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Have I killed my new battery....


rikernumber1
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Hi All,

I replaced the battery in my Radian about six weeks ago - the old one wasn't holding charge for more than a couple of days. New battery was much better; however, I haven't used the bike for 3-4 weeks. I keep it on the drive, covered up, and we have had a few cold days in that time (UK, Kent). I went to start the bike this weekend, and it was as dead as a doornail. I charged the battery for about 8 hours, but it refused to take anything except a trickle charge. I tried again today - slightly more life as the starter relay clicked. I put it back on charge and the charger meter reckoned it was taking 2 amps, so it was accepting a charge at a higher rate, which seemed to be better to me. I'm leaving it on trickle overnight - I've taken the stoppers out and it's bubbling away (outside, under carport!).

My question is: by not using the bike for 3-4 weeks, when the weather has been colder, have I killed my new battery? Can they really die in that short space of time?

TIA

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Hi All,

I replaced the battery in my Radian about six weeks ago - the old one wasn't holding charge for more than a couple of days. New battery was much better; however, I haven't used the bike for 3-4 weeks. I keep it on the drive, covered up, and we have had a few cold days in that time (UK, Kent). I went to start the bike this weekend, and it was as dead as a doornail. I charged the battery for about 8 hours, but it refused to take anything except a trickle charge. I tried again today - slightly more life as the starter relay clicked. I put it back on charge and the charger meter reckoned it was taking 2 amps, so it was accepting a charge at a higher rate, which seemed to be better to me. I'm leaving it on trickle overnight - I've taken the stoppers out and it's bubbling away (outside, under carport!).

My question is: by not using the bike for 3-4 weeks, when the weather has been colder, have I killed my new battery? Can they really die in that short space of time?

TIA

I'm sure it will be fine, the weather is exceptionally cold, just charge it once a month when not in use, it should be ok. The best bet if youre not using the bike is to remove it and take it indoors

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I don't know,!! bike batteries are funny things and it depends on what you replaced the oem one with?

I bought a generic one for £20 and it was shite after 6 months regular use, forked out for a "named " battery and its lasted 2 years up to now !!

BTW buy an optimate they are brill and maintain the battery charge.

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+1 for an Optimate.

And yes, you can feck a battery that quickly. Hell, I can do it inside 4 minutes!!

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Hi All,

I replaced the battery in my Radian about six weeks ago - the old one wasn't holding charge for more than a couple of days. New battery was much better; however, I haven't used the bike for 3-4 weeks. I keep it on the drive, covered up, and we have had a few cold days in that time (UK, Kent). I went to start the bike this weekend, and it was as dead as a doornail. I charged the battery for about 8 hours, but it refused to take anything except a trickle charge. I tried again today - slightly more life as the starter relay clicked. I put it back on charge and the charger meter reckoned it was taking 2 amps, so it was accepting a charge at a higher rate, which seemed to be better to me. I'm leaving it on trickle overnight - I've taken the stoppers out and it's bubbling away (outside, under carport!).

My question is: by not using the bike for 3-4 weeks, when the weather has been colder, have I killed my new battery? Can they really die in that short space of time?

TIA

Hi

Did you commission the battery with an acid pack or was it filled and commissioned via a shop ? There is a possibility that the acid was not at the correct SG (I would guess a shop's acid would have the correct SG) and therefore the battery couldl die/decline in the manner you mention, but you have some good answers to your question and I guess mine will be incorrect.

Regards Jim

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It was commissioned in a shop.

I just tried it after leaving it on trickle charge overnight. Lights came on strong, so I tried the starter, and everything went dim and the starter just clicked - engine did not turn over at all. However, when I turned off the ignition and turned it straight on again, it was like the battery instantly recovered - all lights bright again - until I tried the starter again and it all went dim again. So now I'm wondering if there's another problem.

I suppose I could try jumping it off the car - never done this before as my previous bikes (over 15 years ago) were all 6v. I guess this would prove whether it is the battery. Any risks in doing this (apart from making sure nothing shorts out....)?

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It was commissioned in a shop.

I just tried it after leaving it on trickle charge overnight. Lights came on strong, so I tried the starter, and everything went dim and the starter just clicked - engine did not turn over at all. However, when I turned off the ignition and turned it straight on again, it was like the battery instantly recovered - all lights bright again - until I tried the starter again and it all went dim again. So now I'm wondering if there's another problem.

I suppose I could try jumping it off the car - never done this before as my previous bikes (over 15 years ago) were all 6v. I guess this would prove whether it is the battery. Any risks in doing this (apart from making sure nothing shorts out....)?

Hi

Just noticed you have a YX600 ... Radion fooled me for a bit !!! (thought it was a soap powder :rolleyes: ) You could have a starter motor problem, like some bad brushes or dirty segments to the armature, but I'm sure you will get some better advice from other users.

With regard to jumping the bike from a car battery, thats OK if the battery is flat but in your case I dont think it is and the jump will apply more power to the system than it's designed for and the starter will spin the motor and start it then back to it's own battery it's back to square one, discounted starter motor because a few more amps were supplied. All tests should be conducted within the bike's standard spec, rather than adding a bigger capacity battery to mask the fault

Regards Jim

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  • 4 weeks later...

What with work and Christmas, I had to leave looking at the bike again until now.

I'm fairly sure the battery is OK (and I've trickle charged it once a week), and as I can hear the relay clicking over I went straight for the starter motor (also easier to get at). To test it, I simply connected it directly to the battery to see if it would turn (I tried two charged batteries) - and it didn't. I could turn it by hand, so it wasn't jammed.

Logic suggests to me that a starter motor should turn if connected directly to a power source, right? However, if someone knows different please shout!

TIA

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It does sound suspiciously like the starter motor and/or relay to me.

Either that or you have a short on the starter circuit.

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  • 1 month later...

I did kill it. I noticed that when charging off the charger, only 5 of the six cells were bubbling. New battery solved the problem. And now I have a spare starter motor.....

For non-gel type (now old fashioned) batteries, that you can remove the vent plugs, I've found that a valuable addition to the tool kit is a cheap hydrometer (pay no more than 3 or 4 quid!). Has saved me hours of red herring time over the years!

Suck up the electrolyte and measure the relative density (used to be called SG or specific gravity!!). Each of the six cells should go flat together and charge together at pretty much the same rate (charged is around 1270 but the cheaper hydrometers show a simple green/red for charged/flat). If a cell has "gone down", it will be all to obvious (as you saw by noticing that one cell wasn't bubbling!).

Also another tip for battery maintenance, is NOT to jump a flat battery (if it wasn't damaged in the first place then it might be after a jump!) and to only use "intelligent" trickle chargers, NOT high charging car battery chargers. The early advice of an Optimate is good, also Acumen Platinum/Titanium/DUO range or maybe Oxford Maximiser.

A basic charger that doesn't switch itself off when charging is complete will overcharge and damage most bike batteries within days!

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