Electrical Gremlins

[brooksey]

I've owned my CT 125 since July '22 and have logged close to 1300 miles, From time to time there are some annoying electrical issues going on. First thing is the electic start just clicks and won't turn the engine; however, the bike kickstarts just fine. Secondly, the ABS indicator light flashes continuously while riding. Further, the horn sounds muted and not as loud as it should be. Finally, while this stuff is going on I notice the turn signals sometimes operate at different intervals when activated; that is sometimes normal and sometimes unusually fast. I suspect that this stuff is somehow all related, but I haven't done any troubleshooting yet. Has anyone out there experienced any of these issues, and if so what is the culprit? Other than these glitches, bike runs and rides great. Thanks in advance.

 

[dmonkey]

Have you checked the health of the battery? These gremlins you describe sound like an undercharged or failing battery, or like there could be a loose connection at the battery terminals. That would be the first place I would look. An inexpensive multimeter can be used to check the battery voltage at rest and with the engine running.

 

[brooksey]

Have you checked the health of the battery? These gremlins you describe sound like an undercharged or failing battery, or like there could be a loose connection at the battery terminals. That would be the first place I would look. An inexpensive multimeter can be used to check the battery voltage at rest and with the engine running.

Thanks DMonkey; that's where I'll start.

 

[m in sc]

check the connections are tight at the battery as well

 

[Genx75]

I've owned my CT 125 since July '22 and have logged close to 1300 miles, From time to time there are some annoying electrical issues going on. First thing is the electic start just clicks and won't turn the engine; however, the bike kickstarts just fine. Secondly, the ABS indicator light flashes continuously while riding. Further, the horn sounds muted and not as loud as it should be. Finally, while this stuff is going on I notice the turn signals sometimes operate at different intervals when activated; that is sometimes normal and sometimes unusually fast. I suspect that this stuff is somehow all related, but I haven't done any troubleshooting yet. Has anyone out there experienced any of these issues, and if so what is the culprit? Other than these glitches, bike runs and rides great. Thanks in advance.

Might want to check your ground wires, floating ground can cause all of those issues.

 

[brooksey]

Have you checked the health of the battery? These gremlins you describe sound like an undercharged or failing battery, or like there could be a loose connection at the battery terminals. That would be the first place I would look. An inexpensive multimeter can be used to check the battery voltage at rest and with the engine running.

It was the battery connections. I have a battery tender installed and apparently the connections weren't tight enough. Tightened them up and seems to be fine now.

 

[Cpd419]

Unbelievable but my 22 is doing the same thing except it starts fine and the tail light, turn signals and horn doesn’t work. How ironic. I will tear into mine in a few. Just started doing it yesterday.

 

[Chinjab]

Check the battery, battery connections and fuses. My guess is a fuse if it starts fine.

 

[Cpd419]

Check the battery, battery connections and fuses. My guess is a fuse if it starts fine.

It was a fuse but I didn’t notice the ONE outside the battery cover. So after taking the battery cover off and checking all those fuses, connections, the battery and what not I noticed the lone fuse.

 

[Chinjab]

Good find - glad you figured it out. Get a few fuses and stick them in your tool kit on the bike. Fuses are fuses, designed to blow so it will likely happen again at some point.

 

[Cpd419]

Good find - glad you figured it out. Get a few fuses and stick them in your tool kit on the bike. Fuses are fuses, designed to blow so it will likely happen again at some point.

Completely my fault but yea.

 

[brooksey]

I've owned my CT 125 since July '22 and have logged close to 1300 miles, From time to time there are some annoying electrical issues going on. First thing is the electic start just clicks and won't turn the engine; however, the bike kickstarts just fine. Secondly, the ABS indicator light flashes continuously while riding. Further, the horn sounds muted and not as loud as it should be. Finally, while this stuff is going on I notice the turn signals sometimes operate at different intervals when activated; that is sometimes normal and sometimes unusually fast. I suspect that this stuff is somehow all related, but I haven't done any troubleshooting yet. Has anyone out there experienced any of these issues, and if so what is the culprit? Other than these glitches, bike runs and rides great. Thanks in advance.

So just to give you guys an update. After further investigation, I discovered that my battery was bad so I ditched the stock battery and replaced it with a Tusk brand lithium ion battery. Everything works fine now but I hope I can say the same after using it for awhile. One thing though is how little the thing weighs compared to the stock battery. Also its smaller and easier to install. Finally, I like the terminal connections better as well.