Motorcycle Repair: 1995 Suzuki GSXR 1100 battery not charging, suzuki gsxr 1100, dielectric grease

Question
Hi Mark,

I have a 1995 Suzuki GSXR 1100 and having problems with battery not charging and engine back firing.  I have not rode the bike since last year and the reason is because I went riding one day and hit a pretty bad rain storm so everything got super wet.  All of a sudden it shut off while riding and I could not get it started again.  Luckily I have a trailer, I picked up the bike and parked the bike in my garage.  When I charged the battery, it started fine, but after taking a short drive in it the battery was completely dead, I have tried another alternator with no luck, I also replaced the ignitor which is under the right rear fairing but no luck either.  I have tried a different battery as well with same luck.  It will start great when charged and it seems to run great if I connect a charger directly to the battery while it is running, but if I unplug it and go for a ride a few minutes later it is completely dead again.  Can you help?  

Answer
Hi Noel,

I suspect water shorting caused components of the charging system to fail. You'll have to perform an output test and test components separately to verify which are defective, if any.

Applying dielectric grease to all electrical connectors to helps prevent corrosion and water shorting.

I recommend that you get a copy of the service manual and follow the troubleshooting procedures.

Visit Electro Sport's "Fault Finding Chart" and follow their free on-line testing procedures:

www.electrosport.com/electrosport_fault_finding.html

I return techh information files by email. There was no email address with your question as requested and explained in my instructions.

Respectfully,
Mark Shively