Battery Issues

[KnuckleBallz]

Woke up this morning & my bike wouldn't start. I know the PO had had some battery issues, but that was due to not riding, thus not charging. I just rode Friday, so I assumed she'd have enough juice today.

Anyway, I'm going to get a new battery & hopefully be right back on track. My question is how did he get the battery this wonky to begin with? He said the owner before him kept it on a tender 24/7 (except when moving). Could this have effected it's ability to hold a charge? Also, he leaves the tender connecting piece on the battery, poking out from under the tank. Is this standard, or could this be slowly draining it? I'm not much of an electrician but I'm curious.

I'll probably try to push start it and get a new battery tonight if I have time. Sucks that I wasn't quite sure how to do that this morning. Gonna have a street cleaning ticket when I get home. :banghead:

 

[FinalImpact]

Bummer - but yes, batteries can open up over night.

Views will differ but I'll say straight up I'm not in to tenders. A fully charged battery is a fully charged battery and it doesn't need charged.
Of course **NEW** technology is so smart it knows how to maintain the battery so as NOT to sulphate the plates and turn it to junk. << Take that with a grain of salt. . . IMO: A battery that gets depleted occasionally and then fully recharged typically lasts well beyond the warranty period. Thus, cheap tenders can actually harm them taking their life.

Make sure it charges, make sure it doesn't have some parasitic loss (bad alarm system draining it while off) and it should be OK left alone for month at time NP.

 

[Motogiro]

Batteries can fail for a number of reasons and I've seen brand new ones fail when treated the wrong way. Remember that you're battery is basically a chemical converter. The other thing is what you've been told versus what really happened.

Make sure you're charging and have no unusual current draw.

 

[fb40dash5]

I've been using the Deka ETX AGM batteries, and I love em so far. There's no direct fit for the FZ, but I shoehorned one in mine pretty easily, I think the ETX14. Only time it's failed to start was after sitting (hooked up) for a couple months last winter without being run. I bumped it down my driveway, rode off, and it's been fine ever since... I think 18 months or so now, never disconnected before sitting, and never put on a charger. I figure it's already paid for itself by not dying when I'm sure a cheaper battery would have. The ETX I put in my dad's C40 sat for over a year while he wasn't riding, and it fired that bike right up this year when he finally gave it back to me to finish fixing.

I'm a proponent of replacing batteries on your time, rather than theirs. Never felt the 'need' for a tender though, unless you're planning to leave it for a long time... even then I'd probably leave it plugged in a few days, then off for a few weeks.

 

[KnuckleBallz]

How would I check to see if I'm charging and/or if there's an unusual draw? And would that tender connector be a draw? Or do they only send power in?

I'm probably gonna push-start it and ride down to buy a new one tonight. Want to not mess that up if you think it could be a different issue. I'm also unsure of how old this battery is. Definitely a few years though.

 

[Motogiro]

How would I check to see if I'm charging and/or if there's an unusual draw? And would that tender connector be a draw? Or do they only send power in?

I'm probably gonna push-start it and ride down to buy a new one tonight. Want to not mess that up if you think it could be a different issue. I'm also unsure of how old this battery is. Definitely a few years though.

Sorry about repeating what Randy already said a half hour later. I get sidetracked while writing some thing and invariably post it late.

The tender will maintain a charge on your battery and the better designed tenders will not hurt your battery but instead help them stay healthy. Some batteries depending on the design and chemical technology like to stay topped off. Others need cycling to maintain their depth of charge and longevity. Our standard motorcycle batteries are generally a sealed lead acid wet or gel type battery. I would say most are gel today. There are more different type like AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) which are also lead acid type and then Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Cells. The later (Mucho $$$$) should not be confused with Lithium Ion batteries used in cell phones and laptops etc.

Lead acid type batteries like to rest at there topped off state of voltage and generally a long lower current charge is best for any lead acid battery. The gel type even more so.

If you have a multimeter we can get you going on doing some tests.

 

[KnuckleBallz]

My bad- maybe I'm not being clear. I understand tenders, and wouldn't use one unless I was putting the bike away for months.

There is no tender hooked up right now, but the piece that connects the tender to the battery is currently attached, and hangs out from under the gas tank. This piece:

Would that be a drain if not plugged in?

Also, I don't have a multimeter, but I'll see about that if this situation worsens and.or if they're inexpensive.

 

[Motogiro]

My bad- maybe I'm not being clear. I understand tenders, and wouldn't use one unless I was putting the bike away for months.

There is no tender hooked up right now, but the piece that connects the tender to the battery is currently attached, and hangs out from under the gas tank. This piece:

Would that be a drain if not plugged in?

Also, I don't have a multimeter, but I'll see about that if this situation worsens and.or if they're inexpensive.

