1986 Honda Spree with no electrical power

[yobomba]

Went to start it (electrically) and it has no power so I thought I'd charge the battery. Checked battery and was fully charged...then I noticed that the headlight, brake lights, horn.......nothing would light up at all when I turned the key on and turned it to "run".

I did not try kick starting it since I know the battery is hot and connected with no sulfate on it or anything. I figure something is up with the ignition key, fuse or something.

I suspect there is a fuse or something that I need to check......just not sure where to start. Any advice?

[swflcarl]

Keven.... the headlight only illuminates when running. The brake light should work though. There is glass tube style fuse adjacent to the battery wired in line. (it is in a round plastic housing on the side of the battery box). I would check this first - if blown you can get a replacement from you local auto-parts store.

Best of Luck.

[yobomba]

Well, I did mess with the fuse you are talking about (it was good) and I even cleaned the ends of the fuse along with the connectors and the brake light did come on. However, when I went to crank it electrically something clicked once like a relay or something (not the starter) and the rear light dims and temporarily goes off for a few seconds then comes back on. It's the relay on the right side of the battery near the oil tank that hangs there. It makes a click noise when plugged in and no click when unplugged. How do you test to see its bad?

[swimmingfree]

i think it for your turn signal ...
did you set the brake ???
swimmingfree

[yobomba]

Yes . Parking braket was set and while I started it up by kick starting it the blinkers all work as well.

[swimmingfree]

blinker is the thing you here on the left side of the scooter...
swimmingfree

[yobomba]

No, this is on right side of bike and I held this relay in my hand and it clicked when I pushed the starter button.

[mousewheels]

However, when I went to crank it electrically something clicked once like a relay or something (not the starter) and the rear light dims and temporarily goes off for a few seconds then comes back on. It's the relay on the right side of the battery near the oil tank that hangs there. It makes a click noise when plugged in and no click when unplugged. How do you test to see its bad?

That is the starter relay...
A common cause of the above behavior is a bad/discharged battery or poor electrical connections.

An failed starter or abnormal load on the starter can cause lights to dim.

-- Least likely --
If the contacts are open, your tail light should not dim when the relay is engaged...

Sometimes starter relay contacts go bad. You can check with a voltmeter at the starter red lead to ground and see if there is voltage when the starter button is activated.



Starter Relay:

SpreeStarterRelay.jpg (58.75 KiB) Viewed 5814 times

[Pete M]

Your battery is the source of your problem. You should still be able to kick start it as the battery has nothing to do with power to the ignition circuit. That power is from the stator when the engine is turned over.

[yobomba]

Yes, it kick starts just fine. I would like to utilize the starter since I'd rather push the button than kick start it. The battery is fine and has 13.7v so I'm just trying to figure out if the relay or starter is bad......all connections look good.

[swimmingfree]

better to get out the prob and poke around or pull the starter off and seeif its froze up ..
swimmingfree

[Pete M]

Your battery has a shorted cell. Voltage should be 12.7 - 13.0 volts max.

[yobomba]

PROBLEM SOLVED.

Ok, we'll I did a test on the starter relay and it passed continuity when I applied 12-volts so it is good. After that I went to checking the starter with a volt meter and while I was checking it and turning the key on several times I noticed my rear brake light wouldn't light up anymore. Prior to testing this thing I checked the battery and it had 12.4 volts. When the brake light wouldn't come on I decided to check it again and it only read 3.2 volts. I then decided to connect my jump box to it to see if that would turn the starter over and bam.....started right up.

The battery was new and installed back in March 2010 so I guess that is as long as they will live. I am heading to Wal mart to get a new Ever start battery for $38.99 I guess.......

My question is........how can you tell the manufacture date on the battery? There are some numbers/letter melted in the side that dictate when the battery was manufactured and I can't tell how to read them. On car batteries there is usually a letter that tells the month (A-Jan., B-Feb., C-March, etc.). The numbers are a little different on these though. Don't want to get a battery that has been setting on the shelf for 6-12 months.

Any suggestion to get a different battery somewhere else and how to maintain it?

Thanks for everyone's input on this!