[GOV5]

A short while back, someone posted here that they had left the ignition switch on when they thought it had been turned off. Evidently there is a certain procedure, that if done done properly, will cause your bike to remain on and the battery gets drained.



Could this be a possible reason for so many of you having battery problems within a year of buying the bike?

 

[laen]

No issues.

Read the owners manual.
Turn your bike & Key FOB off when not using


USER ERROR

 

[Booch]

Didn't know there were battery problems. Mine is fine in the second year.

 

[Pigeon Roost]

I believe user error is the most likely culprit; such was with me on two occasions. I thought the bike was fully off, but the headlamps stayed on. First time I did not notice and did not find the error for a few hours, the battery was way low. I recharged with my Deltran Tender. The second time I did notice, was looking (still do look) to make sure. My habit in returning from ride is to idle into garage, place in neutral, put side stand down, place on center stand and then turn engine off. But, the rear wheel tends to rotate when placed on center stand in neutral and that may be part or all of the problem as some reports here claim that the electronics do not completely disengage if the wheel is turning. I am not sure. I have not noticed any problems if I leave the FOB on, but remove the FOB from the area of the cycle -- then again my habit is to turn the FOB off, mostly. I also am now in habit of double "off" turning of the knob to get the steering lock signal. Another problem may be that the dealerships are not initializing the batteries at set-up time; although I would think that YUSA would have factory initialized since it is a no maintenance battery design.

prs

 

[CarpeDiem]

Zero problem with the battery in 14 months.

 

[ron1026]

Zero problem with the battery in 14 months.

Same here, But have also had the lights stay on after shutting off the switch, but I do make a point of checking to make sure it does go off.

 

[Fred H.]

A short while back, someone posted here that they had left the ignition switch on when they thought it had been turned off. Evidently there is a certain procedure, that if done done properly, will cause your bike to remain on and the battery gets drained.


Could this be a possible reason for so many of you having battery problems within a year of buying the bike?

I believe many of the reported dead battery problems are caused by the bike not being turned off completely. If the rear wheel is moving when you turn the ignition knob to the OFF position, it will leave the bike powered up, and the bike can then even be restarted without the FOB even being present.

I have also experienced the bike staying powered on when on the sidestand and turning the key off, which I suspect was caused by the signal from the FOB not being picked up from the receiver on the bike. So this is another scenario where the bike can stay powered on. If the FOB is in your pocket and you have dismounted and aren't standing close enough to the bike when you turn the ignition switch off, the bike may stay powered on.

The solution is that you have to check the dash each and every time you turn the key off and make sure the bike is totally powered down. Failure to make this a habit will sooner or later result in you walking away from your bike with it still powered up.

 

[BR-549]

I suspect was caused by the signal from the FOB not being picked up from the receiver on the bike. So this is another scenario where the bike can stay powered on. If the FOB is in your pocket and you have dismounted and aren't standing close enough to the bike when you turn the ignition switch off, the bike may stay powered on.

I have had the FOB get turned off in my pocket.


I also use the always lock the steering and check the dash method.

 

[RoadSurfer]

Sorry, Fred, but how could it be possible “If the FOB is in your pocket and you ... aren't standing close enough to the bike when you turn the ignition switch off”? How could you not be standing close enough if the fob is in your pocket? You have to be standing within a foot of the bike in order to reach the switch, no?

 

[Fred H.]

Sorry, Fred, but how could it be possible “If the FOB is in your pocket and you ... aren't standing close enough to the bike when you turn the ignition switch off”? How could you not be standing close enough if the fob is in your pocket? You have to be standing within a foot of the bike in order to reach the switch, no?

The FOB emits an electronic signal, and like all electronic signals it is subject to interference. A bunch of keys or change in your pocket with the FOB could be enough to reduce it's effective range. So could a weak battery in the FOB itself. If the FOB is in your left pocket and you are standing to the left of the bike by a foot, the FOB could now be nearing its range limitation. An overhead fluorescent light could also reduce the range due to its interference. There are so many factors that can impact the range of electronic signals, the list is too long to go into. I've had it happen to me on at least one occasion with the FOB in my pocket and the bike running and on the sidestand in neutral.

My best advice is to get into the habit of checking that all the lights on the dash are indeed off when you turn the switch off.

 

[JamieMac]

I developed the habit of always turning off the ignition with my left hand, while holding the frt brake with my right. Works every time. No way for the wheel to move with the brake on.

 

[DDL]

All a case of not being turned off.... Turning off the key fob when the bike is still on will not turn it off, it will not even turn off ACC. However, I have noticed that there is a "timeout" with ACC that will cause it to turn itself off. I have hit that limit at least twice and the bike turned ACC off on me when I was still messing with something being powered by ACC. I don't think there would be such a timeout with "On" because a malfunction in the timer could turn the bike off on you while riding, and fear of liability would just exclude "On" from having such a timer. Not having to deal with a key really increases the potential of failing to turn off the bike. I have done it a couple times, but I was basically saved by what I will say next...... The only potential "fix" for that is to put the radio on speakers and leave it playing while you get off and cram your gear in the trunk/bags and then turn the knob a few times until it beeps when you leave (or at least stop playing music if you are in your garage). The few times I left it "on", I was listening to music while putting my gear away and discovered everything was still on when I went to turn off the radio.