Coolness! Tender hookup should pose no drain but I would tape it closed and tuck it away.
Multi meters are very cheap unless your looking at pro stuff.

Sent from Moto's Droid using Tapatalk 2

 

[gottherim4]

Also, I don't have a multimeter, but I'll see about that if this situation worsens and.or if they're inexpensive.

A college professor in electronics once said in class "a multimeter is something everyone should own, they should be given out at birth."

It is silly, but somewhat true. You never have to guess about electricity again with one

 

[gottherim4]

Not to thread jack, but I had a dead battery today too. I was fully dressed and ready to leave for work but it wouldn't crank. Its strange because it had been only a week since I last rode. I went 2.5 weeks before that...

Anyway, I have a question. I have an alarm on my bike with a two-way remote. The remote was dead when I looked at it today. Is it possible that the alarm drained the battery while trying to communicate to the remote? I hope that is the case. I am going to bump start in a bit and hope after a little ride it cranks for my commute tomorrow.

 

[KnuckleBallz]

Coolness! Tender hookup should pose no drain but I would tape it closed and tuck it away.
Multi meters are very cheap unless your looking at pro stuff.

Sent from Moto's Droid using Tapatalk 2

A college professor in electronics once said in class "a multimeter is something everyone should own, they should be given out at birth."

It is silly, but somewhat true. You never have to guess about electricity again with one

OK, sounds like a pretty good buy. I'll let you know when I get one.

Not to thread jack, but I had a dead battery today too. I was fully dressed and ready to leave for work but it wouldn't crank. Its strange because it had been only a week since I last rode. I went 2.5 weeks before that...

Anyway, I have a question. I have an alarm on my bike with a two-way remote. The remote was dead when I looked at it today. Is it possible that the alarm drained the battery while trying to communicate to the remote? I hope that is the case. I am going to bump start in a bit and hope after a little ride it cranks for my commute tomorrow.

No worries, hopefully you get your answer. This makes me wonder though. How much riding is necessary to get a good charge? And what kind of riding?

Also, my theory for why this one is ****ed up up is the fact that it was kept on a tender daily for years probably effected its ability to hold a charge on its own. IDK...

 

[pookamatic]

I'm my honest, yet uninformed, gut opinion, modern tenders on modern batteries do no harm battery life.

I use one every day now that I've been really using the grip heaters. The charging system just can't keep up with them and high beam. Having the original 4 year old battery isn't helping.

 

[Motogiro]

You can from El Cheapo to top O the line but this should be good for most of what we're doing. You can get a cheaper one but the leads are not replaceable. Sometime you see free coupons for Harbor Freight cheapest of the cheap ones!!


http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...tm_content=Exact&utm_campaign=PLA&cagpspn=pla

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Not to thread jack, but I had a dead battery today too. I was fully dressed and ready to leave for work but it wouldn't crank. Its strange because it had been only a week since I last rode. I went 2.5 weeks before that...

Anyway, I have a question. I have an alarm on my bike with a two-way remote. The remote was dead when I looked at it today. Is it possible that the alarm drained the battery while trying to communicate to the remote? I hope that is the case. I am going to bump start in a bit and hope after a little ride it cranks for my commute tomorrow.

If the alarm (most likely) is wired to the bike's 12 volt system, it will draw a very slight amount of power just being attached. The battery in the remote, even when trying to activate the alarm (even if dead) won't affect the bikes battery, the remote battery is dead, it can't communicate...

The bikes battery is likely worn out. A load test can confirm the condition of the battery. A poor mans, and quick way to load test the battery is to have it fully charged if possible, put a meter on the battery checking the voltage. Static voltage should be about 12.8 volts fully charged. Looking at the meter, crank the bike over. If voltage drops significantly, its bad.

*When mine was beginning to fail, voltage dropped to 8 volts but still started.

Once started running, the charging system should be putting out 13-14 volts up to 5,000 RPM's. If the idle is set to 1300 RPM's it will charge just slightly(above 12.8 volts at least on my 07 with a dual headlight mod) depending on what electronic accessories you have added...

The newer battery tenders (Not a POS) won't hurt the battery, their designed to stop charging once the batteries are fully charged. I got 9 years out of my original Four Runner battery, that's keeping it on a tender... If you ride often, you really shouldn't need to charge the battery...

NOTE: A new battery usually comes 80% charged and NEEDS TO BE FULLY CHARGED (on a tender) before being put into use. It will still work without the charge but the life of the battery WILL BE LESSENED....


** You can jump start the bike from a 12 volt car battery, DO NOT RUN THE CAR's ENGINE when doing this, it WILL HARM the bikes electrics.

