The weather has been sporadic in my area and I haven't really winterized and put away the bike.
Today, I installed the lead for my battery tender and plugged things in.
The BT indicated it was in charge mode so I tried starting the bike just to see if the battery was really that low.
The engine would barely turn over so it obviously was.
I've left it on the BT for now, but I'm curious how long it should take a battery to discharge when the bike is not used.
I last rode the bike 2, possible 3 weeks ago and I was surprised it was discharged in that short of a time period.
Could even have been a month, but I don't think so.
2004, no electrical accessories, new Yuasa sealed battery in February of this year.
No previous electrical problems of any type. And this problem may be operator error.
[image: View Post]JeffLaurence, on 28 December 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:
Is there any leakage current even though the ignition switch is off?? Does it have an electronic clock-- small drain but over time........
I haven't put a multi-meter on it yet so I don't know if there is any drain other than the clock.
It's possible, but I'm not quite in troubleshoot mode just yet.
This is the first time I have let the bike set more than a few days since I got it last February.
For all I know, 2 to 3 weeks may be normal.
Yuasa says:
Storing Your Battery
If the vehicle is in storage or used infrequently, disconnect the battery cable to eliminate drain from electrical equipment. Charge the battery every two weeks.
For extended storage, remove the battery from the vehicle and charge to 100%. Charge the battery every month if stored at temperatures below 60° F. If stored in a warm area (above 60° F), charge every two weeks. Make sure batteries are stored out of reach of children.
In chapter 3 of its battery manual they give charts and info. on self-discharge rates, plus other useful stuff in the rest of the manual.
Couple of observations I've made over the last couple of years.
1. A fully-charged battery in a properly-working bike should not discharge in 2-3 weeks. Not even with a clock.
2. That said, oftentimes the battery will not be fully charged when we put the bike away. For example, in almost every situation, my BT Jr has gone to full charge mode (solid red) when I've plugged it in. That includes, specifically, plugging it in as soon as the bike is parked from a ride. What that tells me is that either the battery wasn't being kept 100% by the charging system because I babied the bike over the last mile home, or that the BT LED is not a meaningful indicator of battery charge.
[image: View Post]carlitos92, on 28 December 2011 - 09:28 PM, said:
1. A fully-charged battery in a properly-working bike should not discharge in 2-3 weeks. Not even with a clock.
While I appreciate all the information provided, this is what I was really looking for.
Two weeks seemed like a very short time for the battery to be that low.
I did have a very slow ride home because of traffic, but I was still running around 4,000 RPM.
I'll do some checking of the charging system tomorrow.
FYI: I left my RADAR Detector on and it killed the battery in two days. The Detector warns of low battery, so I heard the alarm and was able to recharge.
My Y2K VFR goes for months without being run.
It fires up everytime.
I am on my second battery... Wal-Mart battery which has been in the bike for about five years.
Batteries vary a lot, depending on age, temperature, time left standing, length of journeys etc.
My VFR's battery sits around a lot of the time in a cold garage - yet the bike fires up fine even after long periods of not being run (weeks).
On the other hand, my XJ650's battery will lose just enough through sitting for a couple of days to need an hour on the trickle charger before the bike will run.
A brand new battery on my Bonnie will lose a little just sitting around for a day (and there's nothing on it to draw any power whilst stood).
BTW, you only need a small voltage-drop in the battery before the starter motor takes all the juice - not leaving enough there to generate a decent spark at the plugs.
The answer (presuming your battery is good) is a trickle-charger, which you can leave hooked-up all the time. (However, disconnect it from the bike before starting).
[image: View Post]Dutchy, on 29 December 2011 - 05:03 AM, said:
starting the bike with the charger on, will that not lead to the charger giving a spike peak power, potentially killing the ECU?
It depends on the charger, but in the case of a trickle charger, I doubt it can make enough juice to fry anything. The Battery Tender Jr. I have is a glorified wall transformer like what you would get with a portable stereo or something. In any case, I start my bike while it's hooked up all the time; no issues.
In any case, since your charger is (normally) hooked up to the battery directly, any fuses between the battery and the rest of the electrical system should still be doing their job.
The Battery Tender was in "Storage" mode this morning. (Green LED)
I checked the battery voltage after I disconnected the BT and it was 12.35 volts.
Went for an hour plus ride, parked the bike and checked the battery voltage. Still 12.35 volts.
I left it off the BT tonight and will check it tomorrow to see how much it loses.
At least the battery isn't discharging when riding the bike. I was afraid to shut it off in case it wouldn't restart.
Paranoid? You bet. :smile:
Was it cold when you tried to start your bike? Don't forget a cold battery will have a much harder time starting than a warmer one in the same state of charge.
[image: View Post]Ryanme17, on 29 December 2011 - 11:00 PM, said:
Was it cold when you tried to start your bike? Don't forget a cold battery will have a much harder time starting than a warmer one in the same state of charge. Not really cold, but it is winter in Iowa. :tongue:
The bike was in my garage and the temperature was about 50 degrees F in the garage that day.
Old thread, but I thought I should post the outcome.
Long story short; bad stator.
Nothing that a fistfull of dollars won't fix.
It's in the shop right now.
For those that like details:
1. The BT jr. does start with the redlight indicating a low charge. Switches to flashing green when the battery is 80% charged and solid green when fully charged and in maintenance mode.
2. My battery drain in storage mode was very small, but the battery was never at full charge after riding so it didn't take much to get the voltage too low to start the bike.
3. Following the test procedure in the factory service manual indicated a problem with the charging system.
4. Voltage at the battery never reached a full 13 volts when I checked it at 5,000 rpm.
5. Since I was having new tires and brake pads installed, I decided to let my dealer handle the charging problem as well. They called today to tell me the stator was bad. New one is being installed now.
6. Yeah, it will cost some money, but sometimes I'm better off letting someone that knows what they are doing take care of my problem.
[image: View Post]CharlesW, on 29 December 2011 - 09:55 PM, said:
The Battery Tender was in "Storage" mode this morning. (Green LED)
I checked the battery voltage after I disconnected the BT and it was 12.35 volts.
Went for an hour plus ride, parked the bike and checked the battery voltage. Still 12.35 volts.
I left it off the BT tonight and will check it tomorrow to see how much it loses.
At least the battery isn't discharging when riding the bike. I was afraid to shut it off in case it wouldn't restart.
Paranoid? You bet. :smile:
12.35 volts on a Yuasa AGM directly coming off charger? there's your problem, that battery should have been over 13 volt coming off the charger. and should be over 12.9 even in standby with no charge for a couple weeks.
But I agree with whats been said, a good battery wont even blink at 2 or 3 weeks
Yeah, I would say your battery is suspect. I left mine sit all winter, outside under the car port, and when I went to start it up a month or so ago it spun over just as fast as it did when new, and this is a $30 Ebay battery.
End of thread · 17 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 18 Jun 2012