My Trophy is dead again.

[KenSmith]

The dealer is sending a trailer to pick it up next week.

The bike was running just fine after I put the new battery in a couple of weeks ago. It ran great on Thursday. Then I got ready to go to work today and it was so dead that it wouldn't light up any of the dash indicators. This was the second time I had to ride the little Honda to work after the Trophy refused to go.

I'm used to buying Hondas that just run and run no matter how you abuse them. I've treated this Triumph well and yet it's been the least reliable new vehicle I've ever owned.

I am severely disappointed in the Trophy. When it goes, it's awesome. But it sometimes chooses not to go.

[Ernest T]

Damn.  Did they replace the original battery with the same brand?
 

[Lieu57]

Ken,

Do you keep yours on a trickle charger when it's not ridden for a while? If not, you might want to buy this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/380497116925?lpid=82

…and hook it up to a 12v battery tender. The lead fits into the hella socket on the lower left side of the bike and the other end fits the battery tender. Mine's on one this winter and always has a full charge.

Good luck.

[KenSmith]

I didn't have time to make the 90 mile trip to the dealer, so I replaced the battery myself with a different brand two to three weeks ago. I still have the original battery and I'll send it along when they come to pick up the bike.


The Trophy is never "not ridden for a while". This is my primary transportation. I use it six and seven days per week. The little Honda sometimes goes five or six days between rides. I've never had to charge the battery in the Honda. I don't even remember where they hide the battery on a CTX. The Honda is like a Beagle. You can ignore him for a  week and yet he's always ready to go hunting when you have the time.

I have a Battery Tender Plus. It came with a similar cord that I have attached to the battery terminals. I am hesitant to hook it to the Battery Tender every night. That merely hides the symptoms. Then one night when I'm in a hotel, I'd have no way to charge the bike and it would be dead in the morning.

[johnbut]

Why on earth should you have to hook up a battery tender if you don't run the bike for a few days. Every bike I've had for the last 45 years managed to keep its charged through several weeks in winter when it wasn't used. Has triumph got a dud battery or a failing alternator?

[Ernest T]

Originally Posted by KenSmith

I didn't have time to make the 90 mile trip to the dealer, so I replaced the battery myself with a different brand two to three weeks ago. I still have the original battery and I'll send it along when they come to pick up the bike.


The Trophy is never "not ridden for a while". This is my primary transportation. I use it six and seven days per week. The little Honda sometimes goes five or six days between rides. I've never had to charge the battery in the Honda. I don't even remember where they hide the battery on a CTX. The Honda is like a Beagle. You can ignore him for a  week and yet he's always ready to go hunting when you have the time.

I have a Battery Tender Plus. It came with a similar cord that I have attached to the battery terminals. I am hesitant to hook it to the Battery Tender every night. That merely hides the symptoms. Then one night when I'm in a hotel, I'd have no way to charge the bike and it would be dead in the morning.

Well, there goes my theory.  I ride mine every day and every day I get the low voltage/no audio message.  I also experience intermittent starting.  I push the button and the motor turns over once and the starter stops.  I release the starter button and push it again and it turns over and starts. It acts like it doesn't have enough voltage to keep the starter relay energized. I was going to just replace the batter with another brand, but after your post it doesn't sound like the issue.

[Papermaker]

johnbut--

I agree with you, a battery tender shouldn't be needed unless you’re off the bike for an extended period of time.  It’s also unlikely that you have two bad batteries in a row.  You might have intermittent starting like Ernest, his does sounds like the battery has low current capacity.  I’ve had a couple of cases of no response to the starter button, my feeling when it happens is the computer is running a software routine and as soon as it is available it will respond to my request (my engine turns over normally when it starts).  Probably not the case, but that’s what I think.  I have a friend that owns a Tiger that has experienced the same thing.  He says that it a normal Triumph thing.

There are a couple of things you can try independent of the dealer.  If you have a 10 amp a digital volt ohm meter (VOM) you could connect it in series between one of the battery cables and the battery terminal (if you don’t have experience with VOMs I can talk you through the procedure).  With the ignition off, check the current draw.  It should be a few milliamps (the draw may be the computer memory and the alarm system).  If it’s more then a few milliamps you may have a short that’s drawing your battery down, possibly overnight.  You may be able to troubleshoot the problem by pulling fuses as you monitor the VOM.  If you pull a particular fuse and the draw drops to a few milliamps that is the circuit that has the problem.  Note: Don’t leave the VOM in the circuit with the ignition on, especially when starting.  The current draw will exceed the meter’s capacity and you’ll blow the meter’s fuse.

You can also monitor the charging system by revving the engine while checking the brightness of the headlight, the horn pitch and the turn signal blink rate.  There should be a noticeable difference in these items as you rev the engine.  If there isn’t a noticeable change your bike is not charging properly.  If there is a change you still may have a charging problem but it may be intermittent.

I hope this helps,

--Papermaker

[DonTom]

Originally Posted by KenSmith

The dealer is sending a trailer to pick it up next week.

The bike was running just fine after I put the new battery in a couple of weeks ago. It ran great on Thursday. Then I got ready to go to work today and it was so dead that it wouldn't light up any of the dash indicators. This was the second time I had to ride the little Honda to work after the Trophy refused to go.

I'm used to buying Hondas that just run and run no matter how you abuse them. I've treated this Triumph well and yet it's been the least reliable new vehicle I've ever owned.

I am severely disappointed in the Trophy. When it goes, it's awesome. But it sometimes chooses not to go.

Even if your battery is new, have you checked the voltage on the battery with the ignition switch on? And made sure the battery screws are not loose?  Be sure to check the simple stuff.

-Don-  SF, CA