Boxerworks.com

Hey all!

I have been out of it for the last month with varying amounts of sickness, including a fight against COVID.

Anyway, I finally made it back to a point where I felt up for a ride.

The bike hasn’t been turned on or run since July 13th this year, and has been sitting (petcocks off, but battery connected) since then.

It didn’t want to start. The battery felt strong still, turned over just fine, cranking sounded real strong. Enricher lever engaged as much as it would go, and it would only ever sputter a couple times, but only ever three total moments did it sputter briefly before just cranking again.

After about 60 seconds of running the starter motor over the course of a total of about 2 minutes, smoke started coming out from under the seat.

I turned it off and switched the key to the off position, lifted the seat and the tool box out and found the actual metal that holds the terminal of the ground on the battery melting and dripping down the side of the battery.

Pics here: https://imgur.com/a/M6jdnhP

Anyone seen this before?

After the fact, I noticed that the cable itself, or, the screw that was fastening it to the post, was quite loose, with a visible gap in between the bottom of the screw and the tip of the post where it should have been fastened to. Could this have played a part?

I’ll be doing more thorough testing tomorrow when I have the spare time to head to get a new battery, but what should I be looking for to make sure not to fry the second one?

Only other thought was that I had been attempting to use a new accessory via the power port on the side of my bike (tested it with another BMW riders adapter before and the power port worked and brought a charge to my phone, but this was my first attempt at using the specific adapter, pictured in the above album. It never did send charge to my phone throughout this endeavor)

Thoughts?

kmisterk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:46 am

I turned it off and switched the key to the off position, lifted the seat and the tool box out and found the actual metal that holds the terminal of the ground on the battery melting and dripping down the side of the battery.

Pics here: https://imgur.com/a/M6jdnhP

Anyone seen this before?

After the fact, I noticed that the cable itself, or, the screw that was fastening it to the post, was quite loose, with a visible gap in between the bottom of the screw and the tip of the post where it should have been fastened to. Could this have played a part?

It's an extreme example but a loose screw can do that. A poor connection can produce a lot of heat which can build up sufficiently to melt the lead solder. It may have been like it for a long time... while the bike was starting on the first push, the heat wouldn't have had time to build up but with it being 'reluctant' to start after a long lay up, the longer cranking time would have allowed the heat to reach melting point.

The alternative might be that the post itself was defective with a partial fracture causing the same sort of build up of heat so that the same comments would apply.

I'm afraid there isn't anything for it but a new battery.

I would also be inclined to service the starter motor on the grounds that a stiff motor might still turn the bike over but it will draw a lot more current to do it... and that certainly wouldn't improve matters.

Rob

kmisterk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:46 am
I’ll be doing more thorough testing tomorrow when I have the spare time to head to get a new battery, but what should I be looking for to make sure not to fry the second one?

Thoughts?

The loose connection was clearly the cause of your battery terminal melting so just ensure connections are clean and tight.

The very first thing I always do before attempting to start a bike that has stood for a while is empty the float bowls and allow them to refill with fresh fuel. It only takes seconds to do. The volatile fractions will have evaporated off making starting more difficult.

Rob Frankham wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:34 am
It's an extreme example but a loose screw can do that. A poor connection can produce a lot of heat which can build up sufficiently to melt the lead solder. It may have been like it for a long time... while the bike was starting on the first push, the heat wouldn't have had time to build up but with it being 'reluctant' to start after a long lay up, the longer cranking time would have allowed the heat to reach melting point.

The alternative might be that the post itself was defective with a partial fracture causing the same sort of build up of heat so that the same comments would apply.

I'm afraid there isn't anything for it but a new battery.

I would also be inclibed to service the starter motor on the grounds that a stiff motor might still turn the bike over but it will draw a lot more current to do it... and that certainly wouldn't improve matters.

