bets are off. If the acid went mostly to water and the cells froze in the resent cold front, the battery is not trustworthy. Don't get far from home.

 

Alright, thanks guys, I'll check on that stuff in the morning, I do have to say this site has been most helpful, I really do appreciate all the info you guys have and are willing to share.

 

lets start with you gotta a new battery. what kind, did you add the acid and charge fully while open? there is one forum member with electrical knowledge who claims that you should hook up the neg post first(making sure to isolate the pos) to avoid shorting the r/r. I ruined a battery by improper charge/set up and melted a R/R when hooking it up pos terminal first. Freakin nightmare before I got it sorted out. Search this forum "battery drain" , "R/R" for much more info.