Fuel Pump Comes On When Charging Battery

Just got done connecting my quick-connect and using my BatteryMinder Plus, no issues with the fuel pump running or the FI light coming on.

Did have an issue getting all those freakin parts mounted back on the battery cover. That's a bit of a pain! I'm sure the next time I do it it'll be easier, but the first time... sheesh. I had a rough time just figuring out how to dis-assemble that whole thing. Just hard to see how all those rubber parts are stuck on.

And I'm not sure I like how tight everything is with the quick-connector stuffed in there, so may need to re-route a few things.

I have put a KTM trickle charger on my 2010 450FX many time's without unpluging the pump or the negitive cable. I was alway's concerned about the pump cycling. Yesterday I unpluged it and now the FI light is very dim but the bike run's fine. What would would cause this?

I just picked up a 2010 FE450 and appreciate all of the knowledge I can pick up from everyone. I am in the process of adding accessories (hand guards, dual sport lighting, etc) and my next step is to hook up my GPS power cord and my battery charger quick connect. I have never had trouble trickle charging any of my older bikes, so I was surprised to learn of issues with the fuel pump cycling, etc.

And ridebig's comment about the FI light being dim also concerns me. There is a post about that very issue over in KTMtalk. My FI light had fallen out of the socket, so that may explain a dim light. But now I am wondering if trickle chargers are causing damage.

The manual specifically states to disconnect the negative battery terminal prior to charging. This is good safety practise, but a major pain. The battery is pretty hard to get to. And if it isn't simple, I won't do it regularly. So I am looking for options.

Here are the options I have considered so far:

1) Disconnect the ground from the battery. Too hard to do.

2) Disconnect the ground wire from the motor. With my tank off, this isn't too bad, but it is still too much bother for putting a charger on when not in use. And with the tank on, it may be really hard.

3) Add a battery cutoff switch on the negative side. This seems like a great solution, and could double as an anti-theft device - but where to mount it? And where to get a reasonable sized switch. They make big bukly ones for cars, but does anyone make a nice one for motorcycles?

4) Disconnect the power harness on the starter solenoid box right above the battery. This requires removal of the seat, but no tools. I haven't yet pulled this off to see how hard it is. And I wonder how many cycles of plugging in and out this connector can handle before it fails. But this seems like a pretty good solution - it prevents the fuel pump from cycling and protects all of the electronics (such as the controller that may be causing the dim FI light???).

5) Disconnect the fuel pump harness behind the air filter. Easy to do, but it does NOT protect the electronics.

6) Do nothing. Charge away and live with the consequences. Lights flashing and fuel pumps cycling is annoying, but if any damage is done, that would not be good. So I am not comfortable with this idea.

My preferred solution is #3, but I don't know how to implement it. If anyone has ideas, please share. Otherwise I will probably go with #4.

Now I just need to decide where to place the charger quick connect. I was hoping to avoid removing the seat and wanted to route it out somewhere accessible and relatively safe and clean. But since I have to remove the seat to disconnect the power harness anyway, it would be nice to put it under the seat. But as the_viking mentioned there isn't much room in there.

So I am thinking of extending the length of my charger wires and route it up behind the left radiator where I can reach it through the hole in the shroud. I am hoping it will stay fairly clean up there and is easily accessible. But will it get too hot and melt the connector?

I am also trying to decide whether to install a connector for my Optimate 3 charger (I have one of these) or the Battery Tender (I have several of these). Any recommendations? Does it really matter for general trickle charging? I can always manually hook up the nicer Optimate 3 when trying to test or recover a battery.

Dale already noticed the fuel pump only comes on once, so I would just not worry about disconnecting anything and hook the battery charger up. That is all I do.

DaleEO said:

After I've ridden mine for extended periods, and then disconnected the fuel pump, and I hook up the charger, the power relay will pick up once as the battery tender starts it's charge cycle, and then it doesn't do it anymore.
Dale

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It's impossible for the FI Light to come on unless the Power Relay has switched itself on. If that is the case, all the ignition and accessories are on, and the EFI Computer is on. Can you do a test for me? When you see the EFI Light dim, does the horn or head light work too? That will indicate if the Power Relay is on. This diagram shows the Low Fuel Light but it is the same for the EFI Light, it gets it power directly via Power Relay and Fuse 1:

DeeG said:

I have never had trouble trickle charging any of my older bikes, so I was surprised to learn of issues with the fuel pump cycling, etc.

