Wilsons Sandbox

I apologize in advance if this is a well-discussed topic that will have most old-timers rolling their eyes, but I can't find much on this. If my bike sits for anymore than 5 days, the battery is weak. I took the battery back to the place of purchase -- they charged it up and did a load test and everything checked out. So my guess is that there is something drawing against this battery. If I buy one of those multimeters from my local radioshack, is it possible to check to see if current is moving from the battery when the key is turned off? If there is current leaving the battery -- do you have to slowly move from wire to wire to find the culprit? That's quite a few wires. Any suggestions on the most efficient way to isolate an electrical parasite? Rob 1993 KLR

attach the voltmeter to the battery , red to red , black to black. ok take reading start engine take reading rev to 3000 to 4000 rpms take reading now do the same with lights on if any of the reading , except the first is less than 13v, something with your chraging system is not ok. if , there were to be current flowing and the engine is not on, say like you left your parking light on, just the parking light, your battery would be flat by next morning. clint

if you have the time , take it down to one of those battery specialist shops, i don't know if you have such places over in the states , but over here, they do, these guys just sell batteries. all sorts of vechicle batteries. anyway , an acidity check can tell whats going on too. if you check the chargin system is ok, then just do as bogdan recomended. my guess is that the guys who installed it , did not do a proper initial charge , wrong acid type , or dropped the battery while installing. you don't have to wait 5 days , my bet is 3 days. clint