P500 P500 Quit On Santa

[dannylj]

Santa and Mrs. Claus use my 500 each Christmas to ride our neighborhood giving out gifts to the kids. They put a string of lights on it and a cd player connected to an invertor plugged in. They called a little bit ago and it had quit on them. It was totally dead when I got there. I pulled all of the fuses (they were OK) and the dash display and headlights came. After a bit of cranking it sputtered and fired up and continued to run fine. Does anyone have a clue what could have happened. I don't want it to leave me stranded deep in one of our Louisiana swamps.

 

[Admin]

 

[Deleted member 3748]

My first suspects would be the invertor, cd player, and lights. May have been too much for the battery and after it sat for a little it had enough power to fire it up.

 

[trigger]

Sounds like they went about it all wrong. Probably a boom box CD player and incandescent lights plugged into an invertor. They probably turned the machine off too and drained the battery. A 12v stereo wired in and some led lights plugged into an invertor should work.

 

[JACKAL]

Santa and Mrs. Claus use my 500 each Christmas to ride our neighborhood giving out gifts to the kids. They put a string of lights on it and a cd player connected to an invertor plugged in. They called a little bit ago and it had quit on them. It was totally dead when I got there. I pulled all of the fuses (they were OK) and the dash display and headlights came. After a bit of cranking it sputtered and fired up and continued to run fine. Does anyone have a clue what could have happened. I don't want it to leave me stranded deep in one of our Louisiana swamps.

Last 7 words says it all, likely water in fuel tank sucked in from vent hose under passengers seat.

 

[dannylj]

I thought about that but when dash lights finnaly came on the battery had full power. It would turn over normally just not crank. It finally sputtered a time or two then ran normally.

 

[Deleted member 3748]

You had two problems. A no power at all situation, then you had power but the engine would crank but not fire. I'm still thinking low battery, but you said it had full power. How do you know it had full power?

 

[dannylj]

As soon as the display came on the headlights were bright and the engine turned over strongly. The only thing I had done was pull and replace some of the fuses. When the display came on the temp was maxed out and the engine light was on. There was no indication the engine was hot. It finally sputtered a couple of times and cranked. The engine light went off and temp gauge instantly went to normal. I don't think the battery died. It was strong. Could it have been some corrosion on one of the fuses. I am not sure if it died while idleing or if they killed it and then would not start. I have had zero problems with it.

 

[Deleted member 3748]

It's something weird, that's for sure. Something like it lost power but managed to flood the engine... @JACKAL is correct thinking it sounded like water in the fuel, but that wouldn't cut out all of your power. And the odds of both of those things being the issue is slim.

It's a good practice to put dielectric grease on all of your electrical connections. It helps prevent weird things from happening due to moisture and will also prevent corrosion. Put it on everything you can find, fuses, CDI or whatever they call it on the Honda, basically all of your electrical connections. When you put it in between your connectors, be sure not to use too much or you can't get the connectors back together.

I use this stuff. It comes out of the can really fast, so be ready for it.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...-grease-18218/dielectric-grease/05113/4176039

 

[Deleted member 3748]

Maybe ride with one of these too.

https://amazon.com/dp/B015TKUPIC/_encoding=UTF8?tag=sxsweb24-20

 

[dannylj]

I appreciate all the comments. Once it cranked they continued throughout the neighborhood with no problems. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and use some dielectric grease on it. I did find out they were stopped at idle when it just died. On another note I am thinking about relocating the battery to a box on the back to make sure it doesn't get wet but I don't know what to do about the fuses. Another problem - another day. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 3748]

The battery and fuses can get wet, just be sure to use the dielectric grease.

 

[lee]

The battery and fuses can get wet, just be sure to use the dielectric grease.

I think there are other things in that battery box that don't like to get wet.
But then again I have no idea what that stuff is, as long as the blue smoke stays inside I'm happy.

 

[Deleted member 3748]

I think there are other things in that battery box that don't like to get wet.
But then again I have no idea what that stuff is, as long as the blue smoke stays inside I'm happy.

It seems like that would be the case, but look at these knuckleheads.

 

[dannylj]

I just wanted to add that this 500 is kept inside and moisture should not have been an issue, at least today.

 

[Deleted member 3748]

I just wanted to add that this 500 is kept inside and moisture should not have been an issue, at least today.

I keep mine inside too and never go deep in any water, but my P500 has been soaked head to toe. Rain, snow, powerwasher, medium deep water. It happens and it's built for it. Everything is sealed and once you get it snorkeled and extend all of your vent lines you don't need to worry about it too much. Just be sure you don't get water in the engine or the fuel tank.

