TOPIC:

I just bought my first bike, a 76 kz400 D3 with a no spark problem, I bought a new coil and when I was testing it, the battery ran out of juice. So i took a car battery jump starter to get the battery going again and the bike was turning over great, however I came back later and now I have no electrical power. I checked the battery and it has about 11.5 volts. I have a multimeter but I have no idea what to check from here. Any help would be appreciated!
-Adam

I learned here not to start the bike while battery is being boosted from a running vehicle, it can fry your electrical system, check the main fuse and hopefully that is all that it is.

Did you have the car's engine running when you jumped it? (I hope not.) Ed

Thanks for the quick replies guys! Ok I'll check the fuses after I get out of class.

No, the jump starter I used was a battery of its own that you plug into the wall charge up then keep in your trunk for if you ever need a jump.

Ed! I'm happy to see that you found my thread. Your posts on other threads have been super helpful to me!

Here is a link to the jump starter I used:
www.walmart.com/ip/38243769?wmlspartner=...=84660902208&veh=sem

-Adam

Jump starting from a running car will not damage the electrocal system of a motorcycle. I've done it for over 40 years and hundreds of times and never had a problem. From point and condenser bikes to electronic ignition mid 90's bikes to the late model efi bikes. Not a problem, ever. If you don't know how to do it, do a Google search.

80B4 wrote: Jump starting from a running car will not damage the electrocal system of a motorcycle. I've done it for over 40 years and hundreds of times and never had a problem. From point and condenser bikes to electronic ignition mid 90's bikes to the late model efi bikes. Not a problem, ever. If you don't know how to do it, do a Google search.

You may have done it for 40 years, but it can damage the electrical system on some models; they are not all the same and do not all use the same type of charging system. It simply is not worth taking that risk when all you need to do is shut of the car's engine. Ed

Look diodes can fry and the bike can still run but on less power. In the old days there was a rectifier then a regulator. Now they're one piece. Any surge can damage them then and now. On electronic ignitions, the ECM can be damaged along with the other sensitive components. That's why they always say DO NOT JUMP START from a running vehicle. Hopefully all that happened is a blown fuse. Some lessons are never learned.
Steve

Well, "they" never said "do not jump start from a running vehicle " at the BMW service school that I attended or the Kawasaki service school either. There are lots of old wife's tails out there, I think I'll stick with what the pro's at the service schools had to say about jump starting.

Don't agree.
Steve

80B4 wrote: Well, "they" never said "do not jump start from a running vehicle " at the BMW service school that I attended or the Kawasaki service school either. There are lots of old wife's tails out there, I think I'll stick with what the what the pro's at the service schools had to say about jump starting.

Well maybe they should have. There's quite a bit of info available on this subject, and it's hard to believe it's all wive's tails. Below are just 3 examples out of many, in case the original poster of this thread would like to read them. Ed

Notice in the link below
"Manufacturers do not recommend attempting to jump start a motorcycle battery from a car." but if you must "Turn off both vehicles and make sure lights and other equipment is also turned off. .... Leave the car turned off until you are finished jump starting the motorcycle and have disconnected the jumper
cables."

www.burlingtonharleyriders.org/safety/pd...20a%20motorcycle.pdf

Notice in the link below:
"Critically Important Note: Ensure that you do not start the car engine."..."Cars have a 12v battery, which will not harm a motorcycle or its battery, however when you start your car engine then you are delivering considerably more than 12v of power. It is this additional power which can cause damage to the motorcycle. This makes the process of jump starting a motorcycle with a car different to if you were just jump starting another car."

www.motorbikelicense.com/can-you-jump-st...torcycle-with-a-car/

Notice in the link below:
"If you use a car battery for the good battery, use the same procedure as above except DO NOT START THE CAR OR HAVE IT RUNNING. Incompatibilities between the car and motorcycle electrical systems may destroy some of the electrical components."

motorcycleviews.com/howtos/howtojumpstart.htm

Some lessons are never learned.
Steve

Ever have a battery blow up? I have a few times. One, the only thing I could think of happened, there was a short in the battery, I hooked it up to a car battery and BLAM. A car battery carries 10 times the amperage a motorcycle one does. Good thing it was in the bike.
Steve