Does it sound new battery?

Hello guys,

We are getting cold here (not compare to other states lol). In the morning, it pauses and restarts the clock before its running. Does it sound new battery or something else. I don't know when previous owner replaced it.

Thanks

Tony

 

do you own a dmm to measure voltage. step one, charge battery, step two, measure voltage at batter at idle and 5k rpm and report back

 

No I don't have those. Black Friday coming, maybe it's time to shop some.

 

giddup 714

 

Or the charging system is failing, as rjgti says you need a meter and start taking some readings and let us know

 

+1 on this. Sadly the charging system seems to be a weakness of most VFRs - hence many of us are now familiar with Digital Multi Meters.

In the short term here is a crude way to test the health of your battery...

Beg borrow or steal a multi-meter, set the dial to test for DC volts, then choose a voltage range above the notional 12 volt of the bike systems - so set to something like 20 volts (or more). Red lead on + battery terminal Black lead on - terminal.

A healthy charged battery without any load will put out around 12.7-13.2 volts. Numbers will drift down as the battery ages. However if you also have any constant drains on your bike - like an alarm system to contend with, I would consider fitting a replacement once the standing volts regularly hit 12.8.

If the standing volts seem fine, then skip the next bit, but if the numbers seem borderline, then you can carry out a crude but reliable assessment of your battery health as follows -

To test battery: (original Yuasa type) - remove from bike and trickle charge overnight with a decent Optimate type digital charger until it is fully charged. The digital chargers won't over charge/cook the battery. So next morning ...

- End of charge volts should be 12.7-13.2V
- Connect a load to the battery (any old 21W indicator bulb should provide enough drain)
- Check voltage every 30mins or so and see how long it takes for the battery volts to drop to 12.3V
- Less than half hour = Totally dead battery - bin it!
- About one hour = Virtually dead battery - needing replacement now!
- More than one hour 30 = battery is still serviceable - but will need replacing soon
- More than two hours = Good battery.



At the moment it may be your battery is just beyond its prime and the increased loads from winter have pushed it over the edge, and with a decent recharge it may struggle through another winter.

Too many before you, have simply gone out and replaced the battery and assumed all will be good, only to be left stranded a short while later with another drained battery.

In your shoes I would invest in a DMM and also give the changing system a proper check (the drill) in case the drained battery was actually down to faults elsewhere in the charging system, which still need to be sorted out.

All the basics are covered in post # 9 of the following thread..

http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthread.php/39277-How-to-fix-common-regulator-Stator-failures


Good luck - let us know how you get on.






SkiMad

 

Thanks guys for great advices. I'll get the meter and will give you the update.

 

Finally I have time to work on it. It reads 12.64. My next step is getting charger? Has anyone used Costco tender charger?

 

LOL, when you said, when I get time to work on it, 5 months later Was that 12.6 static? or when it was running? Funny thing here after 30 + years having the same good ole charger it finally gave up the ghost. So after a bit of checking the latest and greatess in what you get for the money, I found this, not quite what my old one had build wise, it was in a steel case. but seems to be working pretty good so far in the last 4 months I've had it. it's Schumacher SC1200A model got it off ebay of all places, but Wally world has em too. http://www.walmart.com/ip/13005744?...38683592&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=56963206865&veh=sem

 

Lol I was lazy to oops because I have to go thru slider before open fairing. Plus I want to oil at same time.

12.64 in the morning before start engine. I'm running to auto zone to test battery right now and pick up battery tender.

 

Hmm -

Im still not clear what that 12.64 volt reading relates to. If that is the standing volts recorded with the battery disconnected AFTER it has already been re-charged overnight - then the battery is on its last legs.

If however you are saying that is the volts BEFORE you have recharged it (especially if you have left the bike unused for 5 months then it may respond OK but needs to be recharged.

As for what Brand of battery tenders to choose - provided the unit is described as being suitable for motorbike batteries then it should be fine. Just read and follow the instructions. Ideally remove or at least disconnect the battery and then put it on charge over night. Then in the morning disconnect the battery tender/charger unit and let us know what the volts are in the morning. Hopefully it will be in the 12.7-13.2v range, so proceed to the tests described in "the drill" post #9 linked to above.




SkiMad

 

Sorry for not being clear. I'm riding it to work every day. It's running ok and it happes like this sometimes. That reading is before recharge and with engine off.

 

One thing to note, a battery can read near full voltage but not have the capacity.

The original battery on my '06 lasted 9 years. I had the same symptoms and a new battery took care of it. Bought a Yuasa, spendy but they're supposed to last longer.

 

Took battery to local store. They came out said it's dead then I told them what happen. They said it's unstable sometimes reads 12v and sometimes 3v.

Thank you Rob . Maybe it's time to replace it because mine is 07 9years already.

 

an IF here, just don't go out and buy any ole 12v motorcycle battery, there's been some great improvements in these of late. Yea it may cost a few more penny's but in the long run it's well worth it.

Gel vs. lead acid vs. these new fan-dangled ones that are way lighter. Now where's that thread at when you need it, Mohawk here swears by them.

 

Put battery back and started engine, it read 14.22 bouncing up and down.
I'll shop for battery. Any deal out there?

 

14.2 volts is a normal voltage when the engine is running and thus charging the battery.