Battery problems
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The normal maximum is 6 hours. A common problem is fluid loss, dry cells, no amount of charging will fix it. Two things to do, if you have a meter and know how to measure amps DC. Insert your meter in series and measure the charge current after 2 minutes. Measure the VDC after waiting 10 minutes off the charger. If it is less then 12.4 VDC, the battery is beyond hope.
One thing, I have removed the sealing strip and added distilled water. That on a 6 year old battery, I had other issues with charging and decided to replace the battery after 2 months of using it with the added distilled water. It still showed 12.7 VDC after sitting for over 24 hours, it would run the starter for a minimum of 6 times, each time 10 seconds long.
One thing, I have removed the sealing strip and added distilled water. That on a 6 year old battery, I had other issues with charging and decided to replace the battery after 2 months of using it with the added distilled water. It still showed 12.7 VDC after sitting for over 24 hours, it would run the starter for a minimum of 6 times, each time 10 seconds long.
hi, I was shown the same trick by a mobility scooter engineer, these batteries are sealed for life lead/acid and generally last for about 500 cycles before deteriorating. he said the issue is the fast charge that boils and vents the liquid off so you get one or two dry plates.
they can be brought back into service for another 500 cycles by popping off the sealed plate. then using a eye dropper or small syringe draw fluid from each cell until you find the dry ones, add distilled water to the dry ones until all the plates are covered. pop the caps back in. and leave to stand a few hrs. then replace the sealing plate with a few drops of super glue give it a quick shake and put on charge for 10hrs.
done this to the wife's scooter batteries 3x currently still working after 8 years although will now only take about 80% charge. I have new ones ready to fit. but the old ones just keep going.
there is no reason this procedure should not work on a sealed for life bike battery at least for a while anyway.
they can be brought back into service for another 500 cycles by popping off the sealed plate. then using a eye dropper or small syringe draw fluid from each cell until you find the dry ones, add distilled water to the dry ones until all the plates are covered. pop the caps back in. and leave to stand a few hrs. then replace the sealing plate with a few drops of super glue give it a quick shake and put on charge for 10hrs.
done this to the wife's scooter batteries 3x currently still working after 8 years although will now only take about 80% charge. I have new ones ready to fit. but the old ones just keep going.
there is no reason this procedure should not work on a sealed for life bike battery at least for a while anyway.
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Yeah, I took a different approach from what I was originally thinking before signing off last night. Went ahead and just unplugged the charger and took a volt reading. It came in at over 13.9v, but still showing a red light (not fully charged). Then I kept taking readings about every 5 seconds (just a few times). The readings kept dropping, 13.7v, 13.4v, 12.9v. I just checked it about an hour ago, and it seems to be holding at 12.7v. I will give it some more charge time prior to my test crank, just to see if it is capable of a respectable crank speed.
Bottom line:
Regardless of how the test crank goes, I will be looking for a different battery today. I haven't trusted the Die Hard from the git go. One thing to do a test crank, but I don't want to take it to the streets. I prefer to not have to bump start to ole EX.
For the small cost of MC batteries I just get a new one when and sign of weakness appears. around here a decent new one can be had fo a little as $40. compared to one of my cars batteries (it has two)@$250 that not bad. The front one is small almost MC size yet it cost $195 and must be ordered from Mercedes.
I understan Dollars are relative to income ,but messing around re filling old junk is false econemy
FOG
I understan Dollars are relative to income ,but messing around re filling old junk is false econemy
FOG
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Let it rest at least overnight before testing voltage. ALL batteries will self-discharge to their "real capacity" in a day or so but it takes awhile. Roughly speaking Lead-acid batteries have a maximum "real voltage" determined by their chemistry. They don't "rest" at 13v unless your multimeter is wrong. 12.5 to 12.65 is a pretty good given the limits of usefulness of a voltage test.
A battery with surface charge has a slightly elevated voltage and gives a false voltage-based SoC reading. To normalize the condition, switch on electrical loads to remove about 1 percent of the battery’s capacity or allow the battery to rest for a few hours. Turning on the headlights for a few minutes will do this. Surface charge is not a battery defect but a reversible condition. (Learn About Batteries)
A battery with surface charge has a slightly elevated voltage and gives a false voltage-based SoC reading. To normalize the condition, switch on electrical loads to remove about 1 percent of the battery’s capacity or allow the battery to rest for a few hours. Turning on the headlights for a few minutes will do this. Surface charge is not a battery defect but a reversible condition. (Learn About Batteries)
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I'm interested you guys are adding water to sealed batteries (not to be confused with "AGM") and those are very good explanations.Particularly vulnerability to overcharge and evaporation. The trick is discovering the problem as soon as possible and you guys must be paying attention to your batteries so good on you. It's possible to get 5 years out of the plain old Yuasa or a good clone if someone pays personal attention to it....
