Bud Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I was getting ready to install running lights and an air horn last night. Of course, I wanted to disconnect the battery and while I was there, looked at the fluid level. More than 1/2 empty. So I filled them up to the proper level and put it on the battery tender overnight. My question is this, should I just go ahead and replace it because it has been damaged and will never hold a good charge? Link to comment
tallman Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 How old? Miles used? Weather? Other accessories? Regular use of charger? Is it holding charge? Output? Remember Murphy's Law. The part you don't replace easily at home today will______. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 My question is this, should I just go ahead and replace it because it has been damaged and will never hold a good charge? No. Not in my opinion. Not unless you start having trouble with it. You might want to beat up the person that services your bike. Checking the battery fluid level on a wet cell should be part of every routine service. It sounds like your bike has gone a long time without this standard check. Stan Link to comment
Carnadero Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 My question is this, should I just go ahead and replace it because it has been damaged and will never hold a good charge? A question: How long has it been since the last time you checked the battery acid levels? Once you get that thing charged up, have it tested under load to see if it is or isn't fracked up. Link to comment
Yeeha! Stephen Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 When in doubt... Knock it out. Replace it now. Not so much that it Needs replacing, but the nagging doubt in the back of your mind will deminish future rides away from home/dealership. And one other thing. I was never a Gel Battery guy until now. Just had an Acid battery crack and corrode everything underneath. Including the Fuel Regulator/Distributor. You do NOT want to get into the mess of replacing those pieces along with maybe the battery tray. Yuuuuuuuuuukkk! So I finally went with Gel this time. Now if only the replacment parts will get here. Waaaaaaa!! Link to comment
chrisolson Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 At best its life has been reduced by an unkown amount ... at worst it'll leave you stranded (although you should have some slower than normal cranking as a warning) I'm with Stephen - replace it and be done with it. Link to comment
wolcott Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Bud: I would replace it with an Odyssey AGM (absorbed glass-mat) battery for peace of mind. It is a great battery. That dang BMW gel battery that was in my bike went bad in spring of '06 and had a production date of '04 on it, so it did not impress me with it's longevity. I got mine on E-bay (long wait and mix-up,though) if you are interested in getting one, you can ask the other folks where they got their Odyssey. Or you could go with a Panasonic. Ask BMWMick what model and where to get them. Link to comment
flat_twin Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 At best its life has been reduced by an unkown amount ... at worst it'll leave you stranded (although you should have some slower than normal cranking as a warning) I'm with Stephen - replace it and be done with it. ABS faults will likely be the first sign of an aging battery. If you ignore that, slow or no cranking comes next. Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 1/2 way down is bad and shame on your wrench. You did refill with de-ionized (distilled) water didn't you? Bad spot for tap water. You might want to have a look at your charging system while you are at it. Your voltage regulator could be set at too high a cutoff voltage which can quickly cause problems for your battery. My old ZX-11D used to eat batteries. Charging voltage when the engine was above 4K RPM (most of the time on that bike) was like 14.7 volts. Excess current would heat the battery and it would go from full to dry in a single 700 mile day. In frustration, I switched to a Yamaha voltage regulator, got 13.8 volts max and never had another battery problem. My Blackbird has a similar problem and I will shortly apply a similar solution. Link to comment
bmwmick Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Or you could go with a Panasonic. Ask BMWMick what model and where to get them. Bud, Go to digikey.com and print out the order form. Mail a check with your order and they ship free. You want the LC-X1220P Panasonic battery. I've been using these batteries in all three of my bikes since about 1997. $56.19 is their current price. http://catalog.digikey.com/scripts/partsearch.dll?Detail?name=P231-ND Mick Tucson (where it's currently snowing like crazy) Link to comment
SK_in_AB Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 And the Panasonic will arrive from digikey in about 4 days max - can't beat that service even when it has to cross the 49th parallel. Link to comment
CoarsegoldKid Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 This is battery related so I'll ask the question on this thread. We know that the voltage to the battery when running the engine is upwards of 13.7 but what is it when not running. 12 volt batteries if I remember correctly have 2.2 volts per cell. Six cells would be 13.2 volts for a healthy battery. Is this wrong? When is a battery concidered healthy? Link to comment
hmeiseles Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 when it stops smoking? Link to comment
CoarsegoldKid Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Oh! that's what the mechanics always say. Link to comment
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