6th gen died, battery voltage suspect

Hi all,

Just about to go for a ride, turned the bike on and tried to start it and it died.

No fuses blown, so checked the battery - reads 16-17v with the ignition off, and drops to near 0v with it on.

The battery looks a bit munted. I'm suspecting the R/R has overcharged and killed it.

Any ideas? I don't know how bike batteries are supposed to behave.

Thanks,
lowkey

 

First, welcome.

Second, Read this.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/22254-ghost-says-lets-learn-about-batteries.html

Lasty, for you..

Disconnect the RR connector, charge your battery on a 2A trickle charger over night, OR hook up a car battery (do not start the car), and flip the kill switch to the ON position, measure voltage from the battery....

Start your bike. Rev it to 5K and hold it there for 5 seconds. Disconnect the battery jumper cables. Does the bike die immediately? If yes, then go get a new battery. If no, but it dies a few mins later, go get a new RR and a new battery.

Cheers!

 

Thanks

I understand basic battery theory, but wasn't sure if 16-17v was an OK voltage...

I'd love to test it with another battery, but the only other one I have access to is dead (exhibits the same symptoms as this one, as a matter of fact - but from a different bike).

I've tried connecting my charger to the battery, but it just sits there and buzzes loudly and doesn't charge it (no current flowing).

Looks like I'll have to source a new battery before I continue, then.

Cheers,
lowkey

P.S: As a side note, I did crash my bike about two weeks ago, and it was on it's side for about 5mins. Any relation, do you think? I'm unsure if my battery is a gel or water one.

P.P.S: Ah shit. First rain of Autumn (fall) here. Looks like a great time to fix the bike then!

 

the battery should show ~ 16Vish while its being charged on the bike running... so thats ok.

If its a water battery, you should have a port for each cell, (6 of them), and a visible water level high and low mark. rocking the battery should hear water sloshing around. if you open a port, you should see water inside. If a water battery sat on its side for 5 mins, and was restarted immediately, you are ok.

If its a sealed or gel battery (which i'm most sure yours is... most newer bikes have them standard), then there arent the port openings, the battery is usually black, as you dont need to see through it to see the water level, there arent indicators for high and low water. If a sealed battery sat on its side for 5 mins you are ok.

A humm from the charger to the battery is normal. A humm from the battery isnt. typically a person can hear a boiling sound from the battery, if you are really quiet

 

Thanks Ghost..

The 16-17v reading is from the battery when it's not connected to anything.

This drops to 0v (or ~0.7v) when I put ANY load on it (ie. turning the bike on, or even trying to put a single 12v 65w halogen globe on it).


It's pretty sealed, so I'm assuming a gel battery. It was on it's side for ~5min, but due to the accident the bike wasn't started for a week after that. That said, it has been fine for the week since it was got into running condition again.

As for the hum from the charger - it's more a harsh scream, like it's being overloaded. Again there is no current flowing from the charger to the battery at all.

Cheers

 

New battery and all good. About 14v voltage when the engine is on, and at all revs.

Too bad they gave me a battery for a 5th gen!

 

good diagnosis. Great job. Glad your back on the road.

cheers!