Dead Battery

rybraun

Registered
Does anyone else have a problem with their battery not holding a charge? Didn't ride for 2 weeks bike wouldn't turn over dealer told me battery was cooked put a new one in a month later it sat for a week same problem dealer say electrical system ok. Any suggestions?
 
Brand new battery shouldn't be dead after sitting 5,7 days 02 with only 1200 miles baby born last June put slight damper on riding time.
 
Quote: 'Brand new battery shouldn't be dead after sitting 5,7 days 02 with only 1200 miles '. rybraun, I have an 03 and it will discharge the battery also. Checked for any leakage and none. Sooooo got a battery tender and use it. The battery is always up to full charge with no problems. One thing I did notice, the rpm's have to be fairly high when riding to keep the juice flowing to the battery. Crusing at 1500 rpm's is not enough to keep the battery charged well when riding. Go figure..
 
I had a problem with a replacement battery that lasted only 6 months.  It was a Yuasa brand, I thought it might be the alternator but I tested the system and it was providing plenty of juice.  But the battery should not be going bad that quickly.  

To test the system here is what you want to do, get a multimeter and then do these two tests.

1. First, see if there is a draw on the battery when the bike is off, remove the negative terminal and put one lead on the cable and one on the negative battery post.  I think you want the multimeter on the ohms setting.  Should be be less than 3 mA(milliamps)

2. If there is no leakage then put the negative battery cable back on and then start the bike.  Make sure the high beam is on as well. Rev the bike to 5000 RPM and hold it there, now measure the voltage across the two battery terminals.  Should be between 13.4V and 15.1V.  
Here are the numbers I got at varying rpms.
1000 - 12.5
2000 - 14.2
3000 - 14.3
4000 - 14.2
5000 - 14.2

If those measure up then it is a bad battery, if these two tests fail you have a problem in the alternator or the regulator.  

Hope this helps, its not a bad idea to get a battery tender especially for use in the winter when you cant ride as often.  Get a battery tender that has quick release connections, should come with two ends, one with clips and one with circle terminal connectors.  Hook the circle terminator connectors to the bolts on the battery and run the other end up into the underseat storage and secure it with a zip tie.  This way you can quickly hook and unhook the battery tender without having to remove the front seat.



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some dealers do not service the batteries correctly
it takes about 3-5 hours to do them right from the start.
but they (dealers)want your $$$ so the slap acid in them and ship it out the door with out a proper service.
result either dead battery or acid on your swingarm
 
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