Re: Battery Health

I would like to get some advice on the health of my battery. I don't necessarily think it is time to change it, and don't want to debate which battery if I do, but want to share a couple of measurements and see what the collective wisdom of the health is.

Key off, nothing on, direct reading off of battery. 13.4 Volts.

Key on, direct reading, 12.9 volts.

Hit the starter direct reading which by the way is hard to get because it starts in about 1/2 a second is 9.8 volts followed immediately as the alternator kicks in of 14.6.

Whatcha think....battery is 4 years old and approaching the summer heat and riding season bestowed upon Houston by pure cruelty. New battery or not? It's super simple to change on 2014 R1200RTLC so that isn't an issue.

Thanks.

Voltages don't seem too bad and if not seeming to struggle on start up I would keep it. If you have kept it on a tender when not riding and not drawn it to dead at some point the AGM battery in your bike should have a few more years in it

I would like to get some advice on the health of my battery. I don't necessarily think it is time to change it, and don't want to debate which battery if I do, but want to share a couple of measurements and see what the collective wisdom of the health is.

 

Key off, nothing on, direct reading off of battery. 13.4 Volts.

 

Key on, direct reading, 12.9 volts.

 

Hit the starter direct reading which by the way is hard to get because it starts in about 1/2 a second is 9.8 volts followed immediately as the alternator kicks in of 14.6.

 

Whatcha think....battery is 4 years old and approaching the summer heat and riding season bestowed upon Houston by pure cruelty. New battery or not? It's super simple to change on 2014 R1200RTLC so that isn't an issue.

 

Thanks.

Evening David

That "Key off, nothing on, direct reading off of battery= 13.4 Volts" sounds out of reason. Was that taken right after removing a battery charger, or right after a ride? If so then it is not a usable number.

If it wasn't after a charge or after ride then you might have a voltmeter accuracy problem.

Even the 12.9v seems high for a static key-on measurement.

Leave bike sit overnight (12 hours or longer) with no charger on it then do another static key-off measurement.

Thanks ....Ok will do tomorrow after off the charger for full 24 hours or more. It has been off the charger about 3 hours after about a 15 hour charge. It's a really good fluke meter that seems right on other ac and dc devices.

Thanks ....Ok will do tomorrow after off the charger for full 24 hours or more. It has been off the charger about 3 hours after about a 15 hour charge. It's a really good fluke meter that seems right on other ac and dc devices.

Evening David

You were measuring the (after charge) surface charge not the actual static battery voltage.

They say to measure a battery at rest meaning 24 hours after a charge or ride. You should see 12.8 or a little either way.

OK....Been off the tender for 30 hours.

Key off.......12.9

Key on and after about 2 minutes stabilized at 12.4

Hit the starter and again hard to see because starts so fast but number was 9.0 followed by charging voltage of 14.5

Good or time for new?

OK....Been off the tender for 30 hours.

 

Key off.......12.9

Key on and after about 2 minutes stabilized at 12.4

Hit the starter and again hard to see because starts so fast but number was 9.0 followed by charging voltage of 14.5

 

Good or time for new?

Morning David

Time for a real battery load test!

The static 12.9v is pretty good but static voltage doesn't tell us much.

The key-on 12.4 isn't bad but not stellar.

The 9.0 cranking is LOW but it was just a burst reading so probably isn't usable. (under 10v during stabilized cranking is low) so it signifies a battery test or possibly a new battery is warranted.

A lot of motorcycle shops will run a quick battery load test right in the parking lot (not always conclusive but a darn good next move).

The only reason you've given for wanting to check your battery is that it's 4 years old. The last numbers you posted looked fine, and your engine turns over and starts quickly. And your RTLC charges an AGM battery properly. After reconditioning my PC 680 shortly after I bought it, it is in excellent condition 5 years later. If I were you I wouldn't worry about it.

Batteries that are kept 100% charged can last a long time. I used the small 10 year old AGM battery from my house alarm back up to start my motorcycle, no problem.

I tried getting the most out of batteries but I now I don't think its worth it. I just installed a Yuasa for $84 it's also 18 amp hour not 16. YTX20CH-BS same size as OEM on my work bench. For this kind of money it buys me piece of mind. When I've taken time off, touring with others, used up kitchen passes, paying for hotels and such I want to enjoy my ride not trying to find an over price battery on the road and effecting my trip and the others with me. My opinion replace the battery if you have any question, as you know they just seem to die without much notice.

