2014 outlander 500 extreme battery drain

2077 Views 30 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Freewill, 21 h ago

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · 16 d ago

Hey guys,

new to the forum and outlander ownership and have a bit of an issue.

just bought this bike in rather rough condition and got a new battery today.

hooked it up and it started first time which was great (was bought in non running condition).

turned it off as I wanted to do some work before running it properly. It then proceeded to drain the battery from new charged state to about 1v in 10 minutes.

Disconnected the battery and it came back up to about 11 volts as it cooled down.

I am going through the wiring to find the short but wanted to check on your advice for potential first places to inspect - rectifier maybe ?

the starter solenoid is also loose and I wondered if a positive terminal was arcing to the frame. Couldn’t quite work out how it mounts as it seems loose under the seat. Any pics of mounting appreciated.

thanks in advance - batt is on to charge, hopefully it comes back to life

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Angore

· #2 · 16 d ago

Welcome to the forum .
Was the key off / out while the battery was draining so quickly ?
That's an awful lot of amps and I'd say whatever the offending item was got extremely hot along with the wiring feeding it .

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #3 · 16 d ago

Thank you!
The key was in but pretty sure it was off.

Rectifier was def warm

scottmc

· #4 · 16 d ago

As far as I know, there are only two high-current circuits, starter and winch. Those are where I'd start.

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BombardierBomb

· #5 · 16 d ago

I mean, that severe a short, you'd almost have to smell something hot....

That solenoid is a little tricky to mount correctly. There should be a cover right there, that it slips into/under, and mounts there. Do you have that cover? I don't see it in the pic

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #6 · 16 d ago

Thanks guys.
it doesn’t have a winch but I noticed there is a fuse for it so maybe the wiring is there ?

will start by pulling that fuse and putting a meter on it. The massive currentdraw made me think it was the terminal from the starter solenoid touching the frame

I see what you mean by the cover Bomadier Bomb - it is a bit broken but I think I can make it work. Does it bolt on to the plastic ? Only pic I can find on the forum is this one

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Atvalaska

· #7 · 16 d ago

Boy judging from the leftover muck/ dirt staining it's going to be a bucket of fun trying to figure this one out....the guys here got you on the rite track...I use a thermal imager to find stuff that gets warmer than ambient , pank it in a cooler spot then in unhook every thing....nextday.... hook her up ... wait an see.. get a beer.....wires are mostly on the out side..my .02

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Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #8 · 16 d ago

Yeah I was amazed there wasn’t burning…

only thing that was warm was the rectifier as far as I could see but I will pull some more plastic to be sure.

it’s a rough diamond, with all the mud etc but hopefully once I sort this and the brakes it will be good

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Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #9 · 15 d ago

So got the multimeter out only to discover it doesn’t do enough current for the job…annoying

volts wise if put the meter in series with the negative lead and negative terminal then I get about 1.6v with the rectifier unplugged and full 12.2v with the rectifier plugged in.

seems like the rectifier so far but will search the forum on how to test it - I recall seeing a thread somewhere on that

BombardierBomb

· #10 · 15 d ago

I took a buncha pics way back when I was engine-swapping my 650, let me see if I got any detail on that solenoid mounting. It sits in that little cup there, the bolt that holds it in is impossible to get to from above, you have to lift the tray there to get underneath it, which is troublesome because the starter cable only allows for a little movement. It's a PITA

Where the finger is pointing to is for the aux fuse block mount, but BRP did away with it I think the 2016 MY. They just kept stamping out the old plastic trays I guess, because why not

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #11 · 15 d ago

Thanks BB!

Mine is a 14 so it still has the aux fuses there. it’s hard work out on my very rough project bike where anything is supposed to mount as there are bolts missing, added wires and I’m sure bits missing…

if you have a pic I’d appreciate it

BombardierBomb said:
I took a buncha pics way back when I was engine-swapping my 650, let me see if I got any detail on that solenoid mounting. It sits in that little cup there, the bolt that holds it in is impossible to get to from above, you have to lift the tray there to get underneath it, which is troublesome because the starter cable only allows for a little movement. It's a PITA

Where the finger is pointing to is for the aux fuse block mount, but BRP did away with it I think the 2016 MY. They just kept stamping out the old plastic trays I guess, because why not

BombardierBomb

· #12 · 15 d ago

Bah, sorry, I've got nothing for that area. I was more focused on the engine wiring harness routing, just scrolled back through 'em all

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Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #13 · 15 d ago

So I think I need to pull all the plastics still and clean it all up to work out where I am losing power.

even with the rectifier unplugged I still have voltage going somewhere and I tried pulling each fuse one by one to no avail.

rather oddly the voltage drain gradually increased the longer I left the meter inline with the negative lead, maxing out at around 2.3v. I am a little bewildered by that but know very little about electrics so maybe it’s not that odd

I’ll order a new rectifier and otherwise keep trying to find shorts !

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #14 · 15 d ago

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pic of what I’m dealing with 😬

might have to high pressure clean it all to make some headway.

who even knows what that bullet connector was for- wiring might not even be original I guess…

at least it runs ok!

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Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #15 · 15 d ago

BombardierBomb said:
Bah, sorry, I've got nothing for that area. I was more focused on the engine wiring harness routing, just scrolled back through 'em all

All good thanks anyway

Reactions: 1

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #16 · 14 d ago

So my quest to find the current draw continues… although I think the new rectifier will address the bulk of my problems.

I found these random loose wires above the front right wheel. One looks like it should be earthed to the body, the others I am unsure about

anyone have an idea where they are supposed to go?

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Tozguy

· #17 · 14 d ago

Might be for a winch relay.

Reactions: 2

Billbubble

Discussion Starter · #18 · 14 d ago

Tozguy said:
Might be for a winch relay.

Ah cheers, should be able to search some pics for winch relay!

BombardierBomb

· #19 · 14 d ago

Tozguy said:
Might be for a winch relay.

That bracket right there is the giveaway, looks like factory wiring if a winch was on the machine from new

Reactions: 1

Chief...

· #20 · 14 d ago

I tend to agree that it is probably for the winch relay. Is the green wire hot? Fuse F7 in the front fuse box is for the winch if there was one on it. Check and make sure that fuse is good and then pull it to see if it kills the power to the green wire.
(Conversly, it the green wire is not hot, check the fuse and replace if bad and check green wire again).

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