battery dies yearly?

[Mozzy]

Ok guys, my gorgeous bike sat for literal years between the first owner and myself. I bought a new battery 2 years ago and bought a battery tender jr. I left it on the tender all winter and last spring, I was forced to replace the battery. I did this in kitchener at zdenos. Since the prior battery only lasted a year on the tender, they just exchanged the new one. This year, it happened again. I went out for a couple long rides without turning the bike off. On sunday, I went out for a short ride and the battery died within 30min of being turned off. Now I am not sure if its the tender/the battery/or the alternator. The pattery says full when taken off the tendor. Anyone?

Thanks
Brandon

[scottynoface]

What kind of battery? I had the same problem with cheapo batteries.

[diavolo]

Check the voltage of the battery when the bike is running - to determine if the alternator is putting out sufficient volts.

[chrisx2]

ditto...is it a maintenance battery? e.g. the type that you have to top up from time to time with distilled water? That'll do it if a cell goes dry on ya. I've also heard that some tenders can fry your battery if left on too long...I put mine (maintenance free batt) on the tender once per month during storage....usually shows a full charge within an hour or less. It's ~ 3yrs old now.

[arsenic]

1 - At idle the alternator isn't doing jack. If you just start the bike and test the battery, the alternator will not be charging. It only works after a certain RPM that I can't remember. 2 - You shouldn't leave the battery on a tender all winter. That will fry a battery real quick.

[Mozzy]

The battery tender jr was what I had been told to leave it on by a biker friend. They informed me that it needs that to stay good and their batteries last for ever. I forget the name of the type but it is I think the stock type, begins with a Y(I think) now I am unsure of what to do... I will test it. What do I set the tester to? Electronically challanged. I own a tester but have never used it.

[scottynoface]

A Yuasa?

If it was on a tender during winter and you killed it in a few rides I'd definitely suspect the charging system...mine is 9 years old and is still kicking...

[Mozzy]

Thatd be the brand. How do you keep it charged over the winter?

Last years winter, I will say I think the charger got unplugged a couple times so I was leaning towards that being the culpret. This year I was thinking that leaving it on would fix that problem. Plus, the jr charger isn't a high amperage.

[chrisx2]

Mine's the same battery (OEM). Charge it prior to storage, then disconnect it (the leads from the bike itself)....voila. Check monthly...

[Kreylyn]

Could always replace the battery with a Shoria from GSXFJim and not need to worry about using a tender at all over the winter.

Those batterys don't slowly discharge, just unhook the leads to make sure the bike doesn't have a low draw anywhere and you would be set.

Krey

[scottynoface]

How do you keep it charged over the winter?

I dont I just leave it. Never been a problem till this year (4th season with this bike) since I didnt ride at all.

[Pjolter]

I just park the bike in a warm garasje at fall, and leave the battery connected. Two days before the season starts, i hook up a trickle charger, and havent had any problems with this system for three seasons.

BTW, i work with 24v systems all day, and Yuasa batteries are my favourites.

[Slofuze]

Never owned a post Kat...... but stupid me put my pre in the PARK setting on the ignition a couple of times ....... never the same after that.

[Mojoe]

where do you store your battery? on a cement floor? on a wooden bench? a metal bench?

my bro was keeping his boat batteries on his garage floor the first winter he owned it, which was made of cement, and I told him he would trash his batteries if he did that. he insisted it was ok. that summer his batteries started failing. NEVER store them on a metal or cement surface. it is a slow ride to the recycling center if you do that.

don't keep your battery on a tender all winter long. it will kill your battery.

don't neglect it in the summer. most people just get on the bike and ride if it starts, and ignore the battery until it doesn't start, then they decide to charge it. even if your bike has an alternator, don't rely on that to keep your battery fully charged. once a month everything I own that has a battery, gets charged, aside from my SUV. my boat has it's 4 batteries charged one a week. I actually have 7 or 8 battery chargers. it was cheaper to buy them on sale than it is to keep replacing batteries.

each time a battery goes dead, or is used in a less than fully charged state, it slowly kills the battery. here are some important numbers to consider. a fully charged 12v battery should read 12.6v across the two terminals. if it reads 12 or 12.1, only about 20-25% of it's useful energy remains. when you start dipping into those "reserves", that is referred to as "deep cycling", and that is one of the fasted ways to shorten it's life span.

so, in simple terms, aside from maybe over charging it with a tender, which is less critical if you are only using 2amps and not more, your problem may not be in how you store your battery in the winter, as much as it is in how you tend to it in the summer. if you are continuously using it under a fully charged state, like around 12v, you are deep cycling the battery....which means killing it.

battery tending is not a winter thing....it's a yearly thing. you need to pay as much attention to them in the summer as you do in the winter...more actually, seeing as that is when you are using it under load.

I am actually in the process of making a charging bank. as of now, I have 12 batteries to tend to. 3 bike, 1 snowmobile, 3 garden tractors, and 5 marine batteries. all quality batteries....well over $1500 in batteries. 2 of my boat batteries go for $600 each. they are Odyssey and came with the boat, and I don't want to lose them, so I baby them. anyway, got a spot on the bench that will hold them all, and I will mount all my chargers above them. I bought enough batteries last summer to bring everything up to par....and I don't plan on doing it again for a while.

battery failure is the number one "break down" in most vehicles. you need to treat it right, all of the time, if you want it to last and be reliable.

[thetable]

don't keep your battery on a tender all winter long. it will kill your battery.

2 - You shouldn't leave the battery on a tender all winter. That will fry a battery real quick.

Where are you guys getting this info from? An actual battery tender (not a trickle charger) can be left connected indefinitely without causing any harm.

http://batterytender.com/resources/frequently-asked-questions#answer9

How long can I leave the Battery Tender Plus battery charger connected to a battery?


In theory, you can leave the Battery Tender Plus battery charger connected to a battery forever. Like they say, “Just plug it in and forget about it!” Practically speaking, it is a good idea to check on the battery at least once a week. Strange things can happen. Sometimes a battery can have a weak cell that won’t show up until the worst possible time. Of course, that time is usually when the battery is connected to a charger. If something goes wrong, then you have to deal with the question of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? Did the battery fail because it was connected to the charger or did the charger fail because it was connected to the battery?

No matter how good a product is, anything can break. With a battery and a charger connected together, it’s a much better idea to be proactive and anticipate problems, however unlikely they may be. In more than 99.9% of cases, nothing will go wrong. That still leaves about 0.1% where something might. Learn to respect electricity. A little common sense can go a long way.