Battery question..

Zascar

So I have not used my bike since December and unsurprisingly the battery is dead. I'm going to take it out tonight and charge it, but someone said to me that the battery is probably goosed and I'll need a new one. I'm told it's a ytz10s battery. I'll charge it and see but what do you think?

Heathen

Inspect the battery visually before charging to see has the shape changed in any way, i took mine out to charge it a few weeks ago and discovered one of the cells was knackered and was bulging out the back and front of the batter a little... battery was brown bread, was not holding a charge at all... so i got a new one and all is good...

H

CJhaughey

If it has died from lack of use and undercharging thats OK, if its started to bulge it could a problem with the charging system, check your reg/rec and make sure its not overcharging the battery.

Zascar

Got it out last night, seems fine. Charged it and the light was green this morning so I'll see how it goes tonight. Fingers crossed I wont have to buy a new one, they are €100!

Wonda-Boy

Depends also if its liquid or gel, some batteries go so low they cant recover. Id say you be okay....trickle charger FTW!

landmarkjohn

I leave a charger connected to my battery with a plug in timer. I set it to come on about 3 times a week for an hour. Battery has held up for the last couple of years on a bike that gets used about 6 times a year. Of course this only available if you have power source where you park the bike.

Zascar

Unfortunately I park in an underground car park with no power sockets anywhere near the bike. In fairness this is the first time I've ever had a problem with the bike - an unsurprisingly since I have not used it in almost 3 months.

Wonda-Boy

Zascar wrote: »

I have not used it in almost 3 months.

O THE SHAME!!!! :rolleyes:

Cienciano

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

O THE SHAME!!!! :rolleyes:

I reckon he should lose his mod status for admitting that!

I always make sure I use my bike at least once every 2-3 weeks over winter, starts fine every time.
Actually, used it today and wasn't sure how much petrol was in it, so filled up. It took €3.45 worth! Person behind the counter was laughing at me for putting in such a shítty little amount!

Hotblack Desiato

Do you not either have a fuel gauge, or zero the trip meter when you fill up Cienciano?

OP if the battery was in reasonable shape and not too old before you left it it's probably ok, but you might have shortened its life a bit. If it was on its last legs, then this sort of thing could finish it off. Batteries can let you down without warning, which happened to me last year (bike was in daily use, stopped for petrol on the way home and it just wouldn't restart) but it was 7 years old at the time which isn't too bad. The wife's car is 11 years old and still on the original battery as far as we can make out (the car was 3 years old when we bought it, and I doubt anyone in Ireland fits Panasonic car batteries)

Cienciano

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Do you not either have a fuel gauge, or zero the trip meter when you fill up Cienciano?

A trip meter which I keep forgetting to set unless I'm going on a long run

Zascar

So lads a quick update. Last week I took the battery out and charged it. I put it back in and it started fine. Used the bike the next day, no bother. Then on Saturday I was giving the bike a bit of a clean, oiling the chain, topping up the oil etc. It started fine and I let it run for a few mins, then put everything away. Happy days, battery is fine - I thought. But of course this morning I went to ride it to work and it would not start, it lazily chugged but would not properly kick in. Balls.

I find it a bit strange that it did that. What do you think? Is the battery goosed? Should I bother trying to charge it again or just get a new battery?

Cuddlesworth

Zascar wrote: »

I find it a bit strange that it did that. What do you think? Is the battery goosed? Should I bother trying to charge it again or just get a new battery?

Something about the chemical reaction in the sulphuric water when it gets depleted changes the composition of it, which leads to low temperatures freezing the liquid. After cells freeze they are dead. In cold weather normally a new battery can lose nearly a third of its capacity even without freezing while the cells are cold.

I know the feeling. I goosed a battery myself doing the exact same thing. It was cold and I used the car for 3 months.

Zascar

Yeah Id say its degraded, maybe I could get away with it but I HATE having battery issues so I think I'll get a new one. I dont have time to get out of work, but I found one from an Irish retailer here: http://www.motorcycleshop.ie/yuasa-ytz10s-1583-p.asp - are these guys any good? I saw them at the bike show actually. Decent price, better than the Uk shops as far as I can see!

Cuddlesworth

I picked up some servicing stuff from them recently, took a day or 2 to actually ship but otherwise they were good.

Wonda-Boy

Zascar wrote: »

So lads a quick update. Last week I took the battery out and charged it. I put it back in and it started fine. Used the bike the next day, no bother. Then on Saturday I was giving the bike a bit of a clean, oiling the chain, topping up the oil etc. It started fine and I let it run for a few mins, then put everything away. Happy days, battery is fine - I thought. But of course this morning I went to ride it to work and it would not start, it lazily chugged but would not properly kick in. Balls.

