Yesterday was the 2nd time in about 4 months that my bike after leaving it for only a week failed to start.
The RAC dude told me that every time he has come to see a bike that wouldnt start its because of either of the following things:
Battery is buggered and isnt charging up properly -
Remedy: Change Battery
Alarm / Tracker / Immobiliser uses too much power on the battery and when you come to start it a week later its only got enough juice to keep the security devices going and not enough to get the Fuel injection going to start the bike…
Remedy 1: Ride everyday and dont go on holiday further than you bike can go
Remedy 2: Get a trickle charger and plug it in when you leave the country
Incidently my battery is fine but i still cant believe that after just a week batteries tend to not be strong enough to hold enough charge to start… are there any of you that have the same problem when you come back from a week long break only to find your pride and joy doesnt want to play?
Since my bike lives outdoors its a little more difficult to put a trickle charger on it so will have to find another method… anyone got any ideas?
unusual for the Datatool to be causing a problem m8 I left my bike with a sys3 on it all over xmas/new year approx 2 weeks and it was fine the datatool goes into hibernation mode if the charge in the battery gets low basically you have to turn the ignition on to set the alarm off then reset the alarm to get it back to normal but the bike started 1st time
suggest you either have a slight charging problem or the battery itself isn’t holding charge well enough
suggest getting battery & charging system checked out properly no disrespect to RAC but a decent bike shop would know more about bike electrics
Never had a problem with a datatool disharging the battery too much either. Sounds more as if you have an earthing problem somewhere if its drawing too much juice. I have just started my Kwaka after it has been sat since end of August. No extra charge in the battery but it fired on the button. OK, had to turn it over a few times to get the juice back in the carbs but it runs sweet as. It used to have an alarm, datatool, but I stripped it out due to track use of the bike. I used to leave it a few weeks sometimes but it always fired up fine.
Stood mine for 7 or 8 weeks last year and it went first push of the button
If you have the ability to, connect an Ammeter in series with one of the battery connections and see what the current draw is (with everything switched off - check what your alarm consumption is).
I’ve not done this on a bike, but it’s the way I found out my car boot light was staying on and draining the battery
easiest way to find out if the alarm is the problem, when triumphs supplied from factory they supply a white or red multipin plug with two loops of wire on the back of it for bypassing the alarm, plug is under rear seat, fit this plug and see if battery goes flat…
means leaving bike un-alarmed/immobilised!
or just disconnect alarm from loom and leave it, bike will still be imobilised only (alarm should go off via back up battery) but…
i think the back up battery inside the datatool box has expired, if you open the lid of the alarm box you will find a standard 9v square battery, if this battery dies the alarm will keep on trying to fill it from the bike battery draining it in a couple of days
sorry m8 but Datatool had ditched the 9v battery by the time they got to the series 3
instead it’s a non easy replaceable lithium rechargeable jobbie and if it’s a system 3 chances are it’s hardwired into the loom rather then that multiplug under the seat to
I’ve personally not had any experiences with the System 3 draining a bike’s battery, even when the bike has been left for a couple of weeks. I suspect the age of the battery has a large part to play in it. I have had issues with CRAZY system 3’s though, where they go off randomly and on their own. I hate alarms, really wish I didn’t have to have one fitted.
sorry m8 but system threes are around with the 9v battery inside, coded a new transmitter on one last week, but as you know new datatools dont use them any longer, due to problems with the battery failing and taking power from the main bike battery
datatools are normally found “hardwired” into the loom when they’ve been fitted aftermarket by dealers, however on most triumphs they are fitted on the production line at hinkley so instead of the normal fitment they are plugged into the loom, normally under the rear seat or right hand rear side panel in a white multipin plug which is heatshrinked and taped into the loom, the bypass plugs are supplied with the bikes when new, although this might not be the case with brand new stuff, and the mechanics normally nick the plugs when doing the pdi’s anyway
I had my bike off the road without it being started for nearly 2 months, the alarm was on all the time. Got the bike and even after 20 seconds of the starter turning over it still had enough power to start the bike.
The datatool is not the problem.
hmm odd, cause I spoke to the guys at Datatool yesterday at Expo and they said the system 3 never had the standard 9v battery fitted, they did on the EVO & VETO etc but stopped by the time the System 3 came out, never mind seems the alarm isn’t the fault anyway lol
