bigboy Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 hi guys aint posted for a while so i hope you can help . The battery keeps drying out on my 97 r1100rt, i have put 3 batteries on it in the last 12 months is this an indication of over charging. if i put a new battery on the bike now and leave it for say 14 days it will start no problem , but if i put a new battery on it and ride it for 30/40 miles the battery will go flat within 2/3 days then over time the acid dries out. Link to comment
Boffin Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 From what you describe I would say that the regulator on the alternator is dead. I would try James Sherlock, Motobins or Motorworks for a used (or new) replacement. Sherlock's sells the regulator for 41 quid for a new unit, motorworks 42 quid. Andy Link to comment
T__ Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 hi guys aint posted for a while so i hope you can help . The battery keeps drying out on my 97 r1100rt, i have put 3 batteries on it in the last 12 months is this an indication of over charging. if i put a new battery on the bike now and leave it for say 14 days it will start no problem , but if i put a new battery on it and ride it for 30/40 miles the battery will go flat within 2/3 days then over time the acid dries out. Derek, difficult to say what you have there.. Usually when a battery isn’t charging it will go dead but that usually doesn’t deplete the battery water.. Your problem sounds more like possibly something is drawing too much current while riding (like the ABS motor) then the alternator is charging the heck out of it trying to re-charge it.. Are you using a battery charger with a very high output & charging the battery to death? Difficult to say with the little info you have furnished.. I guess you will need to place a voltmeter on the battery & check the charging voltage at mid to high RPM (probably should do it while riding the bike if possible) .. (should be between 13.8 to14.8 volts with close to 14.2 volts desired.. If above 15 volts it will boil the battery & if much below 13.8 volts the battery will go dead while riding.. Listen to see if the ABS motor to keeps running even without the brakes on.. Check all the wiring & grounds for good clean & tight connections.. You could have anything from a high current draw,, to a loose ground wire(s),, to a bad alternator,, to a loose belt,, to poor connection in the charging wiring or battery cables,, to ????.. Twisty Link to comment
Boffin Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Twisty, I don't agree with some of your points here. The only thing that will cause a battery to dry out is boiling from over-charging. The amount of current draw needed to heat a battery enough to dry it out would melt the bikes loom. Pulling out more current than the alternator can put in will only flatten the battery. Properly regulated, the alternator will not charge the heck out of a battery no matter what load is on the battery. No, the only thing that can cause a battery to run dry is over-charging, either from a cheap car-type battery charger or from a defective alternator regulator. As the OP states the battery is flat after a 30 mile run that points to the alternator. Severe overcharging will boil off electrolyte and distort battery plates, shorting cells and lowering capacity. Andy Link to comment
bigboy Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 well i do recall that on one of the batteries the plates were twisted out of shape , i think we could be on to something here guy,s Link to comment
T__ Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Twisty, I don't agree with some of your points here. The only thing that will cause a battery to dry out is boiling from over-charging. The amount of current draw needed to heat a battery enough to dry it out would melt the bikes loom. I never said excess current draw would dry the battery out.. I said the re-charging process could.. Pulling out more current than the alternator can put in will only flatten the battery. Properly regulated, the alternator will not charge the heck out of a battery no matter what load is on the battery. The secret here is PROPERLY REGULATED.. I though I posted that ___“I guess you will need to place a voltmeter on the battery & check the charging voltage at mid to high RPM (probably should do it while riding the bike if possible) .. (should be between 13.8 to14.8 volts with close to 14.2 volts desired.. If above 15 volts it will boil the battery & if much below 13.8 volts the battery will go dead while riding..” No, the only thing that can cause a battery to run dry is over-charging, either from a cheap car-type battery charger or from a defective alternator regulator. I thought I posted that also? __ “Are you using a battery charger with a very high output & charging the battery to death? As the OP states the battery is flat after a 30 mile run that points to the alternator. Severe overcharging will boil off electrolyte and distort battery plates, shorting cells and lowering capacity. YEP! That battery could be overcharging,, never said differently.. That alternator can put out close to 700 watts at probably a little over 18 volts (maybe even higher).. Without a functioning battery in the system the regulation would less than stable.. Twisty Link to comment
Boffin Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Ok, I see what you mean - I was a bit slow picking up on that because you type in an American accent Link to comment
AndyS Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 hi guys aint posted for a while so i hope you can help . The battery keeps drying out on my 97 r1100rt, i have put 3 batteries on it in the last 12 months is this an indication of over charging. if i put a new battery on the bike now and leave it for say 14 days it will start no problem , but if i put a new battery on it and ride it for 30/40 miles the battery will go flat within 2/3 days then over time the acid dries out. Have you put a multi meter across the terminals and measured the voltage being suipplied to the battery when at idle, at 2000rpm and maybe a quick run up the rev range? this will help acsertain you don't have any regulation problems. Have you had problems with bulbs blowing? It would be good to get some more info. Andy Link to comment
bigboy Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 no i have not tried that one yet but i will be doing so, i have not had any bulbs blowing on me either. Link to comment
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