Jay

I tried getting the most out of batteries but I now I don't think its worth it. I just installed a Yuasa for $84 it's also 18 amp hour not 16. YTX20CH-BS same size as OEM on my work bench. For this kind of money it buys me piece of mind. When I've taken time off, touring with others, used up kitchen passes, paying for hotels and such I want to enjoy my ride not trying to find an over price battery on the road and effecting my trip and the others with me. My opinion replace the battery if you have any question, as you know they just seem to die without much notice.

 

Jay

Hi Jay, you seem to have contradicted yourself.

As others have said, get a capacity test done and that will give you a good idea of what the battery is like at that point in time. Your pre-emptive approach is all well and good, but as you said, " as you know they just seem to die without much notice". So no real point in changing them early because you may well end up in exactly the same boat. I'd rather have that money tied up in breakdown/recovery insurance.

I tried getting the most out of batteries but I now I don't think its worth it. I just installed a Yuasa for $84 it's also 18 amp hour not 16. YTX20CH-BS same size as OEM on my work bench. For this kind of money it buys me piece of mind. When I've taken time off, touring with others, used up kitchen passes, paying for hotels and such I want to enjoy my ride not trying to find an over price battery on the road and effecting my trip and the others with me. My opinion replace the battery if you have any question, as you know they just seem to die without much notice.

 

Jay

Hi Jay, you seem to have contradicted yourself.

As others have said, get a capacity test done and that will give you a good idea of what the battery is like at that point in time. Your pre-emptive approach is all well and good, but as you said, " as you know they just seem to die without much notice". So no real point in changing them early because you may well end up in exactly the same boat. I'd rather have that money tied up in breakdown/recovery insurance.

Andy I guess I did contradict myself because they do seem to just go bad at times but if you are lucky enough to have any indication I'd trade it out. Insurance only repays cost but not time, time is more valuable then anything. You can make more money but not time. I think it was Vince Lombardy, The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game they just ran out of time.

Jay

And after Vince left Green Bay for Washington they ran out of time for about 30 years!

Hey Roger,,,,Although no known systems, it's approaching summer time in Houston. Houston summer is really hard on batteries as have had batteries in several new cars, boats, and plane die at age 3. I'm concerned about the 4 1/2 years and making it though another summer heat cycle where road temps are way north of 100 degrees. I'm not sure it will go bad but the thought of having it die and being stuck somewhere where ambient temps are 110 and road temps are 130 is causing me to think about changing early. Heck, maybe I'll connect it to my house burglar alarm since that battery is 7 years old, in a controlled environment, and still going strong.

Think I'll start studying up on the PC 680 to make sure connections are the same and that I have a proper battery tender to get it to full charge. I don't remember all the details but remember a few discussions on the board about getting it fully charged requires some charger uniqueness. I have probably 5 battery tenders +, a couple of BMW branded chargers, and a couple of other types.

DR...very familiar with load testers as grew up in family owned Chevrolet dealership. Good idea thanks. I use to test them for my dad when I was a kid. They looked a little like a space heater with cables, a vu meter, and a test switch. I googled motorcycle battery load testers and there are some showing in places like Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, etc for 20-40 bucks. Will need to do some research to make sure they actually work and aren't junk. If it works... well I have multiple uses I could use a load tester for...

Why buy one. Just pop into your local tyre or battery store and they'll do it for free.

Hey Roger,,,,Although no known systems, it's approaching summer time in Houston. Houston summer is really hard on batteries as have had batteries in several new cars, boats, and plane die at age 3. I'm concerned about the 4 1/2 years and making it though another summer heat cycle where road temps are way north of 100 degrees. I'm not sure it will go bad but the thought of having it die and being stuck somewhere where ambient temps are 110 and road temps are 130 is causing me to think about changing early. Heck, maybe I'll connect it to my house burglar alarm since that battery is 7 years old, in a controlled environment, and still going strong.