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I don't believe it is an “issue" that the EFI Fuel Pump Cycles when you connect up the battery charger.
Husaberg uses what I would say is, “an unusual way to switch the Ignition on”.
What happens is:
As the starter motor spins the engine, the AC generated from the charging system causes a set of contacts to close in the Voltage Regulator.
Those contacts in the Voltage Regulator complete the circuit to the Power Relay, then everything is on, lights Circuits, Horn Circuit, EFI Computer Circuit, etc....
As soon as the EFI Computer gets power from the Power Relay it turns on the EFI Fuel Pump. If the EFI Computer does not see the Crank Angle Sensor sending pulses it stops the EFI Fuel Pump after a short while.

This “unusual way” of the Ignition turning on via little contacts in the Voltage Regulator must be sensitive and I am guessing here, but I think when you connect up the Battery Charger the quick change in voltage that the Voltage Regulator sees causes the contacts to click on.
After you connect the Batter Charger and the Fuel Pump cycles, wait half a minute and see if the horn and lights have stopped working and you know the Power Relay has Switched back off. You should actually here the Power Relay click off.

I wired my Battery Charger connection up like this:
I also use this to charge my Iphone which I use for a GPS application in the bush because my sense of direction is as bad as my riding skills.

Davo,

It looks like you found the one spot near the battery large enough to hold the charge connector - at least some. My Battery Tender connector is too long, but my Optimate 3 connector barely fits. That is probably a better solution than running the wire clear up near the radiator. And if I pop off the seat, it is pretty easy to unplug the relay connector to disconnect everything, if I so choose. Now I just need to mount it in there and find a spot to tuck the fuse and then try to get it all back together.

Hey DeeG,
Yes the connector fits in nice under the seat. I cut the original connector off my Battery Charger and crimped the weatherpack connector pictured across the battery and on the Charger. Then I made up a weatherpack connector to cigarette lighter socket for the Iphone.
I don't disconnect anything, just plug the charger in. Been doing it that way for 10 months and have never had any problems.
Davo.

Why not just remove the 20 amp main fuse when charging? I have a battery tender pigtail wired directly to the battery. Based on the discussions so far, it seems that just pulling the 20 amp fuse would isolated the charging function. I will let you know how just charging without disconnecting anything and charging with the main fuse pulled.

Reno Deano

Originally I routed my charger cable up towards the engine so I wouldn't have to pull the seat. But after re-installing the tank I concluded that it would get way too hot up that area, and I couldn't access the fuse without pulling the tank. Not good. I finally got around to rerouting the cable similar that shown by Davo.

I connected the ground side of my Battery Tender pigtail to the chassis - the same place the battery connects to ground. (you have to have the tank off to get to this point)

I connected the power side to the lower power relay lug (the one that connects directly to the battery). This provides good connections without adding extra connectors to the battery, making it a little easier to service the battery.

I placed the fuse where Davo stores his connector. I considered using one of the unused fuse blocks in the main fuse box, but I didn't have the right connectors.

And I place the charge connector along the side of the ECU cover where Davo runs his excess cable. I just have to make sure it stays in place while I install the seat. All excess cable is tucked down underneath the battery holder (which is a major pain to work with).

I had to modify the charger cable to get appropriate wire lengths for this to work, but I think it is now a very clean installation.


I intend to unplug the mail power connector from the relay while charging. It is pretty easy to do. I think it is easier than unplugging the main fuse because the main fuse in underneath this connector. The fuse above the connector is a spare.

I put my 10 390 on the battery tender today and ended up with the fuel pump cycling. So many threads with different solutions to the problem what's the simplest? Is it ok to pull the 20 amp fuse?

Altough I've not had this happen when charging my battery with everything connected, IMO either pulling the main 20amp fuse or the main power connector is the best idea as it also disconnects power to the ECU which controls the pump directly.

Personally, I think the easiest, and safest solution is to pull the main power connector. Pulling the fuse would be easy, but it is underneath the connector, which makes it a little harder to get to. The fuse above the connector is really easy to get to, but it is a spare and doesn't do anything. But use whatever method works best for you.