thanks for the forum. this looks like a great place to get help and to help a bunch of good people.....

i have a 2002 ds650 baja. the battery has a full charge 12+ volts dc but will barely turn over once or twice before the selanoid starts clicking. it is drawing between 50 and 60 amps while cranking and the voltage drops from 12-13 volts down to 4 or so volts. is this a bad battery???? thanks for any and all help!

 

Welcome aboard.

While starting you should drop no lower than 9 volts, and at idle should hold around 14.25. Is it maintenance free or can you check the fluid levels? Try an overnight charge and see if she gets any stronger. If that is the original battery though my guess is it's time to invest in a new one.

 

thanks alot for the quick response. i think a new batt. is in my future!

 

thanks very much for serving!

 

fyi in reguards to my own post. talked to a couple of dealers and they all said that on the ds650 the battery needs to read at least 13.1 volts before the beast will start. if it reads any less it will have a hard time turning over and starting. i also informed them before that i was not buying a battery off them so as to avoid any tainted advice!

 

Here is the link for the last battery you'll need. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
ODYSSEY® drycell batteries

There is a place on Ebay in Florida that has a great price on them.

 

Sounds like you still got the tainted advice anyway! I have had five of these machines and with all of them my experience was that while sitting under no load the battery read in the 12.25 range. Turn the key and hit the start button and they draw down to around 9.3 and then after starting while idling they read in the 14.24-14.40 area. I've never had a DS fail to start when the draw was at 9 volts. While revving you can get the volts up some but in a stock version they operate at 14v.

Anyone else had different experiences? This pretty much jives with the shop manual so if they are telling you different they may be trying to get you to change your mind on where to buy the battery. Can't go wrong with the Odyssey PC545, found on ebay for $85 including S&H. They (Hawker Industries) have awesome customer service if the battery fails and you need a replacement.

 

Oh and Welcome to the forums c-train. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

thanks for all the advice guys! i agree about the advice from the dealers, its probably tainted. the maine reason i am replacing the battery other than its age is that the draw while cranking is around 4 or less volts. thanks for the link to the battery i appreciate it.

 

I can tell you that Ace knows what is going on in this department for sure. I know he played the battery game for a bit and has got her down now.

Alright Southern Ace....You beat me to this one [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

And C-Train, Welcome aboard