I bet 90% of the bad batteries that show up in spring are the result of poor maintenance and attention in the past summer followed by neglect in the winter.
I bet 90% of the bad batteries that show up in spring are the result of poor maintenance and attention in the past summer followed by neglect in the winter.
thing is there not junk just require servicing, suppose you could say the same with spark plugs why clean and gap them when there only a couple of bucks each but we seem to make them last a long time.
and by the way those mobility scooter batteries are 100 buck apiece and there is two of them.
In my post that was a going on 6 year old Yuasa AGM battery, filled by the dealer when purchasing the 2015 V650 Kawasaki. I have dealt with numerous styles of batteries over a 50 year period.
Here is a excellent source from the manufacturer themselves Motorcyle battery charging and discharging information guide
How Many Amps?
Applying a charging current to a battery, without overheating it, is called the “natural absorption rate.”
Because of their smaller size, when compared to automotive types of batteries, powersports batteries are more sensitive to how much current they can safely absorb. When charging a motorcycle or other small battery, the battery charger should not exceed 3 amps. Most automotive types of battery chargers are not suitable due to higher current output. While maintaining a battery at its full state-of charge will ensure optimum life, overcharging may significantly reduce it.
Always verify battery state of-charge before charging, and 30 minutes after charging. When a battery charger has been disconnected from the battery for one to two hours, a fully charged Conventional battery should read 12.6 volts (12.8 volts with Sulphate Stop) or higher. AGM batteries may have slightly higher voltage readings after a full charge.
Do Not Overcharge. Because of the characteristics of an AGM battery, too much of a boost charge, or overcharge will decrease the volume of electrolyte. The longer the overcharge time, the greater the drop in electrolyte and starting power. Because the battery is sealed, water can’t be added to make up the difference in the loss of electrolyte. In addition, overcharging can warp cell plates making future charging difficult or impossible. To prevent over charging, track charging times carefully, or ideally, use one of Yuasa’s automatic chargers. Always stop charging if the battery case becomes too hot to touch. Let it cool down 6 to 12 hours and resume charging. Charging times will vary depending on type of charger and the size of the battery.
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The above was copied from that link. The reason why I posted it, motorcycle specific chargers do WHAT----Yes they have a limited to 3 amp charge current.
So we have numerous discussions about battery types and amp hour ratings and CC amps.
How Many Amps?
Applying a charging current to a battery, without overheating it, is called the “natural absorption rate.”
Because of their smaller size, when compared to automotive types of batteries, powersports batteries are more sensitive to how much current they can safely absorb. When charging a motorcycle or other small battery, the battery charger should not exceed 3 amps. Most automotive types of battery chargers are not suitable due to higher current output. While maintaining a battery at its full state-of charge will ensure optimum life, overcharging may significantly reduce it.
Always verify battery state of-charge before charging, and 30 minutes after charging. When a battery charger has been disconnected from the battery for one to two hours, a fully charged Conventional battery should read 12.6 volts (12.8 volts with Sulphate Stop) or higher. AGM batteries may have slightly higher voltage readings after a full charge.
Do Not Overcharge. Because of the characteristics of an AGM battery, too much of a boost charge, or overcharge will decrease the volume of electrolyte. The longer the overcharge time, the greater the drop in electrolyte and starting power. Because the battery is sealed, water can’t be added to make up the difference in the loss of electrolyte. In addition, overcharging can warp cell plates making future charging difficult or impossible. To prevent over charging, track charging times carefully, or ideally, use one of Yuasa’s automatic chargers. Always stop charging if the battery case becomes too hot to touch. Let it cool down 6 to 12 hours and resume charging. Charging times will vary depending on type of charger and the size of the battery.
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The above was copied from that link. The reason why I posted it, motorcycle specific chargers do WHAT----Yes they have a limited to 3 amp charge current.
So we have numerous discussions about battery types and amp hour ratings and CC amps.