 

[rocmar]

I keep mine inside too and never go deep in any water, but my P500 has been soaked head to toe. Rain, snow, powerwasher, medium deep water. It happens and it's built for it. Everything is sealed and once you get it snorkeled and extend all of your vent lines you don't need to worry about it too much. Just be sure you don't get water in the engine or the fuel tank.

I can't vouch...for wet areas..
Rode a few...top of the tire...rivers
...I do know...it's Flawless at 110°
DESERT RATT

 

[JWB]

As soon as the display came on the headlights were bright and the engine turned over strongly. The only thing I had done was pull and replace some of the fuses. When the display came on the temp was maxed out and the engine light was on. There was no indication the engine was hot. It finally sputtered a couple of times and cranked. The engine light went off and temp gauge instantly went to normal. I don't think the battery died. It was strong. Could it have been some corrosion on one of the fuses. I am not sure if it died while idleing or if they killed it and then would not start. I have had zero problems with it.

Here's another possibility- If the battery was getting pulled down by load that was on it, shifting to neutral, or just shifting for that matter may have pulled the voltage down enough -briefly- to cause a partial shift, and stall the engine due to fuel cut-off. If the shift mechanism doesn't cycle completely, the engine may not start again until the key is cycled, or it is shifted to neutral again causing the shift cycle to complete. I've noticed that the shift actuator actually draws quite a bit of power during shifts. I notice it when my air compressor is running and I shift- the compressor slows down noticeably. I have had it stall if I try to shift directly into 2nd without moving, at idle, particularly if it's cold. I once had to 'rock' the machine a little because the shifter was 'hung' and couldn't move, which also caused the display to start flashing. I turned off the key, turned it back on, rocked the machine a little, actually heard the shifter finish it's cycle, and no more problems. There is a voltage threshold for all computer controlled engines where engine may still crank but not start- don't know how sensitive the Honda's are, but just because it cranks, don't mean the computer will actually fire the injectors, or ignition. Just like bad grounds, low voltage will cause crazy s**t! Piston Honda may have nailed it- the brief rest may have allowed the battery to recover just enough to break the 'no-go' voltage threshold, and the engine started..... Anyone know what the charging system output is for the P5? The highest I saw with a quick search was 500 watts(po-po)- max- engine revved up. Do the math. Electric fuel pump- 60-80 watts. Computer and all the stuff it drives- around 60w (higher surges) Head lights- 100w ? Cooling fan- 80w? All the added lights and inverter- ? Charging system output at idle- 200w maybe...... I guess what I'm saying is, I'm very confident you had a low voltage issue caused by too much electrical load on the system.
OK, I'll shut up now.

 

[JWB]

Found the spec for charging system output- 480w @ 5000 r.p.m. At idle- A LOT LESS!

 

[Deleted member 3748]

Here's another possibility- If the battery was getting pulled down by load that was on it, shifting to neutral, or just shifting for that matter may have pulled the voltage down enough -briefly- to cause a partial shift, and stall the engine due to fuel cut-off. If the shift mechanism doesn't cycle completely, the engine may not start again until the key is cycled, or it is shifted to neutral again causing the shift cycle to complete. I've noticed that the shift actuator actually draws quite a bit of power during shifts. I notice it when my air compressor is running and I shift- the compressor slows down noticeably. I have had it stall if I try to shift directly into 2nd without moving, at idle, particularly if it's cold. I once had to 'rock' the machine a little because the shifter was 'hung' and couldn't move, which also caused the display to start flashing. I turned off the key, turned it back on, rocked the machine a little, actually heard the shifter finish it's cycle, and no more problems. There is a voltage threshold for all computer controlled engines where engine may still crank but not start- don't know how sensitive the Honda's are, but just because it cranks, don't mean the computer will actually fire the injectors, or ignition. Just like bad grounds, low voltage will cause crazy s**t! Piston Honda may have nailed it- the brief rest may have allowed the battery to recover just enough to break the 'no-go' voltage threshold, and the engine started..... Anyone know what the charging system output is for the P5? The highest I saw with a quick search was 500 watts(po-po)- max- engine revved up. Do the math. Electric fuel pump- 60-80 watts. Computer and all the stuff it drives- around 60w (higher surges) Head lights- 100w ? Cooling fan- 80w? All the added lights and inverter- ? Charging system output at idle- 200w maybe...... I guess what I'm saying is, I'm very confident you had a low voltage issue caused by too much electrical load on the system.
OK, I'll shut up now.

Sounds good to me!

 

[JWB]

Sounds good to me!

The "shut-up" part?