Guest twowheelfiend Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Hi all, I haven't posted here (or ridden) since last Fall or so, and would like to ride if I could get my dang bike started! :rolleyes: As I said, the last time I rode my bike was last Fall and it's been sitting idle since then. About a week ago I went to start her up, turned the key, and got nothing - nada, zip. No lights, no dashboard lights or anything. I put the voltmeter on the battery and it was about 2.8 Volts IIRC! I put the battery on the charger and got it up to 12.8V, and it started like normal and I went for a 40 mile ride in the country which I thought would give the battery a good refuel. That was on Sunday, and this morning I went to start it and the battery couldn't turn over the engine. A little history - it's a Yuasa YTZ14S that I has bout 10 rides on it. The R/R was replaced last year and when I did that all the numbers checked out. Not having a reliable battery is killing me. It's going to be hard to ride if I'm constantly worried I'm not going to be able to start it and get stranded somewhere. I didn't have time to check the voltage this morning on the battery, but I'm guessing it's less than 12V - likely about 10 or so. Could someone point me in the direction of what diagnostic process I need to do and give me some help? Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthshake Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Yank the battery and take it to an auto parts store and have them test it. Most of them will do it for free. The long period of inactivity may have let it become so discharged that it can't recover. If the long periods between rides are common, you should connect it to a battery tender which will maintain the health of the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlecreek Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 yep, what he said. battery tender will save you more money then it costs if you will go extended periods without riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checksix Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 If your 12 volt battery sat discharged to 2.8 volts, I'm surprised you were able to charge it up enough to turn the bike over. That battery is toast and you're going to kill your electrical system if you don't replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 If your 12 volt battery sat discharged to 2.8 volts, I'm surprised you were able to charge it up enough to turn the bike over. That battery is toast and you're going to kill your electrical system if you don't replace it. So the battery obviously gets drained just sitting there - bummer. I didn't have this problem the past few winters and I left it outside hooked up for almost as long. That was an expensive battery for less than a dozen uses if it's toast. Why can't it charge back up after it goes that low? My bike is stored outside without a convenient power source close by. Do I need to remove the battery and put it on a battery tender after every ride? I usually only ride a couple times a week at most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Battery might recover just fine, I wouldn't write it off just yet. If you ride a couple times a week, no tender should be needed, as long as those rides are not idle cruises around town. Tender is a good idea...I use a powerlet onboard to connect one to if I need to, and an extension cord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jstanwood Posted June 24, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2009 If your 12 volt battery sat discharged to 2.8 volts, I'm surprised you were able to charge it up enough to turn the bike over. That battery is toast and you're going to kill your electrical system if you don't replace it. So the battery obviously gets drained just sitting there - bummer. I didn't have this problem the past few winters and I left it outside hooked up for almost as long. That was an expensive battery for less than a dozen uses if it's toast. Why can't it charge back up after it goes that low? My bike is stored outside without a convenient power source close by. Do I need to remove the battery and put it on a battery tender after every ride? I usually only ride a couple times a week at most. Unfortunately, that's just how lead-acid batteries work (or don't work in this case). If they get discharged past a point, they lose the ability to hold another charge. An expensive battery is no different than a cheap one in this regard. A couple of rides/week is fine. If you were to leave the bike sit for up to two weeks, I would get the battery on a tender. For the winter, you should definitely pull the battery and keep it inside. Don't let it freeze, and keep it charged. Also, keep it off concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Okay, so I'll take this battery to the shop and have them load test it to see if it's good or not. If it's toast, I'm not plunking down another $130+ on new one. Especially since I'll be spending another $30 on a battery tender jr. Again, if it is toast, what other cheaper battery options should I look at? Is there any kind of quick connect I coudl use on the battery leads instead of fiddling with the screws/nuts on the battery? Thanks for the advice guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer crepitus Posted June 24, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2009 Okay, so I'll take this battery to the shop and have them load test it to see if it's good or not. If it's toast, I'm not plunking down another $130+ on new one. Especially since I'll be spending another $30 on a battery tender jr. Again, if it is toast, what other cheaper battery options should I look at?Is there any kind of quick connect I coudl use on the battery leads instead of fiddling with the screws/nuts on the battery? Thanks for the advice guys. Battery maintainers typically come with a quick connect plug adapter that you can attach to the battery and run out a convenient place on the bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted June 24, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Problem is I keep my bike outside without a convenient power source nearby. I'd have to run an extension cord about 30 feet to the bike and keep the tender outside. I was asking if there's a quick disconnect for the bike's power and ground cables to connect to the battery. So every time I remove the battery to bring it inside to put it on the tender, I don't have to unscrew the power and ground cables, take the battery out, charge it, then screw the power and ground cables back in. I couple quick disconnects would be a lot quicker. I bet they'd be available at Radio Shack or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer Madness Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Problem is I keep my bike outside without a convenient power source nearby. I'd have to run an extension cord about 30 feet to the bike and keep the tender outside.I was asking if there's a quick disconnect for the bike's power and ground cables to connect to the battery. So every time I remove the battery to bring it inside to put it on the tender, I don't have to unscrew the power and ground cables, take the battery out, charge it, then screw the power and ground cables back in. I couple quick disconnects would be a lot quicker. I bet they'd be available at Radio Shack or something? a) I might have an extra connector that stays on the battery. b) As far as distance from a power source goes, there are mini solar operated trickle chargers that just might be the cats' meow for your situation...... :blush: Google