A short history, I made my own ni-cad charger 57 years ago, during my career I worked on rebuilding fork lift batteries. I converted my scope from nicad to nickle metal hydride NiMH, doubling the run time using sub C cells with tabs. I worked in power tool / tool repair for 3 years and a electric motorshop for 9 years.
A couple things I want to touch on:
Amp Hour / physical size- a identical in dimensions AGM battery , one with a high cranking amps, comparing to a standard , the higher cranking amps will have more plates and thinner.
Increasing the amp hour rating over the OEM can have some negative side effects. Say you went 20% greater with the OEM amp hour rating. Your charging system now needs to charge 20% longer should you deplete this. You left something on and found your battery dead--How many jump started the bike? The proper thing is to charge that battery with a motorcycle charger , take the amp hour rating and use 1 amp as a base, so a 10 amp hour battery completely dead needs 10 hours to charge.
Leaving a charger /tender connected 24/7 will reduce the battery life, when reaching full charge the gasing off increases, those sealed AGM batteries will lose water vapour.
I did several posts on regulators, keeping the charge voltage around 14.2 VDC will extend the life of the AGM battery over what typical shunt regulators output up to and above 15.0 VDC
Repeated Starting Stopping
If you are a pizza delivery guy , buying a larger amp hour battery may give you longer battery life, but realise that it will take longer to reach full charge and the battery is there for two purposes, to start the bike and supplement as a power source when your charging system can't keep up, say at low RPMs.
Lots more but I have covered it in other posts.
A couple things I want to touch on:
Amp Hour / physical size- a identical in dimensions AGM battery , one with a high cranking amps, comparing to a standard , the higher cranking amps will have more plates and thinner.
Increasing the amp hour rating over the OEM can have some negative side effects. Say you went 20% greater with the OEM amp hour rating. Your charging system now needs to charge 20% longer should you deplete this. You left something on and found your battery dead--How many jump started the bike? The proper thing is to charge that battery with a motorcycle charger , take the amp hour rating and use 1 amp as a base, so a 10 amp hour battery completely dead needs 10 hours to charge.
Leaving a charger /tender connected 24/7 will reduce the battery life, when reaching full charge the gasing off increases, those sealed AGM batteries will lose water vapour.
I did several posts on regulators, keeping the charge voltage around 14.2 VDC will extend the life of the AGM battery over what typical shunt regulators output up to and above 15.0 VDC
Repeated Starting Stopping
If you are a pizza delivery guy , buying a larger amp hour battery may give you longer battery life, but realise that it will take longer to reach full charge and the battery is there for two purposes, to start the bike and supplement as a power source when your charging system can't keep up, say at low RPMs.
Lots more but I have covered it in other posts.
welp i bought a new battery in november and 6 months later it no longer holds a good charge, tested bad at the store and they'll be replacing it under warranty. but dang these batteries have been a real pain in the ass i gotta say, very impressed that you guys can get 5-6 years. plan is to follow aprilia's battery procedure to a T, test my electrical system thoroughly, keep it trickle charged as much as possible, and do some more research on taking care of these tiny fickle batteries
07 Ducati SS800 '95 Ducati 900SS/SP '19 Honda CBR650R
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what brand/part number battery?
firepower CTX14AHL-BS. looks like it has okay to bad reviews online, no surprises there. lesson learned though, next one after warranty runs out will be from a better brand or lithium ion for sure
The last battery on mine (of course it came with the bike and no history on it was a Yuasa 14ah) it was date stamped at 6/2015 and I added acid to it and used it for an extra year over that till last Dec. I heard that sucker bubbling when I shut the bike down. I now have a sealed cheapo from Flea bay 12ah and using the Ducatiman Mosfit, so far so good with it. (Yeah yeah just did a cheap plug for ye )
)HOKAY DOKAY, almost got stranded a couple weeks ago when the bike struggled to start while warmed up. it's always had some minor electrical gremlins but i'm hoping it's been put to bed, battery got replaced under warranty (still some **** brand but whatever. shoutout to aprilia for his battery setup ritual, very helpful!), a mosfet regulator from ducatiman installed, cleaning and tightening contacts, and installing a pigtail tender to keep it permanently trickled, i'm hoping my bases are covered. readings are strong at the moment, will keep testing it and update if i find anything else. happy saturday everyone!
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