 

[gottherim4]

If the alarm (most likely) is wired to the bike's 12 volt system, it will draw a very slight amount of power just being attached. The battery in the remote, even when trying to activate the alarm (even if dead) won't affect the bikes battery, the remote battery is dead, it can't communicate...

The bikes battery is likely worn out. A load test can confirm the condition of the battery. A poor mans, and quick way to load test the battery is to have it fully charged if possible, put a meter on the battery checking the voltage. Static voltage should be about 12.8 volts fully charged. Looking at the meter, crank the bike over. If voltage drops significantly, its bad.

*When mine was beginning to fail, voltage dropped to 8 volts but still started.

Once started running, the charging system should be putting out 13-14 volts up to 5,000 RPM's. If the idle is set to 1300 RPM's it will charge just slightly(above 12.8 volts at least on my 07 with a dual headlight mod) depending on what electronic accessories you have added...

The newer battery tenders (Not a POS) won't hurt the battery, their designed to stop charging once the batteries are fully charged. I got 9 years out of my original Four Runner battery, that's keeping it on a tender... If you ride often, you really shouldn't need to charge the battery...

NOTE: A new battery usually comes 80% charged and NEEDS TO BE FULLY CHARGED (on a tender) before being put into use. It will still work without the charge but the life of the battery WILL BE LESSENED....


** You can jump start the bike from a 12 volt car battery, DO NOT RUN THE CAR's ENGINE when doing this, it WILL HARM the bikes electrics.

Thanks for the info. I jumped the battery yesterday morning with the car (left the car off), but the bike died after I let it idle for nearly 10 minutes. I never rode it though. I bump started last night because I didn't want to lift the tank again (it was much easier and fun than I expected to bump start it). I rode for 20 minutes and this morning it started no problem. I will probably get a new battery sometime soon because I bought the bike in April and I think it needs to be replaced. When I use some more gas to lighten the tank I will get in and check the charge. Thanks again for the help!

 

[deeptekkie]

I agree with what FinalImpact says. My battery is over three years old, sits in a cold garage and when it's really cold I keep a light bulb burning underneath the radiator/battery area, (hot air rises), and the darn thing still rings it even after sitting for three weeks at a time. I have noticed that now my idiot lights dim while it's cranking but it still seems very hot. I have a battery tender but I have never bothered hooking it up.
One thing I learned from a local shop, (and from my own personal experience with another bike): That first charge on a new battery is the most important one it will ever have. Make sure that your new battery has been FULLY CHARGED by your dealer, (or yourself), before you ever mount it. The dealer where I bought my bike will not sell you a battery unless they can charge it for nearly a full day first.
Another thing: Often a discharged battery can freeze and burst in freezing temperatures.
Good luck to you. Happy Thanksgving.

 

[deeptekkie]

NOTE: A new battery usually comes 80% charged and NEEDS TO BE FULLY CHARGED (on a tender) before being put into use. It will still work without the charge but the life of the battery WILL BE LESSENED....

This is SO TRUE!

 

[KnuckleBallz]

So, I had Friday off & went down to Advanced Auto to see about picking up a new battery. They didn't have one that would fit exactly (right battery, way too fat), but they tested mine & said it would be fine after a charge. So I left it with them for a few hours & so far she's been starting up with no issues.

Why couldn't they put the battery under the seat though??? Talk about a pain in the ass.

At least she's not too hard to push start with a slight hill.

 

[FinalImpact]

Not to start a big debate; I have friends who use tenders and they replace their battery every three years while I don't and mine seem to go 5 to six years. Autos - 8 years or more. Granted I make an effort to never leave them in a state of decay and I can't say my friends did that. so - JUST SAYIN. . .

IMO - drastically changing the cells chemical make up by draining them occasionally and then fully and completely charging them drastically extends their life. Yes, we have all this modern technology and yes it maintains it at peak but IMO (TOOMA), when their batteries do see drastic change they die (like something left on) and do not recover.

Take it with a grain of salt but when a battery is utilized within its range of operation and not just sitting at float charge they appear maybe potentially live longer. . .

 

[deeptekkie]

Not to start a big debate; I have friends who use tenders and they replace their battery every three years while I don't and mine seem to go 5 to six years. Autos - 8 years or more. Granted I make an effort to never leave them in a state of decay and I can't say my friends did that. so - JUST SAYIN. . .

IMO - drastically changing the cells chemical make up by draining them occasionally and then fully and completely charging them drastically extends their life. Yes, we have all this modern technology and yes it maintains it at peak but IMO (TOOMA), when their batteries do see drastic change they die (like something left on) and do not recover.

Take it with a grain of salt but when a battery is utilized within its range of operation and not just sitting at float charge they appear maybe potentially live longer. . .

I have to agree with you man!