Rob

Thanks for the insight. I'm grateful to get some external confirmation of my assumption about the loose screw.

barryh wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:38 am

kmisterk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:46 am
I’ll be doing more thorough testing tomorrow when I have the spare time to head to get a new battery, but what should I be looking for to make sure not to fry the second one?

Thoughts?

The loose connection was clearly the cause of your battery terminal melting so just ensure connections are clean and tight.

The very first thing I always do before attempting to start a bike that has stood for a while is empty the float bowls and allow them to refill with fresh fuel. It only takes seconds to do. The volatile fractions will have evaporated off making starting more difficult.

Ahh, That's a great thing to do. Thanks for that bit about the fuel, I never would have thought. And again, thanks for the confirmation bias on the loose screw concept. I'm grateful it seems to be a seemingly simple issue.

Glad to see you back after the C19! I'm thinking you shouldn't be running the starter motor for very long. If it doesn't start in 5 seconds, I would let it cool down. If you don't have a gear reduction starter, it can draw a lot of current. Good luck with your new battery and cleaned up grounds.

Zombie Master wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:55 am Glad to see you back after the C19! I'm thinking you shouldn't be running the starter motor for very long. If it doesn't start in 5 seconds, I would let it cool down. If you don't have a gear reduction starter, it can draw a lot of current. Good luck with your new battery and cleaned up grounds.

Thanks! And I am thinking that, between the loose screw and the "old gas," a "perfect storm" of sorts caused this to occur. Quite a strange thing for me, a first in this instance.

I don't drain the float bowls. When I get home I turn the petcock off at the start of my driveway and ride it a few hundred yards up to my house. I rarely have it sputter, but the fuel has to be pretty low by the time I get it in the garage and shut it off. Seems to work.

I think in the OP I would also get a new ground cable.

barryh wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:38 am

kmisterk wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 3:46 am
I’ll be doing more thorough testing tomorrow when I have the spare time to head to get a new battery, but what should I be looking for to make sure not to fry the second one?

Thoughts?

The loose connection was clearly the cause of your battery terminal melting so just ensure connections are clean and tight.

The very first thing I always do before attempting to start a bike that has stood for a while is empty the float bowls and allow them to refill with fresh fuel. It only takes seconds to do. The volatile fractions will have evaporated off making starting more difficult.

Similarly, if I think the bike is going to sit a while before it gets ridden again, I'll actually drain the float bowls by turning the fuel taps off in the last mile on the way home, and then let it idle on the centerstand when I get there. It might take a minute or two.

No point debating on what caused the failure,
you need a new battery and a new starter (or starter rebuild).
my recommendations....

BATTERY:
Approx. $170.00 US, Can't be beat. The King-Kong of bike batteries.
https://www.yuasabatteries.com/battery/gyz32hl/

STARTER:
Unbelievably inexpensive complete NEW starter, approx. $78.00 US, and way more powerful than OE BMW starters
You could take yours apart and 'fix' it and it still won't be as good. Anyway at this price, why bother
https://www.denparts.ca/starter-new-bmw ... gK79_D_BwE

gspd wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 8:54 pm No point debating on what caused the failure,
you need a new battery and a new starter (or starter rebuild).
my recommendations....

BATTERY:
Approx. $170.00 US, Can't be beat. The King-Kong of bike batteries.
https://www.yuasabatteries.com/battery/gyz32hl/

STARTER:
Unbelievably inexpensive complete NEW starter, approx. $78.00 US, and way more powerful than OE BMW starters
You could take yours apart and 'fix' it and it still won't be as good. Anyway at this price, why bother
https://www.denparts.ca/starter-new-bmw ... gK79_D_BwE

Turns out, the ground cable was loose at both ends of the cable. The lower connector also has a "mod" where the normally enclosed loop was cut to allow for easy removal of the cable without fully removing the screw itself.

I replaced the battery alone and ensured all screws were good and tight and the bike started up with zero issue.

Would you still recommend replacing the starter? The starter almost never has to run for more than 2 seconds for the engine to start.