Battery Question

[dgoldan]

'Kay, got a few questions for some more experienced people.

I have a 2000 R1, and seem to be going through a battery about every two years. Figured it was because I wasn't keeping it charged properly during the winter, so I bought a Battery Tender Jr. two years ago.

I keep it plugged in with the Tender Jr, which is supposed to take it up to voltage via a 1 amp charge, then maintain it without over charging it. But alas, I just bought another new battery, because the two year old one won't hold a charge anymore. I've checked the charging system and that's not the problem - the batteries seem to die over time of no riding (I know, ride more). Since they're sealed, there's no checking the electrolyte level and filling and the warranty on all of them is only one year.

Any suggestions? Anyone else use a battery tender, and if so, what kind of success have you had?

[Mista Black]

Sounds like a problem to me. I never charge mine in the winter and the bike hasn't been run in about 4 months, but I have no doubt I can go out to the garage and it'd be running in less than 15 seconds. I know the Japanese bikes have much smaller batteries though... :shrug:

[jimwallace]

try disconnecting one of the cables off the battery next time and see if your battery still drains. if so it is probably your battery and not a short. a lot of lower end batteries will do that i.e. wal-marts n-everstart. and have you tried taking in the battery to have a charge put on it. just because the battery is dead does not mean it is bad .. it could just need charged..
hope that helps.

[dgoldan]

The Battery Tender Jr. is properly taking the voltage up to about 13.8 VDC, so it doesn't need charging. The voltage goes up, but there's no amperage, indicating it's fried.

Thanks for the replies.

have you tried taking in the battery to have a charge put on it. just because the battery is dead does not mean it is bad .. it could just need charged..
hope that helps.

[pilot]

Have you done an Amp load test on the battery? The problem with "sealed" batteries (and sometimes you can open them up--with a bit of effort) is that you can't check across each cell with a voltage tester. This would let you know if there is a variance between cells. Also, your tender may be not working properly. Try taking the battery out of the bike and charging it up with a stronger charger. A low battery should pull up a decent trickle charge in 12-24 hours at a two amp load. Fast charging at 4/8 will take less time but the saturation of the plates (amps) won't be as much.

Also, don't charge the battery on the ground "hence the name ground". Try setting it up on a block of wood as fiber is not a great conductor.

If you have a meter, set it on the ohms side and check for a short. You should get 1k ohms across the bike when checking any ground source (frame, etc) to the negative side. However, you should not see a draw from the positive lead. Do this with the key off, of course.

I may have a bit of this off from the electrical science side. Perhaps someone else can pipe in and fine tune it a bit.

Good luck.

[rybo]

DG,

The failure you mention is pretty common with motorcycle batterys. All volts, no amps. It's a product of a small battery and a relatively high charge rate from the bikes charging system. I'm not sure what size battery your bike uses, but the smaller it is the shorter it will (typically) last. Also, not all batteries are created equally. The cheap ones at Autozone are no match for the nicer YUASA units found at dealerships.

2 years isn't an unusual lifespan....

[dgoldan]

Yep, load test shows volts until loaded, then no amps and voltage drops to nil. Sounds like it's just the fact that I got a cheapo PowerMax battery. Maybe a better Yuasa next time.

[Nick_Ninja]

Buy your battery at Wal-Mart. they are made by Yuasa and are waaaay cheaper.

[swademaster]

Maybe it is just shitty luck too. My bike is 6 years old, bought new 5 years ago. After 40,000 miles, I am still on the original battery.