[>-- NOTE: Best viewed/printed using Notepad/Courier 10 New Fonts --<] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARC: Motorcyling Amateur Radio Club Member Submission --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Does the second 'Love Ride' drain your battery?????? Or, more properly -- What happens when your Alternator -- Stops "ALTING" by Billy C. Hall, N6EDY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Sunday in 1999, some 30 members of MARC (The Motorcycling Amateur Radio Club, were performing "Motor Officer Escort" and "Command & Control Communications" for the annual LOVE RIDE CHARITY event. DeWitt Morgan KM6UK, and I had just finished leading the first element of the Love Ride from Glendale to Lake Castaic when Net Control requested that we return to Glendale and help "escort" additional groups, because approxi- mately twenty three thousand motorcycles had signed up for the event. We returned to Glendale and I dropped off at a service station to "top off" my gas tank. When I completed ther fill up, the bike started "OK", and I headed back to the "Start Line". I got caught in some "stop and go" traffic that was just "inching" along when all of as sudden the engine died -- And -- There was not enough power in the battery to turn the starter. "WHY" did I have a dead battery? At this point the realization that I had just installed a new set of "driving lights" on the bike crept into my mind. Further, that I had used them on the ride to Glendale early that morning, and, even worse, that I had been riding all morning since then with those extra lights ... "STILL TURNED ON". Add that to the fact that I had been using the Ham radio on High power -- And, that there had been several periods of time when the engine was only "idling." All of these conditions suggested plenty of reasons for the battery to have become drained. I called DeWiit on the radio and he returned and gave me a "Jump Start". Unfortunately the engine would quit shortly after disconnecting his booster cables. We came to the initial conclusion that my battery was "shot". He took off to see if Glendale Harley Davidson had a battery that would fit. And I took my battery out to make sure that there was sufficient water in it. When he finished clearing out the last of the Love Ride entrants, and got them headed towards the Lake -- Bill Douglas KE6UUD --- stopped by my location to see if he could help. We again tried "jump starting" my bike, and in the process of elimination, came to the conclusion my alternator was the culprit -- not the Battery. Ray Davis KD6FHN, who had heard about the problem over the radio, offered to go back to Orange County and get the motorcycle trailer -- But I felt that we could get the bike home without having to tow it. Besides, we "kid" the Harley riders so much -- That it would have been "traumatic" to have had to tow one of our Goldwings. DeWitt then showed up with a new battery from Sears -- However it was the kind that you add the electrolyte fluid to activate it -- And you don't have a "Full Charge" until you have driven a period of time. Unfortunately, without my charging system working properly -- This was not going to happen right away. After much discussion and speculation, Bill suggested that he trade batteries with me since his battery was completely "charged". This would provide me a full battery to ride home with -- And his charging system would recharge my old battery on his way to the lake. We pulled the fuze for my headlights, and took out the bulbs from the top brake lights and running lights. This still left me with some "brake light" indication -- And would hopefully increase my chances of arriving back at home before the borrowed battery became discharged. I realized later that I should have also disconnected the front running lights, as they were not really necessary, which would have further reduced the drain on the battery. I also elected not to use the Ham or CB radios on the way home to further reduce any drain on the battery. DeWitt decided to follow me back to Orange County to provide me with assistance in the event that I had more problems. A nice jesture on his part -- And I really appreciate that -- Especially since this caused both He and Matthew to miss out on the Tony Roma Barbecue Ribs being served to everyone back at the Lake. I arrived safely at home, and checked the mileage -- I had traveled 40+ miles without the alternator working. After putting the bike in the garage I attempted to restart the engine to see how much battery power I still had left. Although the battery would "just turn" the starter -- There was not enough juice to actually restart the engine. I feel that I could have still travelled a much greater distance before the battery would have reached the point that it would not have provided sufficient juice to run just the ignition. This whole procedure brings up the question -- How far can you go without a charging system replenishing your battery and keeping it charged? The Service Manager at Huntington Honda didn't know -- But surmised that if you disconnected everything but the ignition system -- You should be able to exceed what I experienced. Ray Davis said that he had been faced with this problem one time while on the road, and had not been able to get it fixed. He bought a regular-sized car battery -- strapped it on the bike -- ran wires to the battery position -- pulled all the fuzes to everything but the ignition -- And claims that he went from Mitchell SD to Denver CO (about 600 miles) using this method. (Note: If you are going to ride without the tail lights, you must start the engine first before you "pull the fuze). It should be noted that an automotive-size battery is going to provide you with a lot more "juice" than a smaller motorcyle battery. Ray said that he was stopped by a Highway Patrolman because he had no head light. When he explained what he was doing, and the Patrolman saw the "makeshift" arrangement -- The Officer laughed, sent him on his way, and said "I hope you make it". It just "goes to show ya" that with a little ingenuity -- You can get home or to a repair facility. One suggestion comes to mind. If you are riding with a buddy that has the same size battery as you -- You could keep trading off batteries -- And let the good bike keep charging the weak battery. This could be accomplished even if the batteries are not the same size -- By "out boarding"and running wires, or jumper cables. One person suggested that you could use a real long Jumper Cable connected between the two bikes -- and ride along that way. "Theoretically" this should work -- But I think it leaves a lot to be desired. Have you had any experience along this line? I would be interested in hearing about what you did -- And how it worked. Billy Hall N6EDY billyN6edy@aol.com, billyn6edy@juno.com Remember - as Yogi Berra said "When you come to the fork in the road --TAKE IT". ___________________________________________________________________________ Motorcycling Amateur Radio Club http://www.marc-hq.org Web Development Team ### .