2005 WR-450 charging issue

[icemanbhm]

I have a friend who has a wr-450 who often has too little juice in his battery for electric start. He took it to the Yamaha dealer soon after he bought it (brand new) and they said that you have to charge the Yamaha after each ride. I have a hard time believing this. Is this true? Does the stator not put out enough juice to charge the battery while you are riding?

[clark4131]

The dealer is full of manure, they just don't want to fix it. My WR stays charged unless I leave the ignition switch on. He's got a bad battery or a fault in the charging system. My bet would be the battery. If he reported the problem before his first 30 days were up, and they have a record of it, Yamaha will likely fix it under warranty. It's the dealer that's going to be a pain in the ...SC

[ETP]

These WR450 charging systems and batteries are designed for light wieght so they don't have lots of extra starting power like a car system. After my 03 has been running for a several minutes, there's plenty of juice to re-start my engine no matter what. Some times after several weeks with no charge and cold weather my battery will drop out, but after I get it started, its fine for the rest of the riding day. A Battery Tender is your best bet for keeping it topped off. ?

[MountainMax]

Again, i say you shouldn't have to put a battery charger on your battery, I have never had any trouble starting mine with the E-start unless you have to excessivly crank it like if you flooded it or something. You definately have a problem and you should check your charging voltage. Put a voltmeter on the battery terminals, should be about 12.4 volts, then start her up and re-measure, should be about 14.6. this way you know it's charging at least, then it must be a faulty battery, OR there is something staying on draining your battery, you can test this with an ammeter, put it on 10A settings and disconect the negative terminal, put one lead on that terminal and one on the battery lug you just removed it from, should be 0 amps going through with everything off (called a Parastatic draw test) if you have any current flowing with key off it will drain your battery. (JFI >>Cars with computers will draw ususally about .1 of an amp with key off, that's normal)

[ETP]

This has been my recent experience with an 03. If the bike sits for several weeks without starting, the older battery will loose much of its available cranking amps. If I put a battery charger on it the night before a ride, it will top off and be ready on ride day. Once started, the charging system keeps the battery topped off.

During the first year, the battery retained more of its power for a longer time.

If I could ride more often, I would have never learned this. ??

[farkawi]

First off, the bike must be jetted properly so it will start cold easily. The battery won't last a long time just grinding away. I would definitely check the charging system and battery. The dealer should honor the warranty and Yamaha will make them do so if it should come down to that. My '05 always fires up just fine with or without the button.

[thumbthrottler]

I had the same problem on my 05 WR 450. I did a full system check per manual, and it told me that my Voltage reg and charging coil were shot. After looking into pricing at the dealer, I called up Trailtech. They hooked me up, plenty of juice. Charges at 14+ now, no issues on battery needing charge every ride. BTW, the dealer would not warranty anything after 30 days.

[Summit]

Why not get a battery tender for $35.00 and just keep it plugged in while it's sitting in your shop between rides? Then you have no worries and the battery lasts longer.

[horntoader]

Make sure its the right battery i have a 2005 wr 450 and it came with a wr 250 battery in it i think it was 5 amp and the 450 is 7 amp.Actually it said right the battery designed for wr 250.

[MountainMax]

great info.......