How to diagnose/fix a parasitic draw on your motorcycle

[@mlackey9812]

A BIG THANK YOU from me too. Simple, understandable, no fluff, straight to the point explanation /demonstration that made 'it all' very clear to me. With your help I've been able to eliminate what I've thought has been a problem for years! Thanks again from another great full rider!!

[@flapbean]

Another tip is to consider what the last thing done was before the problem started. Good vid. Well explained

[@kobel1564]

Bro you literally saved my damn bike . Now I don’t need professionals to charge me $500 just to look at it ! You are the real MVP

[@robinhenry6326]

Just want to say a VERY big thanks for doing this video. Found my parasite draw and fixed it. I'll never let my boyfriend touch my bike again...he said he knew how to wire up a radio...he didn't. Said it was the battery, even after my second one. Thanks again.

[@mcozpda3392]

haahaaaahaaa .. thats funny and more you fix the problem ... good lesson for you boyfriend ........................

[@johnavne]

This is a fantastically simple, clear explanation of the process. Just what an electrically challenged home mechanic needed. Thanks!

[@TheMezzy712]

Love these video where people are genuinely sharing knowledge. Unlike the professionals who are selling you batteries. Great vid dude.

[@TheStyrofoamPeanut]

Your videos are great. As someone new to working on motorcycles, electrical systems are a nightmare.

[@gesparks]

Thank you. I have exactly this problem, and had no idea how to start looking for it. You just saved me hours of ineffectual puttering. Again, thanks!

[@davepost7675]

Hello from the future. I think I have a parasitic draw on my bike and this is something I have the tools and ability to do. Thanks for the video.

[@darrenfostercoog7781]

I cant stand how you say multimeter lol BUT this was a very helpful video. Very good and simple straight to the point explanations. Thank you.

[@mikeeyg1977]

Thanks brother. Going to start with this video. Battery is fine if I started every day but let the bike sit for a week and it is dead. 2017 victory highball.

[@walkerrog25]

You can tell how much a fella likes bikes when they are tinkering with them during the xmas holiday - you rock!

[@ickess]

Great video. I’ll starting this project this weekend.

[@mattbangkok]

The best thing is, these multimeters are incredibly cheap. After watching this vid I bought one and sure enough 6 months later had a use for it.

[@mrmaxstorey]

You might have a hot wire that is grounding out, or two wires crossed, or a wire that is misrouted.

[@marshallmill5597]

Great video... Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

[@bikesbirdsandbonsai2012]

Thank you mate... great vid and easy to follow... thanks for taking the time to do this 👍

[@jasonbusa8066]

Your KZbin clips very easy to understand thank you

[@PrinceKlutz]

why don't you just check for a voltage drop across the fuses while they're in place?

[@brendenberry352]

You explain things so well,thanks heaps.

[@lprince3884]

Great video, I just did that a few months ago on a old gs1100

[@formegolf]

Nice technique Max. I will remember this one. Great Job!

[@rogerthedodger5788]

Thumbs up from rainy cold England in June .... Will try to fix my Super Duke.... so all looks ok. Set meter to the 20mA setting and its showing 0.22 steadily. Hmmmm....

[@QuintanBrassfield]

This video is a BIG help my friend. Thank you much.

[@donpet8258]

Don’t forget the harder options: if it’s the battery fuse stops the draw. Could be many things. Stator, regulator, bad ecm. Etc.

[@sthildas4857]

Nice work Max..

[@mrmaxstorey]

Well if the bike is currently sparking then you know the igniter, pickup coil, cdi etc are all working. Try to make it spark, use the screwdriver trick to get a spark. If you can get a spark and its a good blue spark, then you know the problem lies elsewhere than the electrical system

[@marcokubuo8632]

WHEN I BOUGHT BIKE IT CAME WITH WIRES HANGING OUT OF A TURN SIGNAL PARASITIC DRAIN COULD THAT BE THE CULPRIT LITERALLY HAS THE POSITIVE WIRE HANGING OUT OF THE TURN SIGNAL HOUSING

[@mrmaxstorey]

The 1200 is the best motorcycle ever made, in my opinion

[@GilFavor101]

Multi-meter? What happened to the altimeter? Jk. Hey, can you try this with pos.+ side and see what you get (volts DC)? I am having problems and could use some help.....Neg. side drain (R/R I think)....... grouned R/R and no drain.....so did it on Pos.+ side and drain still there....new r/r drained 2.0 + volts dc.....old r/r drain is 12.25 volts dc (tried 2 r/r's, both have bad stock grounding)......neg. side drain goes away with grounding but, not Pos.+ side. What do you get for pos.+ side drain?

