A New Radio Problem?

[RVB1019]

Hello All,

I've completed a search and don't think I've found a solution to this new twist on a dead radio issue.

Last weekend, I accidently left my Baehr headset plugged in after my last ride. By this past Tuesday, it had drained battery. I used my Battery Tender to recharge my two month old new battery. After 24 hours, it hadn't charged the battery enough to start the bike so I had to jumpstart it and then ride it for 30 minutes. All was good! It restarted three -four more times without incident. I plugged the Battery Tender in again after my ride.

This morning, dead battery! Jumpstarted to go out for B-fast - 20 minute ride- dead battery again. Jumpstart and the group rides off. Everything is working fine but all of a sudden the radio cuts out. I turn it on again, and the radio display flashes NO RADIO, plays for a minute and then dies out. Bike runs great! The Sat. radio plugged into the powerlets still had power just not the radio head unit.

I immediately think about what I've read here on the board about the radio issues. I decide to pull the fuse from the main panel to see if the radio is drawing too much juice. We go in and eat. Come out 45 minutes later, bike starts up no problem. I ride another 30 miles with at least three or four stop/starts- bike starts every time. When I get home and plug in the Battery Tender, it shows the battery as strong and goes into storage mode.

Could I have blown the fuse on the back of the radio unit from jumping the bike? Is that the source of the power drain? Keep in mind that I blew out one channel on the radio last fall while messing around with my Satellite radio power supply. The radio is not 100%.

My other thought was that it is a grounding problem from my new HID install. I checked my connections- all are good. Could the Baher intercom be drawing too much? My solution- replace the radio.

Do the board gurus agree?

[wardenross]

rob,

every now and then my radio will flash "no radio" and will not work. it's strange because the lights in the radio selector buttons are lit as if everything is normal.

i have to disconnect the battery for a few minutes. re-connect the battery and the radio will "fix" itself.

i hope this will help :-)

[RVB1019]

I pulled the neg. battery cables. Hopefully that will reset the radio.

Any thoughts on the power drain?

[astuber]

I have read on the forum that the Battery Tender is not effective for recharging dead batteries-it is intended to keep the battery topped off once it is charged. There is a very high parasitic load on the LT, especially if you don't lock the handle bars in the off position. My battery will run down in 4-5 days if I don't ride it or have it plugged into the Battery Tender. I live on a hill so I can start it by getting up to about 10 mph and popping the clutch. You might try charging the battery using a regular battery charger and see what happens.

The radio seems to be very sensitive to the state of the battery and the symptoms you describe are an indication that the battery is not up to full charge. YMMV

[RVB1019]

I took both of your advice and disconnected the battery. That seemed to eliminate the NO RADIO issue. The bike started right up. The Battery Tender showed green lights- all is good!

I had to leave town for two days. Let's see if the mysterious battery drain returns.

[RVB1019]

I checked the bike yesterday- no juice. When I get home tonight, I'm going to disconnect the Baehr and see if this is the cause.

Has anyone heard of the Baehr draining the battery? My thought was that since I left the helmet plugged in two weeks ago, it may need to be reset?
Stay tuned!

[lockdoc]

be cautious of dealers, they wanted to replace my radio until I tried the disconnect battery tip, save over 900 dollars, after they had it for over a week.

[omurphy]

the baehr will drain the battery if you do not turn your ignition switch to the off position. that is two clicks to the left from start. it is also the position that locks the front end but does not turn the parking lights on. that may or may not solve you problem. it is possible that your unit is not the plug and play that is made for the k12lt and is wire where it is on all the time.