I find it a bit strange that it did that. What do you think? Is the battery goosed? Should I bother trying to charge it again or just get a new battery?

Battery was charged enough to start the bike, then you let it run for a few mins and it was draining. You need to ride the bike for the altenator to charge the battery properly. If you started it a rode for a few hours it would have started this morning.

Cuddlesworth

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Battery was charged enough to start the bike, then you let it run for a few mins and it was draining. You need to ride the bike for the altenator to charge the battery properly. If you started it a rode for a few hours it would have started this morning.

He had charged it to full and it had lost enough charge in a week to not turn the starter. What good will driving it do?

Hotblack Desiato

I got my last battery from motorcycleshop.ie - they supplied it filled and charged (although I would have been happy to do that myself) and delivery was quick

Unlikely the battery actually froze especially if it was in a shed. But the plates start to develop a coating of sulphate when they get completely flat, this reduces the capacity of the battery permanently. Cold weather reduces the current a battery can put out but that is only temporary, but it explains why a cold morning often causes a starting problem.

This is probably just a worn out battery, but it would be worth checking to see if there is anything draining the battery when the ignition is off - is there an alarm on the bike?

Wonda-Boy

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

He had charged it to full and it had lost enough charge in a week to not turn the starter. What good will driving it do?

Did not know he charged it up fully, I taught he charged it for a few hrs only. Hence why I said it was charged enough to turn it over.

Battery clearly is not holding the charge. Hopefully its not the reg/rec, coz if he buys a new battery it will go the same way.

CJhaughey

If you buy a new dry battery with the acid pack do not just fill it and fit and ride away.
If you do the lifespan will be greatly reduced.
Fill with acid, tapping the battery to make sure all bubbles have risen off the plates.
Leave it for minimum 2 preferably 6hrs or overnight then charge at 1 amp till its fully charged.
The plates need to form and filling and starting will damage the formation of the plates.
Anyone with a motorcycle should have a charger that charges at a rate suitable for small motorcycle batteries ie 1amp

Wossack

as above, follow the filling instructions to the letter! first charge with cap loosely on etc

Fabritzo

Try Global Distributors in Santry (01)8623438 think I got a Unibat off them before

Zascar

So I got on the guys in Battery world as they are near my work. They have a standard sealed Yuasa at €70 and then some type of Gel battery at €50 - he said it even has a higher cranking ampage. What's better?

blade1

Zascar wrote: »

So I got on the guys in Battery world as they are near my work. They have a standard sealed Yuasa at €70 and then some type of Gel battery at €50 - he said it even has a higher cranking ampage. What's better?

Get the strongest one possible that will fit.
I have just swapped a 12 for a 14 in the Aprilia.
I am also swapping the puny 50 amp solenoid for a 150 amp one.

CJhaughey

Zascar wrote: »

So I got on the guys in Battery world as they are near my work. They have a standard sealed Yuasa at €70 and then some type of Gel battery at €50 - he said it even has a higher cranking ampage. What's better?

Is it a Motobatt yellow case?
They are good batteries.
I would also look at uprating the battery if you can, many bikes can fit bigger amperage batteries in place of the stock one.
Honda Deauvilles have a YTZ9 you can fit a YTZ14 in place as its the same dimensions length x width but 40mm taller and instead of 9Ah its 11.2 AH

Hotblack Desiato

Americans get very hung up on 'cold cranking amps' but there is no standardised measurement of this so it's meaningless really.

Kevin McCloud

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Americans get very hung up on 'cold cranking amps' but there is no standardised measurement of this so it's meaningless really.

What do you mean by there is no standarisied measurement?

Hotblack Desiato

It means what it says. It's like watts on an amplifier, manufacturers put down whatever meaningless figure they like for marketing purposes

Amp-hour capacity of the battery is a standardised measurement though.

Kevin McCloud

cca is not a meaningless figure, they just dont pull a figure out of the clouds.

Cuddlesworth

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

cca is not a meaningless figure, they just dont pull a figure out of the clouds.

Cold cranking amperes (CCA) is the amount of current a battery can provide at 0 °F (−18 °C). The rating is defined as the current a lead-acid battery at that temperature can deliver for 30 seconds and maintain at least 1.2 volts per cell (7.2 volts for a 12-volt battery). It is a more demanding test than those at higher temperatures. This is the most widely used cranking measurement for comparison purposes.

Doesn't seem meaningless. Not very appropriate to ireland though, since -18 °C is extremely unlikely.

Kevin McCloud

Its also worth noting that a bigger Amp Hour battery might not give extra starting power so spending more money on a bigger AH battery may be a needless spend.