[@scottpayne7264]

thanx. i am going nuts,or nuttier trying to find the draw

[@JaysenTC]

Thanks max, I'll keep searching

[@rabbbie99]

So 0.17 amps is an acceptable ignition off draw from a battery. This seems pretty high to me. I can't see what scale you are on the multi- meter there. I have a GPZ900R and it's draining the battery when it's stored for a few weeks. I measure 1900 ohms across the battery leads with the battery removed, this equates to a draw of 12/1900=0.0063 amps. I guess this will drain the battery eventually. I checked my other bike (KLR600) resistance on the battery leads with the battery removed and it reads several Mohms (open circuit).

[@EchoWars]

"So 0.17 amps is an acceptable ignition off draw from a battery?" NO!! 0.17A is 170mA, which is a huge drain...akin to leaving the dome light on in an auto (and most of us know that that will kill a big car battery overnight). The video author does the viewer a disservice by not discussing the meter setting and giving actual measurement units. This is a horridly cheap (

[@ssaenz11]

Merry Xmas and huge question. I have a Harley Electra glide everytime I put a new stereo I'n it, the stereo blows out meaning there is a soft short. I don't know how to figure it out.

[@filds1]

well im driving keeway 150ccm 2012 release and having problems this is my 3 battery dying in 12 months im confussed I never had this problem xx

[@DanTheFordFixer]

very helpful, what do you think of madura's? theres one for sale down here cheap

[@JaysenTC]

When I put the sparkplug on the header I don't see a spark, but I think its insulated. I've changed the sparkplugs also. They must be good because when it does run it runs well...right?

[@admk69]

boom! nice video; thank you :)

[@JaysenTC]

Hey I'm stumped on a electrical problem on my bike. Its a fzs600 and its hard to start. When I press the starter the motor cranks but doesn't actually start I'll turn it in and off and try again. By the third or forth time it will start to struggle. No choke needed and no gas. Also if I rev over 10k sometimes it just dies and I have to pull over and try start g it again....just off the top of your head what could it be? I've checked alternator, rectifier and changed Cdi, starter relay, solenoid

[@johnbrowning116]

i have a honda 1982 CB900c and have a problem with it . it died while i left the turn signal on and left it for while.is it because the battery is not charging , reason why it died while driving? John

[@nerobo123]

Awesome info...elec gremlins can be such mofos. Do you get any dough for the ads or does youtube just stick them in?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Awesome. You have my support

[@canfaller]

Hey I'm building a harley lowrider custom Fuses we do'nt need no stinking fuses

[@ironkid8836]

What settin should the meter be on for testing for parasitic drain?

[@mrmaxstorey]

DCA bro

[@ironkid8836]

@mrmaxstorey cheers for that troubleshooting my dyna here no alarm battery dropped 1.1 volt I. 24hrs brand new battery

[@Hirotoro4692]

Came here for an electric motorcycle explanation but I'll pay it safe since the battery is totally different to a SLA

[@alikaostermiller]

wait where is his leads connected?

[@age_of_reason]

I have a 4.5V draw until I unplug the main fuse. I pulled my main fuse (30A) and that was the source of my draw. But that doesn't tell me anything. The main fuse is connected to my starter relay. I tested the starter relay and it tested good (hooked it up straight to the battery and checked for resistance between the [+] and [-] relay coils). RR (Regulator/Rectifier) and Stator both tested good (triple tested both and they are for sure good...Stator not grounding out to frame either). I couldn't find any frayed wires or anything. I'm about to take the bike to my mechanic. My bike is just killing new batteries. Any ideas?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Are any of these components getting unusually hot?

[@age_of_reason]

I don't know how hot a starter relay gets but when I took it out to do the test (plugged it up to 12v battery) it got super hot. I couldn't even touch it it was that hot. Are starter relays supposed to get that hot?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Absolutely not. I would focus my attention there.

[@stevenmireles5330]

@@age_of_reason I know this comment is very old but..Did you ever figure it out?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Are you getting a good spark?

[@everydayPianoPractice]

I'm subscribed. Nice Job!!

[@juliopena21]

hi itried doing this and it shows no drain.. putting it in dc amps . my battery is new and dies after 4 to 5 days depending on weather. specially in 40 degree temp .. dies in about 4 days.

[@mrmaxstorey]

Is your bike charging?

[@juliopena21]

mrmaxstorey i just read the owners manual. . And since y barely ride my bike for long period. Thats whats going on .. im going to take out my HID lights since that takes alot off power out of battery. And just leave it stock. _lh3.googleusercontent.com/x_A-RYuuayAkulxuL7bopb5jC7FX7RKmng_WMbx36WsG1AjpmIXYEcgNdHRQWSyDTSbsc5Xqpg_

[@mateoibarra4987]

This is a perfect videos

[@ConSeann3ry]

Great vid thanks man!