 

Think I'll start studying up on the PC 680 to make sure connections are the same and that I have a proper battery tender to get it to full charge. I don't remember all the details but remember a few discussions on the board about getting it fully charged requires some charger uniqueness. I have probably 5 battery tenders +, a couple of BMW branded chargers, and a couple of other types.

 

DR...very familiar with load testers as grew up in family owned Chevrolet dealership. Good idea thanks. I use to test them for my dad when I was a kid. They looked a little like a space heater with cables, a vu meter, and a test switch. I googled motorcycle battery load testers and there are some showing in places like Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, etc for 20-40 bucks. Will need to do some research to make sure they actually work and aren't junk. If it works... well I have multiple uses I could use a load tester for...

Dave, check the size of the PC 680 it looks way to big for the wethead RT. Too bad I'm an Odyssey fan too.

Jay

 

DR...very familiar with load testers as grew up in family owned Chevrolet dealership. Good idea thanks. I use to test them for my dad when I was a kid. They looked a little like a space heater with cables, a vu meter, and a test switch. I googled motorcycle battery load testers and there are some showing in places like Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, etc for 20-40 bucks. Will need to do some research to make sure they actually work and aren't junk. If it works... well I have multiple uses I could use a load tester for...

Morning David

I still have one of those old Sun VAC battery load testers hanging on the wall in my shop. Thing has a huge carbon pile resistor inside it to run the amp load up. I seldom use it (haven't used it in years) but when I use it after sitting a long time it smokes & smells horrible as the carbon pile heats & burns the dust & whatever out.

I sure wouldn't want to use one of those on a small motorcycle battery (especially when the resistor stack tends to stick at full load once in a while).

I think you are probably thinking clearly when you say you might replace the battery. I keep thinking of my 1200RT, at about 2-3 years old or so (I can't remember exactly) --doesn't matter as it was too early for an OEM battery to die.

I was fully loaded with camping gear & a weeks worth of camping supplies heading up into Michigan for a weekend camping trip when I got caught in a traffic jam around Flint Mi. Ambient temp was in the 90°s with hi-way temperature probably well over 100°. I was just inching along with many a-move-a-few-feet then stop for a minute.

I was kicking the trans into neutral at the stops so I didn't have to keep the clutch lever pulled in plus I was also getting hot, irritated & lazy.

In any case I managed to stall the darn engine as I didn't have it out of gear when I let the clutch lever loose. So there I sit in the heat in L/H lane with 3 lanes of irritated driver all around me.

I push the start button & nothing (the battery went completely dead). Bike was very heavy & extremely top heavy with all my gear on it & I was just sitting there with cars, trucks, & campers trying to go around me.

I was probably sitting there for a couple of minutes when 3 very large teenagers got out of a car maybe 3 or 4 cars behind me (I thought they were going to kick my a$$), instead they started to push me & in all that heat & confusion actually pushed me fast enough to roll start the bike. I didn't even get their names as once I was started they ran back to their car.

Luckily I carried motorcycle jumper cables so I got through the weekend jumping off of other vehicles at the camp ground.

That bike had an OEM Gel battery (those are knows for sudden death) so that was part of it but knowing I am near battery end of life I now replace my motorcycle batteries earlier than I used to. I figure I am going to need one soon anyway so might as well replace it BEFORE it fails as I NEVER want to repeat that dead battery in heavy traffic EVER again.

DR....you just articulated why I'm going to early....Headed to MotoGP Austin in a few days loaded up...the bike not me. Last thing I need is what you described above. I'll start a new battery thread, please forgive me in advance, but going to ask the wet rt community what fits... How long do you think it will go before we hear the virtues of brand X vs brand Y... Thanks all for help on this one. Silly me I'm going to change it.

Andy to your question on why buy one....cuz I still have some room in my garage . Man can never have enough tools. Smart = no.. do it = yep.

Just replaced the battery on my late production 2014 GSA,so anyone with a battery 3 yrs old or older may be running on borrowed time with your current battery.

I put in a Deka,made in USA by East Penn Battery,think they also make the batteries that BeemerBoneyard carries.

Looks to be well built and cranks the bike very well and eliminated a"won't start on first crank"issue that is somewhat common on wet heads.

Bought mine here:

https://www.techbatterysolutions.com/Deka-Motorcycle-Batteries-s/819.htm

JR356