99 gsx ltd troubleshoot

[val-e-vue]

Yes Ben that is correct - you got it!

 

[Benfica7685]

The best test you can run to see if you have a bad ground connection is as follows:
1) Put your meter on the battery terminals and press the start button and record the voltage. This is your battery baseline.
2) Put your meter on the starter post (+) and the battery terminal (-). Press the start and record the voltage.
3) Put your meter on the starter post (+) and the starter mounting bolt (-). Press the start and record the voltage.

If the Voltage measurement is step 3 is much lower than step 2, you have a bad ground connection. If measurements in 2 and 3 are similar but considerably lower than step 1 (baseline) you have a bad positive terminal connection between the battery and the starter.

1. About 8.4
2. About 6.5
3. About 5.5
Ohhh boy

 

[val-e-vue]

ok - I think you had a battery voltage of 12.5 VDC approximately.... So when you hit the starter it drops to 8.4 VDC at the battery and as you can see it drops even more at the starter. I think you are experiencing a heavy load, meaning your engine doesn't want to spin over easily.

I'm making a couple of assumptions: 1) your battery is strong, and I think you said it's new. 2) Your battery is charged.

If both of those are true, you might want to remove your spark plugs and repeat test. If it still doesn't turn over, try turning the engine over with the PTO while plugs are removed. You will have to remove the PTO cover to do this. You should be able to turn by hand.

Net: I think your connections are reasonable but for some reason your engine is turning over hard causing high current situation.

If you can turn the engine by hand with the PTO shaft, then your battery is weak.

 

[Benfica7685]

ok - I think you had a battery voltage of 12.5 VDC approximately.... So when you hit the starter it drops to 8.4 VDC at the battery and as you can see it drops even more at the starter. I think you are experiencing a heavy load, meaning your engine doesn't want to spin over easily.

I'm making a couple of assumptions: 1) your battery is strong, and I think you said it's new. 2) Your battery is charged.

If both of those are true, you might want to remove your spark plugs and repeat test. If it still doesn't turn over, try turning the engine over with the PTO while plugs are removed. You will have to remove the PTO cover to do this. You should be able to turn by hand.

Net: I think your connections are reasonable but for some reason your engine is turning over hard causing high current situation.

If you can turn the engine by hand with the PTO shaft, then your battery is weak.

Yeah i charged the battery prior to testing. Its strange because the first time it was cranking but not starting With a cheap new aftermarket starter. However i think the plugs were out when it was cranking. Had to pull starter to fix a hole , same day starter failed test , so i rebuilt the oem that passed. Now only gets one click no cranks. How is a battery weak when its a brand new agm ? Is it not strong enough ? I will pull the plugs and re-test then follow up with new numbers. Thanks

 

[Benfica7685]

ok - I think you had a battery voltage of 12.5 VDC approximately.... So when you hit the starter it drops to 8.4 VDC at the battery and as you can see it drops even more at the starter. I think you are experiencing a heavy load, meaning your engine doesn't want to spin over easily.

I'm making a couple of assumptions: 1) your battery is strong, and I think you said it's new. 2) Your battery is charged.

If both of those are true, you might want to remove your spark plugs and repeat test. If it still doesn't turn over, try turning the engine over with the PTO while plugs are removed. You will have to remove the PTO cover to do this. You should be able to turn by hand.

Net: I think your connections are reasonable but for some reason your engine is turning over hard causing high current situation.

If you can turn the engine by hand with the PTO shaft, then your battery is weak.

I tried with plugs out and same results. The readings were the same but the last one was around 2 which means bad ground connection. I did this with a ground directly from starter to battery. Next thing to try is by hand .

 

[val-e-vue]

Hey Ben,

Were you able to turn the engine over by hand? Curious

 

[val-e-vue]

No i havent tried to take off the pto cover off. I just pulled all cables and starter off . Cables all look old and rusty and seeing those low readings is probably why. I bench tested the starter with a jumper and it was on 12 volts

Ok - nice! Corrosion is not your friend... definitely needs to be polished clean. The PTO cover, if it's anything like mine has two wing nuts holding it to the black "arc shaped bracket.

Take your time and enjoy!

 

[Benfica7685]

No i havent tried to take off the pto cover off. I just pulled all cables and starter off . Cables all look old and rusty and seeing those low readings is probably why. I bench tested the starter with a jumper and meter read 12 volts Which is what it should be in the ski right not 2 lol.

Ok - nice! Corrosion is not your friend... definitely needs to be polished clean. The PTO cover, if it's anything like mine has two wing nuts holding it to the black "arc shaped bracket.

Take your time and enjoy!

im going to just replace all cables. Are car cables the same or are there some good agm stuff? If so where can i get them

 

[val-e-vue]

You can find them on Ebay. They are smaller than automotive cables. They are in the same league as motorcycle and lawn tractor cables. However, unless they have been damaged, you should be able to clean them as good as new. Buy some dielectric grease at the auto parts store when you do your final reassembly. It will help maintain a good connection.

 

[Benfica7685]

You can find them on Ebay. They are smaller than automotive cables. They are in the same league as motorcycle and lawn tractor cables. However, unless they have been damaged, you should be able to clean them as good as new. Buy some dielectric grease at the auto parts store when you do your final reassembly. It will help maintain a good connection.

Yeah when i said rusted i meant rusted wires inside Lol they literally crack so...also some terminals are chipped

 

[Benfica7685]

Yeah when i said rusted i meant rusted wires inside Lol they literally crack so...also some terminals are chipped

Well I had my “brand new” agm battery Load tested at autoparts and it failed , no wonder it was dropping volts . So they gave me a new battery.

 

[Benfica7685]

What do you guys think of this armature ? It runs smooth and passed test but looks wormed up

 

[val-e-vue]

Yeah that looks ugly. I just went and inspected the two that I have and they don't show that level of wear. Congrats on getting your battery replaced!! It's hard to discern between "weak battery" and "heavy load", both will cause a serious voltage drop when you hit the start button.