and I'm sure something will come up. I just checked.... there's a GAZILLION!!! :ohmy: Here's just one... Greg :lurk: FLASH! THIS JUST IN!!! :cool: Don't throw that battery away yet.... they also have solar battery restorers as well. Read about these I never thought about it but, batteries live on a 'charge/discharge basis' simply put. Overcharge and fry it. Undercharge or long term disuse and it forms sulphate crystals which eventually render it useless. This 'restorer' somehow reduces and/or eliminates the crystals and Voila!you have a refreshed battery! Seems expensive but, if I read the info correctly, it's a trickle charger as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 no, there is not a quick connect that would work on a motorcycle as the cables need to pass a lot of amperage for starting especially. You shouldn't need to charge the battery if you use the bike every 2 weeks at least. Trickle chargers are cheap, and $130 for a battery is way too much. Check Batteries Plus, I got my Yuasa from them for $75 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Okay, so I had a few minutes before it got dark tonight and I put the voltmeter on the battery which has been on the bike and it read 12.00V. Not bad, but wouldn't turn over the engine. And after trying once, the battery was down to close to 11.5V. Not suprising I guess. I *think* I'm going to try and use the same battery and hope for the best. I also like the idea of the solar powered trickle charger - thanks for the suggestion Veefer Madness. Has anyone had any experience with these? Namely, do they work? When i get back from a ride, can I simply take the seat off (or make some connectors that extend out) and plug in the solar charger and leave it until I ride next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer Madness Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Okay, so I had a few minutes before it got dark tonight and I put the voltmeter on the battery which has been on the bike and it read 12.00V. Not bad, but wouldn't turn over the engine. And after trying once, the battery was down to close to 11.5V. Not suprising I guess.I *think* I'm going to try and use the same battery and hope for the best. I also like the idea of the solar powered trickle charger - thanks for the suggestion Veefer Madness. Has anyone had any experience with these? Namely, do they work? When i get back from a ride, can I simply take the seat off (or make some connectors that extend out) and plug in the solar charger and leave it until I ride next? I'll check and see if I have the style that has the ring terminals for the battery, an inline fuse, and a short length of wire to allow the male/female connector to just stick out the rear cowl right at the front by the battery. According to your own world dominating Military, :sleep: they seem to think that they work; at least according to one of the links I looked at. Personally, I don't see why they wouldn't as it is a proven technology and newer panels draw energy even on overcast days. I think I'm talking myself into one of these now..... :biggrin: Greg :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 you can try this, it works some times. reverse charge the battery for a while at 1.5 amps(about 6-7 hours but watch it should not get really hot, and then re charge, many times it will then take a charge normally. you may consider going to a gel battery next time they are more tolerant of deep discharge and sitting than a conventional, or in the case of the vfr an agm battery. the solar charger may be just the ticket for you they work like a charm in boats. you may also consider cycling the battery through several charges and discharge cycles this brings them back sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I just called my local batteries plus and they have a solar powere charger as well which specifically says it's for motorcycles. I think I'm going to head over there and check it out. Anyone used this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I just called my local batteries plus and they have a solar powere charger as well which specifically says it's for motorcycles. I think I'm going to head over there and check it out. Anyone used this one? Don't ever use your motorcycle to charge the battery, all you are doing is overloading the charging system that was designed to Maintain a good battery, not charge a bad battery, specially with the problems that VFR's have as it is. Put a brand new battery in it that has been properly charged with a battery smart charger, and preserve your charging system. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 So I took my battery into the local Batteries Plus and had them load test it and the cca was way low, so the battery was toast. I ended up getting their stock battery they sell at BP for about $85, and it had the same cca rating as the Yuasa and I wanted to get one and have it done with that day. The new battery did the trick! I was also going to buy one of their solar panels to keep the battery charged, but it wasn't a waterproof model. So now I have to figure out if I want to try to run an extension out to the bike and use a standard Battery Tender Jr., or get a waterproof solar panel (like the one mentioned above). I didn't have time over the weekend to see how long of a lead I'll need to get power out to where I keep my bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jstanwood Posted June 29, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hopefully, the new battery was pre-charged. I know the ones you have to add acid to need to be charged between the time you take it out of the box and when you actually install and use it. However, Batteries Plus is really good about having new ones on hand and ready to go. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechdziner714 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Ride your bike everyday and this will be a non issue. Motorcycles & Batteries dont like to be ignored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I just called my local batteries plus and they have a solar powere charger as well which specifically says it's for motorcycles. I think I'm going to head over there and check it out. Anyone used this one? Don't ever use your motorcycle to charge the battery, all you are doing is overloading the charging system that was designed to Maintain a good battery, not charge a bad battery, specially with the problems that VFR's have as it is. Put a brand new battery in it that has been properly charged with a battery smart charger, and preserve your charging system. Good luck. 87 VFR 700. Been reading all these posts, and several people have said that, once a battery has been drawn down to 0, the system cannot (like a car can) charge the battery up again, just by driving. I have a relatively new batt and left the parking light on. Pop started the bike, but the batt remains dead, even after riding. Other symptoms are a tach that goes nuts, the turn signals no longer work (fuse fine), and the bike runs terribly. Stone dead when I shut the bike off, even after pop-starting and riding and now it won't pop start. So, from reading these posts (at the risk of stating the obvious), it sounds like I need to pull the batt and get it tested/charged and replace if needed, as the bike itself will not charge the dead batt, only maintain a charged battery. Related: Is a tach that's going "crazy" a symptom of an electrical system trying in vain to maintain a batt that was drawn down to 0? Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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