A Bad Start...

[Berty5000]

Oi oiii! Alright lads.

I haven't been out on V much over the past six months for different reasons. A lot less miles than this time last year when I was using it daily for commuting.

I decided I ought to take her out for a spin about a month ago. Add some fuel, add air to the tyres. Make sure V is still alive. She lives in a concrete, sectional garage with a metal roof and I don't bother to keep the battery charged. To my delight, she started up immediately despite all the really cold weather we'd had over December and January, including snow.

Fast forward to yesterday and I had a hospital appointment to get to. Got my gear on, just about squeezing into the trousers. Get outside, turn the key, that funny noise happens, the rev needle did its full swing, the headlight came on, and I pressed the ignition. A sort of click sound... and nothing. Tried again. Click, othing. And again. And again. Then held the ignition down for about ten seconds,  multiple clicks, each followed by the funny noise that happens before the usual needle swing.

Oh shit...

I found it hard to believe that the battery had died since a month ago and it hasn't been as cold since I last took her out. Plus, the headlight was coming on. I checked the voltage and noticed it was at 10.2v. Lower than what I expect (usually 14.3v or so) although I've never actually checked it whilst stationary with the engine off as far as I recall.

Take the seat off. Connections all fine.

I do notice that the bike feels cold. It had gone down to about 4C over night, so not the worst. But then... I also noticed that the drip stop material on the underside of my garage roof was damp. I had cleaned my Oxford waterproof bag a couple of days earlier and hung it in the garage to dry, having hosed it down... could all the humidity in the garage combined with the cold have caused something to upset the bike?

In the time available, I moved the bike into the direct sunlight, for it was a sunny morning. I only had about ten mins though. I went inside and got my girlfriend's hair drier and even took to blow drying the bike's engine, ignition area and under the seat. Tried the ignition again. Still no good. Damn.

So ended up having to go on my geeky little bicycle instead. About an hour later I decided to see if V was working now. Same thing again. And again. Then I held the ignition button down for about 8 clicks and suddenly... she bursts into life! Took her out for a spin to get the oil flowing and blast away any moisture. Realised when I was doing 70 around the dual carriageway that I only had my joggers, trainers and a fleece on below the helmet... sensible brain kicked in and I  returned home.

Five hours later, turned her on no problem. No obvious emulsion in the oil at all this year. In addition to cleaning that bag, I may have given her a wash following the previous spin a month earlier so possibly was a moisture issue from that as well.

Thoughts on what happened? 2018 with no previous issues.

[Rixington43]

A good battery should read 12 to 13V at rest, shouldn't drop much below 10V as you start the bike and then read more like 14.5 to 15V when running.
I would say check these readings after having the battery on charge and see what you get.
I had these symptoms from a battery that would show full charge on the charger but the voltage would plummit to nothing when I pressed the starter. This resulted in the clocks dying and the bike 'rebooting' so to speak.
Replacing the battery on mine stopped the lights out, needle sweep failure but I still got occasional click of death. That turned out to be a bad starter solenoid but I'd say check the battery and eliminate that first.