[@charliesybert2683]

Is it normal for me to put my bike away and a week later the battery doesn't have the power to crank anymore

[@mrmaxstorey]

Nah it should still have plenty of juice

[@age_of_reason]

When I pull the starter relay fuse out the drain disappers (reading is 0 volts). I installed a new starter relay and I still get 5V when it is connected (with fuse in). I don't know how to diagnose where it's coming from. I'm going to run a voltage test on stator and RR.

[@mrmaxstorey]

The stator and RR dont affect the starter solenoid. Consult your wiring diagram to see where the wires trace back, and then confirm that no hot wires are touching any ground or frayed

[@age_of_reason]

My bike, a 1986 Shadow 700, has a starter relay next to the battery but no starter solenoid. I think the relay acts as a solenoid for the starter. Not sure if that's right. The wire that melted the connection at the starter relay runs back to the RR. No joke. I couldn't find any faulty connections or shorted wires.

[@mrmaxstorey]

Is that wire your common ground?

[@age_of_reason]

I have two wires connected to the starter relay/solenoid: Thick red wire running to [+] battery terminal, thick black wire running to [-] battery ground. 1986 Honda Shadow VT700. I ran a voltage test on the stator: 3 terminals all putting out between 3-7V AC. I also have a spark jumping across the plug to the engine frame (@ every 30 seconds). I wonder if this could be part of the problem. But I think it's safe to say I need to replace the stator. Bike has 51k miles and that stator is likely the original.

[@mrmaxstorey]

I looked up your wiring diagram. That big black thick wire should not go to ground, it goes to your starter motor, and you should have 2 smaller wires which come off your relay that activate it, a yellow/red and a green/red

[@gregjohns59]

excellent video ... Thx

[@PistNRods]

My bike seems to be charging fine except for when I turn my headlight on. It'll put the battery flat after a ride. The bulb itself I've been meaning to fix, it's dual filament and the high beam filament is broken, that's how I can run it with it off. Can it be as simple as the bulb causing a draw?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Yes it can

[@PistNRods]

thanks mang

[@hugomarques2982]

Hi, I don't know what is happening to my bike, but I charge my battery, plug it in my bike and it loses power almost instantly (12,50v) as soon as I push the start button. I charge my battery again (it charges rapidly) and it all goes the same again. Can you help me? It's a new battery.Thanks

[@mrmaxstorey]

+Hugo Marques Well as the battery rotates the starter motor, voltage will drop. Thats normal

[@hugomarques2982]

But he battery voltage drop even not pluged in the motorcycle... is this normal? Thanks

[@hugomarques2982]

+mrmaxstorey My battery loses charge even when is not plugged in motorcycle... is this normal? It had 13v and now it have 12,68 ... can it be the battery is draining it self? I did this test has you show in this video, and sometimes it drained, and sometimes no drain... I thought I found out the draining circuit in the fusebox, but then even with the fuse out it starts to drain again... The battery has 6 months at maximum, could it be a defect from fabric? Can it be that my charger is not charging it right? please help me! thanks a lot!

[@mrmaxstorey]

+Hugo Marques A good battery will hold a charge above 13v. Yours might be in need of replacement

[@hugomarques2982]

+mrmaxstorey yes I think my battery is not good anymore, but it has only about 6 months old. I think I found a parasitic draw on my motorcycle. When I did your test it showed positive for draw, then It came normal when I pulled out my cable that attaches my relay starter... so I did a test to the relay starter has my owners manual says: Meter range: 1 Ω Criteria: When battery is connected → 0 Ω When battery is disconnected → ∞ Ω and it did not passed... when the battery was connected it showed some values like 0,02 ... 0,03 Do you think this can be the reason that my battery is not good now anymore...?

[@markcorbitt4043]

What if there is no draw?

[@mrmaxstorey]

Um well so then you're good?

[@JaysenTC]

Coils and battery

[@jjtt6866]

One lady drawed my juice few days ago.

[@mcozpda3392]

i think this work in harleys too ..... ????

[@mcozpda3392]

upppssss ...my multimeter don't have amps ... only homs , vdc , vac , and arrows ...

[@Islandconnection33]

Multi-meter*** 😂 great video though just had to

[@seekgodfirst1605]

That bike looks like a Suzuki Madura.

[@mrmaxstorey]

awwww yissss

[@mrmaxstorey]

yeah I get a taste, enough to keep me in gas and beer

[@andygreenwood1989]

Thank You! :)

[@mrmaxstorey]

Thanks bud you too

[@jjtt6866]

We used my battery to start she´s motorbike.

[@mrmaxstorey]

no rest for the obsessed

[@2002drumsonly]

EXCELLENT! Consider me subscribed!!!

[@mrmaxstorey]

Um cause its christmas

[@Viper6-MotoVlogger]

How do you fix a parasitic draw known as an ex-wife? :D

[@lingjohn1288]

vac0002 hitman?

[@docholiday1034]

👍👍

[@mrmaxstorey]

atta boy