New riding season where I'm at. Just had a new set of 55W driving lights installed. Rode for a while, battery ran out of juice so charged. Would completely take a charge, so replaced battery & after charging went for a 10-15 mile ride & stopped for a while. Tried to start on leaving, not enough juice to turn over (horn & lights worked). Jumped it & brought home to charge battery again. My questions relate to: 1) Is it possible that the 55W lights are pulling more juice than the charging system can replace (they are on constantly when the key is on), 2) is there a problem with the charging system, or 3) could the lights have been wired wrong. No fuses have blown. Also wondering if it is felt that the lights are pulling too much power, would switching to LED lights correct the issue. I'm not a wrench or electrician. I've heard that some of these bikes have a weak (slow) charging system & it's been questioned on my end that this may be the issue. Any thoughts or insights appreciated.

 

I've checked the battery with a meter. With bike off, 12.5 reading noted. Turn the bike without the new running lights and on revving engine & running lights off, 13.5 at idle. reading increases and at 5000 rmp, a 14.5-7 noted. When I replace fuse for running lights, the volts drop in the 12 volt range. Stays stable fairly well after running for a while. Voltage does not increase with revving. With running lights on & re-starting, volts drop into 11 range and at repeat starts, saw it drop as low as 9.9. Ran for 40+ minutes in the garage and did not have any non-starting issues. I still question if these running lights are pulling more than the recharging system can handle and that this is what eventually leads to inability to start. Would switching to an LED light system address this issue? Thanks!

 

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