2019 KTM 250sxf draining battery rapidly!!

Craig_Whitfield
I’m having a nightmare with my bike at moment, it keeps draining the battery rapidly,

I’m not sure if it’s the vortex ignition because it will start relatively ok with the stock one but struggles to start with the vortex.

If I put the Vortex on someone else’s bike it has no issues when starting

I’ve just put a brand new battery in the bike and it’s drained it straight away.
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FGR01
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FGR01 9/20/2020 9:27am
9/20/2020 9:27am
So this is a continuation of the battery probs in your previous thread?

You might have a short somewhere in your connectors or wiring harness. Or possibly something wrong in the starter motor. Sounds like something is putting excess load on the battery when starting. Start by tracing the ignition cables to the starter motor and the ground cables. Make sure nothing is frayed or broken or rubbed through.
Craig_Whitfield 9/20/2020 9:45am
9/20/2020 9:45am
FGR01 wrote:
So this is a continuation of the battery probs in your previous thread? You might have a short somewhere in your connectors or wiring harness. Or...
So this is a continuation of the battery probs in your previous thread?

You might have a short somewhere in your connectors or wiring harness. Or possibly something wrong in the starter motor. Sounds like something is putting excess load on the battery when starting. Start by tracing the ignition cables to the starter motor and the ground cables. Make sure nothing is frayed or broken or rubbed through.
Yea unfortunately it ruined my day yesterday at the track, pulled it out the van started straight away but when it came to practice it then wouldn’t start. I just don’t understand why it fires up on the stock ECU a lot better.

I’m waiting on the temperature sensor to turn up.

Ordered a multimeter of my own to try track down the problem.

I did have the frame re powder coated but I removed all the paint for the wires etc.
FGR01
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FGR01 9/20/2020 9:51am
9/20/2020 9:51am
I know you said that buddy's bike fires up fine with the Vortex, but have you ran it long enough, multiple motos, to verify it will keep re-starting on subsequent attempts?

The Vortex could be the prob. I don't have a KTM wiring diagram in front of me but on some bikes there are circuits that go through the ECU to allow the battery to charge. It sounds like your battery is possibly not charging during running. Need to verify charging voltage is getting to the battery while running.

Also, need to double check the powder coat thing. I believe the motor mount tabs on the frame need to be bare for a good ground contact. I know on my stock Husky's you can see where the factory deliberately left these tabs bare.
Factor E
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Factor E 9/20/2020 10:15am
9/20/2020 10:15am
With the frame getting coated did problem start after being done?
the sub frame bolts are the ground points, make sure all the points have no powder coating
Run a wire direct from neg side battery to ground point with all other wires by coil - added pos grounding point

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Craig_Whitfield 9/20/2020 12:46pm
9/20/2020 12:46pm
I’ve just removed all the paint in the areas that were mentioned and I’m not even more convinced it’s the vortex ignition, put bike back together and it immediately fires up with the stock ECU...put vortex on and will turn over but not even fire.

Think I’ll send it back to the tuner and have him reset it, hopefully that fixes the problem
Bruce372
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Bruce372 9/20/2020 7:29pm
9/20/2020 7:29pm
Put the stock ignition back on and have a few days riding and see if its trouble free. If its no problem, you'll have some good rides under your belt and you're gonna be more confident its the vortex
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CarlinoJoeVideo
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CarlinoJoeVideo 9/20/2020 11:20pm
9/20/2020 11:20pm
Bruce372 wrote:
Put the stock ignition back on and have a few days riding and see if its trouble free. If its no problem, you'll have some good...
Put the stock ignition back on and have a few days riding and see if its trouble free. If its no problem, you'll have some good rides under your belt and you're gonna be more confident its the vortex
Who did the ecu?

Will the battery drain with the stock ECU?
Craig_Whitfield 9/21/2020 1:33am
9/21/2020 1:33am Edited Date/Time 9/21/2020 2:37am
Bruce372 wrote:
Put the stock ignition back on and have a few days riding and see if its trouble free. If its no problem, you'll have some good...
Put the stock ignition back on and have a few days riding and see if its trouble free. If its no problem, you'll have some good rides under your belt and you're gonna be more confident its the vortex
CarlinoJoeVideo wrote:
Who did the ecu?

Will the battery drain with the stock ECU?
Evo-tech in the UK.

No battery is perfectly fine with stock ECU

But I plugged my vortex into my friends brand new husky and it fired up no problem.

I called the tuner and he’s saying it possibly could be the wiring harness that’s gone bad, apparently the vortex ignitions are very touchy to slight faults.
JohnMatrix
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JohnMatrix 9/21/2020 9:45am
9/21/2020 9:45am
Throwing out ideas, but what is battery voltage dropping down to when you are turning the motor over? Different ecu's may have a different operating threshold for minimum voltage. I know, for example in the automotive world, some aftermarket standalone ecu's will not run under 10 volts. Often, oem ecu's have a much wider range of operating conditions.
Paw Paw
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Paw Paw 9/21/2020 3:18pm
9/21/2020 3:18pm Edited Date/Time 9/21/2020 3:23pm
I have noticed several of these same problems reported covering the same Vortex units in several different forums. This would indicate to me there is a common issue either with the aftermarket unit, the battery or the wiring. I have also noticed this same issue reported in this forum by the same person in more than one post and thus could also be doing this same thing at other forms and in doing so confusing the actual issue at hand.
With this in mind I would suggest contacting the manufacture to see what they can tell you.

Paw Paw

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