[62939]

I have a 2002 kawasaki Ninja ZX7R and when I leave the pos bat cable attached to the bat then it will kill the bat...brand new battery...no idea where to start and dont have the money to pay a mechanic right now...should i just save up and wait or try and fix it?

 

[sachiwilson]

You have a short. Start tracking those wires.

 

[63022]

sachiwilson is right track down the wires. I bought a service manual for my R6. It will have the circuit diagram of your bike which might help. A small electrical meter might help to track down what is drawing current Sometimes a poor ignition switch can be at fault i.e. it doesn't shut every thing off. Normally there is a small drain if it has clock or an electronic dash but nothing that will drain the battery that fast. Something is drawing current that shouldn't. If you can't track it down by yourself you might see if you have local voc-tech school nearby. It would make a great motorcycle mechanics class exercise. The good thing about bikes is that there isn't alot of electrical stuff on them so it should be easier to track down. The ZX-7R was a pretty solid bike and not much electronics compared to the new stuff so it is something probably real simple i.e someone did some maintenance and screwed up. Good luck

 

[pushrod]

If you haven't had the bike since new, the first thing to do is look for a "Shade tree" wiring job, like when the turn signals are re-wired after the fender eliminator kit is installed.

Most folks have no idea how to properly re-route, connect and splice wires, even less on wires that are exposed to the elements.

You may find a short in such a place. Otherwise, it's detective work.

One trick is to work in very dim light. If it is a gross short, with a hot wire touching something, you can root around and you may see an arc when you move the offending wire.

Good luck! Keep us "current" on your progress!

 

[bbtowns]

You didn't say how fast the battery goes dead, but you've gotten some good advice here. I'd measure the current accross the battery posts with and without any optional electrical accessories connected with the bike off and see whether the current changes. Something is either shorting or running while you park your bike, if it's not an accessory then contine measuring current while you play explore your wiring a bit and watch for changes. You'll need a multi-meter or something similar to do this, but they're really cheap! Good luck.