The CB1100 Community Forum

Hey guys.
I last rode two weekends ago, was out of town last weekend and didn't get to ride, and haven't been riding on weekdays since I've been carpooling with the wife.

Was going to go for a short spin today but the bike wouldn't start.. the starter motor made its sound for a fraction of a second and then went dead. My assumption was that the battery just needed to be topped up so I ran out and got a tender, and put the battery on charge while I watched a movie.

Tender said the battery was full after a couple hours, and I thought "wow that was fast" and went ahead and popped it back in and gave it another try only to find the same result.

Is it most likely that my battery is totally bad and this will be remedied by grabbing a new one, or do I have another problem with the stator or something?\

Edit -- Addendum:
The starter system has been a little quirky ever since I've had the bike. On the first start of the day it would start like normal, and on subsequent starts the starter motor would give a really short sound and then quit right away, but still enough to start the engine just fine.. a little weird, but I didn't pay much mind since the bike always started just fine otherwise.

Cheers!

Do you remember whether the headlight was shining brightly either time?

(12-21-2014, 08:06 AM)Rolls_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Do you remember whether the headlight was shining brightly either time?

Didn't seem like it was very bright, no.
The neutral indicator was pretty dim after I attempted to start the bike, and the console would reset itself after I pressed the starter, as well.

Ouch. My initial impression was a bum battery. It may be worth taking it to Autozone and having them perform a free load test on the battery. Most often, you'll have to leave it with them for about an hour. Also, make sure it hasn't been on the tender for at least a few hours as that can alter the reading. That's at least a start that won't cost you anything but time.

Your edit makes me think it's something other than your battery. Your troubles with starting are not normal and should not be happening. If your bike is still under warranty, I'd take it in and have them sort it out. Chasing electrical gremlins is no fun (something I've been doing on my '07 VFR). A bad stator would be highly unusual because I haven't seen anyone on this forum with mileage high enough to expect one to go unless you happened to have a bad regulator/rectifier. And even that is unusual on a bike as news as ours (assuming you have either a '13 or '14).

There's a step-by-step process that someone over at the VFR forum entitled "The Drill." It is designed to help you diagnose electrical issues. You'll need a multimeter, a notebook and pencil. And some patience. But again, use that warranty if you have it! Let me know if you'd like me to track down "the drill" and, if so, I'll post it here.

Now that I think of it, last time I started the bike two weeks ago it also seemed a little weak at that time but still started up, so I didn't think anything of it.

This post is kinda strange and new around here too....actually don't hear about too many problems or failures on the CB.

An easy thing to check that could diminish starting/charging goodness is your battery terminals. If you haven't already, maybe do a quick check to ensure the cables are snug at the battery terminals. Super easy variable to eliminate.

(12-21-2014, 08:15 AM)PowderToastMan_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Now that I think of it, last time I started the bike two weeks ago it also seemed a little weak at that time but still started up, so I didn't think anything of it.

Sounds like a weak battery, you can't (not recommended) jump the bike either, to check the charging system. I would buy a new battery and while your at it check the charging system and see if your putting out about 14.2V at 5000rpms.

Sounds like a battery that is too weak either from age or it has a bad cell, and a tender may mask the issue and then it soon fails again.

Just a thought- did you or maybe a previous owner connect some extra farkles? If so, I'd check those connections or wires that may have been spliced into whether the farkle is still present or not.

Check for bad ground connections, dodgy side stand switch or clutch switch. A defective battery can reach "full charge" reading on a battery tender but will fall off sharply when a load is applied; my riding mower battery did this last week and had to be replaced.