Scarecrow Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I replaced my stock battery with the Panasonic a few months ago, April to be exact. It's been fine up until this morning. I hadn't ridden in a couple of weeks, except a trip of about 70 miles over a week ago. Got on this morning, hit the starter, all that happened was a very loud clattering noise. It's not like it's been cold in the last couple of weeks. It's been high 90's, 100's. What gives? I'm just real disappointed. I have the charger on it since this morning. the charger seems to be hotter than usual, but I don't know if that means anything. I don't seem to have much luck with batteries. I don't know why. Next up, I guess I'll order an Odyssey and see how that goes. Just pissed. Link to comment
steve404 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Same thing happened to me with an Odyssey. I even went so far as to get one of their over-piced chargers. Finally got another Odyssey and things have been fine for over a year. Link to comment
Hermes Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Oddly enough it happened to me after last weekend, I didn't ride Sat/Sun and Mon morning the battery was flat. I suspect some leaking curent somewhere, maybe the switched power supply for my 6V converter for the XM Roady allows some leakage? I have also been known to park the bike and removed the key in the Accessory position thus leaving the parking lights on unintentionally! Another thing that happened a few times is that I accidentially swipe along the On/Off switch on my Garmin 2620 when hiding the bike under the bike cover. (The Garmin is connected to the battery, full time). Just a few things to look out for before tossing the battery. Btw, I now always connect my Optima Charger when parked at home. Jurgen Link to comment
Scarecrow Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Thanks for the replies. I have a temp gauge, but it's hard to imagine it draining very much off the battery. I guess I'll just have to make sure I plug in my charger every week. I just hope when I go camping for a week, it starts up each day. Link to comment
philbytx Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Simple - Buy a Battery Tender! There is a miniscule current draw on the bike even when off.... Link to comment
Ron_B Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I believe that Westco batteries are Panasonics, and the Westcos have had a questionable history when used on oilheads. I had one on my '99 RT, and had constant repeated ABS faults. I accidentally ran it down twice, (not completely) and it died within a year. I replaced it with an Odyssey and never had any problems. Hell, when I got sick, my bike sat in the garage for over 4 months before I remembered that I hadn’t connected the battery tender. The Odyssey was completely flat, and after charge, it came back to life. That was over 2 years ago. I sold the RT a month ago, and at 4 ½ years, the Odyssey was just starting to give signs of age. Just a little. Get the Odyssey. Link to comment
Scarecrow Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 Simple - Buy a Battery Tender! I have one and didn't use it this last week because I thought I wouldn't have to with the temperature running the way it did. I usually think of throwing on the charger when it is cold out, not when it is in the 90-100's. I'm going camping next weekend in Yosemite and I hope I don't need a jump at the end of the weekend. Link to comment
JayW Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Simple - Buy a Battery Tender! Battery tenders shouldn't be necessary on a bike that is ridden regularly. I have never used one, and my batteries have always lasted at least 4 years. Jay Link to comment
Lets_Play_Two Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 "I hadn't ridden in a couple of weeks, except a trip of about 70 miles over a week ago." This is likely the problem. And hot weather is just as bad on a little-used battery as cold weather. I have battery tenders on both of my bikes in the summer because of the hot weather affect. Link to comment
tomk99r11 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Sure you don't have a some add on accessory always hot drawing down the battery? Seems odd or unlikely, although certainly possible, that you get bad batteries. Link to comment
bmwmick Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I replaced my stock battery with the Panasonic a few months ago, April to be exact. It's been fine up until this morning. I hadn't ridden in a couple of weeks, except a trip of about 70 miles over a week ago. I don't seem to have much luck with batteries. I don't know why. Next up, I guess I'll order an Odyssey and see how that goes. Just pissed. Disconnect the ground cable and put an ampmeter on it. You should see less than 2.6ma with the ignition OFF. I've been using the Panasonics since 1995 and have never had one fail if I replace them on a 4 year schedule. Heat is worse on a battery than cold. Believe me, I know, I live in Tucson and no battery lasts more than 4-5 years here. Mick Link to comment
Scarecrow Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 Sure you don't have a some add on accessory always hot drawing down the battery? Seems odd or unlikely, although certainly possible, that you get bad batteries. the only thing I have is a temp gauge. rt4me helped me install it and he has the same model. I don't recall his having a problem with it. but he probably rides more often than I do, so maybe that's it. Link to comment
wolcott Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 scarecrow: Shouldn't you charge the battery up to what panasonic says is fully charged and then bring it to someplace (like a bike shop or auto parts store) and have them put a load test on it, first? That would be a starting point. Then, do the current drain test like Mick said. If those Panasonics are able to withstand the brutal summers of Arizonia in Mick's bikes for four years at a stretch, they must be a good battery- of course, it's always possible you got a bad one. Chances are you will find something else if battery is relatively new. Good Luck in your electrical quest. Link to comment
JonathanE Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Steven, As said above, lead-acid battery life is greatly reduced by high storage temperatures, and it's plenty warm where you live. Paraphrased from a vendor's statement [heavily paraphrased and edited to protect the BBS]: "Ambient Temperature Effects on Battery Life" The rated output capacity of a battery is usually based on ambient temperature of 25C (77F). Variation from this operating and storage temperature can alter the performance of the battery, and shorten its expected life. High temperature reduces the battery life greatly. A good rule of thumb when determining battery life in relation to temperature is that for every 8.3C (15F) average annual temperature above 25C (77F), the life of the battery is reduced by 50 percent. [end paraphrase] If you can drop by my place with the bike, I can measure voltage with the bike stopped and off, stopped and powered up, running at idle, and running at 3 or 4K rpm, and let you know if the bettery is bad or not. I can also throw my brute battery charger at it for a bit to see how/if it improves. I'm busy tonight, but tomorrow night I can be available. Drop me an e-mail if you are interested. Link to comment
Scarecrow Posted August 3, 2006 Author Share Posted August 3, 2006 Jonathan, thanks, I'll take you up on that, but not this weekend. I'll send you email to synch up... And to everyone: thanks for the tips and knowledge sharing. Link to comment
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