[Closed] Motorbike battery drain ... what to look for?

This should give you all the help you need. It sounds like you're reading volts while looking for a drain, i think you should be doing this on amps. A cheap meter will only get you so far and you'll need a 'true RMS' meter to get comprehensive test done, but you may not need to go that far. Hope this helps. Helped me. Check out both parts...

Aus - Member
I'm feeling stumped

You might find this interesting:
F650 forum – Battery draw drain

Worth reading the lot, but the salient points (in amps e.g. 0.04 = 40mA) are:

Post #8
On the GS models, there is also some drain caused by the ECU. You can here some clicking noises for quite a while, after switching off the ignition and I don't mean from the engine cooling down.

Post #9
I also checked the draw [b]on initial connection of the battery and like you state the bike must have a small initial systems check or power up as the draw then can be as much as 1-1.5 amps but after 2 mins it settles down to just the 0.04[/b] as previously mentioned.

Post #11
Some more interesting figures and facts
[b]The instrument console on the 2000-2003 is not fuse protected[/b]
ECU disconnected also all fuses removed = inital connection = 0.085 draw = after 2-3 mins = 0.001 draw

everything reconnected = inital connection = 0.13 draw = after 2-3 mins = 0.04 draw
[b]So clock / instrument draws only 0.001 amp at rest
ECU draw = 0.03 amp at rest.[/b]

So, in this case, measured current drain was 0.04A (40mA) most of which was the ECU.

Cougar – Moderator
mA, I would hope!

More reading: F650 forum – The Battery FAQ

^^^
Just realised the copied / quoted Post #11

“So clock / instrument draws only 0.001 amp at rest”

Should be 0.01 amp (10mA)

I.e. the original F650 forum poster ‘anthony’ refers to a total current drain of 0.04 amp (40mA) in both post #1 and post #11

OK, bit of an update.

Put it all back together yesterday and went to ride this morning and noticed that no water temp light on ignition sequence. And it won't start. Cranking over fine, 12.68V across battery. Checking it there's now no power at the fuel pump connector. Yesterday it ran fine. So have put the battery on charge and scratching my head.

Is the water temp light and fuel pump connected? Wondering if the new battery is a dud and maybe not enough power? The 3 fuses in the fuse box under seat are fine - are there more fuses and where? And can't find the fuel pump relay!

Any help would be brilliant as need the bike for work.

Just buy a Honda. 😉

To be fair I nearly bought a 650GS. Always glad I didn't.
Sorry, not helpful I know.

Check your earth connections for corrosion too. That can cause mayhem on cars, not sure about bikes, but I had a car that did it once and the lights went haywire. If you ever come up behind a car and the brake lights flash or go out when the indicators are on, that's a bad earth usually.

Doing my best to find the earths ... not always obvious (to me at least!)

Can only suggest that a connector somewhere has got water in it and is shorting - will need to check every one you can find.
For not starting - check side stand switch - bypass it if you can - at least to eliminate it as a problem temporarily - they can cause nasty problems - best to have one working though they are a sensible safety item.