Bad Battery...

Hey all.
My bike is only two years old, but I seem to be having battery problems already...
All was well going to work y.day morning...But I had to jump start it yesterday evening after work as it was dead as a door nail, and it was fine to get me home (20min drive), but this morning it was dead again!!:confused

I drive my bike everyday, all year round...which should be enough to keep it charged up..
Is it just the end of the battery life? or could something else be causing this?
There is no alarm fitted, or no real electrical mods done to the bike...
Any help would be good before I fork out for a new battery.:roll
Thanks!

SMCG said:

Hey all.
My bike is only two years old, but I seem to be having battery problems already...
All was well going to work y.day morning...But I had to jump start it yesterday evening after work as it was dead as a door nail, and it was fine to get me home (20min drive), but this morning it was dead again!!:confused

I drive my bike everyday, all year round...which should be enough to keep it charged up..
Is it just the end of the battery life? or could something else be causing this?
There is no alarm fitted, or no real electrical mods done to the bike...
Any help would be good before I fork out for a new battery.:roll
Thanks!

Click to expand...

several things to check...
1st...what voltage is showing on the dash with the engine running ???
any less than 13.5 and you have charging problems, biggest culprit is the poxy brown connectors between the stator and the reg/rec...
if you have decent voltage then it does sound like your bettery is foobarred....buy a new one, better still do a search and find out what the uprated battey is and fit that instead....

Dash voltage first tho !:exclamation

Funners said:

several things to check...
1st...what voltage is showing on the dash with the engine running ???
any less than 13.5 and you have charging problems, biggest culprit is the poxy brown connectors between the stator and the reg/rec...
if you have decent voltage then it does sound like your bettery is foobarred....buy a new one, better still do a search and find out what the uprated battey is and fit that instead....

Dash voltage first tho !:exclamation

Click to expand...

The clocks in my bike reset the other day. Until that moment, I had not had any problem with the battery. I'm checking the battery charge consistently and the voltage varies, from 11.6 to 13,6. Should I be thinking of changing the battery?

two years for a motorcycle battery would make me very happy, I am usually changing them at about a year to a year and a half old.

Check the voltage with a real multimeter after taking it out of the bike and charging over night. Should be above 12.0V. If not time for a new battery.

is it only me who wonders what sort of condition the battery would be in after the bike sat in a showroom for 6 years, unless the dealer replaced the battery i would have thought even a well looked after batter would deteriorate significantly.

but as beemerws6 said, two years is probably the average life of a motorcycle battery, though im sure some will come here and say they have had the same battery since the bike was new 10 years ago and its still fine, each battery is different and the way it is maintained has a huge affect on its life

unfortunately most decent batteries are not cheap, and using a cheap and crappy battery on a big v twin wouldnt be something i'd reccomend

another thing to consider is the type of battery, if its not a gel one it may need the fluid topping up to the correct levels and a complete discharge and recharge cycle to revive it

good luck!

Could be a crap rectifier...bad stator...brown connector should be checked for sure. Let us know what your voltage readings are.

my original battery lasted 5 years and 47k before it gave up the ghost, (no warning at all-rode to work then left stranded when about to leave)
riding all year round aswell, is still not enough to keep it tip top, you must put it on an optimate to ensure it has enough juice to fire up.(thats after you have got a new batt)
CK

ZX7R 6 years with optimate sold with original battery. same with the ZX9R six years sold with original:thumbup.

sergi75 said:

The clocks in my bike reset the other day. Until that moment, I had not had any problem with the battery. I'm checking the battery charge consistently and the voltage varies, from 11.6 to 13,6. Should I be thinking of changing the battery?

Click to expand...

11.6 is ****...no.make that VERY **** !:exclamation

First thing I'd check is the brown connector behind the collant bottle on the RHS of the bike, check it carefully for charring/scorching etc, it's a viscious circle as, the inital crap connection generates heat in the plug which start to melt, the excess carbon/charring creates even more resistance which creates more heat which creates more burning culminating in melted plug, immobile bike, fried stator and knackered reg/rec....
if the engine plug is OK, then check the one which plugs into the reg/rec (thats in front of the coollant bottle RHS on the inner fairing) not as common but has been known !

if all this checks OK, then you need to check the voltage AT the battery terminals with a volt meter whilst the engine is running...
if that shows a steady 13+ volts then all is well and the battery is indeed U/S:dunno

Funners,

I have been reading a previous post about the brown connector. I will check it tonight. Just to make sure, the brown connector is on the left side of the bike, even in a 2002 model? And forgive my ignorance but what is "reg/rec" and where can I found it in my bike? Cheers mate
Sergi

Like KZMille said...check the tipover switch...just make sure it has not become dismounted and it is placed in the correct direction via the markings on it

I don't think the brown connecter or stator issues affect the pre 04 models,could be wrong though:dunno

Thanks for all the advice! And sorry for the late reply..I been on my hols.

Just the battery needed replacing. Got a new one yesterday and Im back in action!

Cheers, Sean.