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Florida Winter...Battery being weird with cooler weather?


McDuugle

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

 

I am located in central Florida, and apparently its getting to cold for my R1100RT.

 

Any time the weather goes bellow 60F and the bike is cold she does not start right up. And I mean the engine does not even crank... I turn the key, press the green button, and all there is one solid click, I do it again, same thing, then again and eventually the engine starts to turn, them the third or forth time it fires up with an ABS fault. This only happens when shes cold.

 

If I put the bike into the sun, even though its cold out, and even though a engine is cold, it cranks right up no issues.

 

I JUST put a new battery in about 3-4 months ago....

 

ANY IDEAS????

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

 

I am located in central Florida, and apparently its getting to cold for my R1100RT.

 

Any time the weather goes bellow 60F and the bike is cold she does not start right up. And I mean the engine does not even crank... I turn the key, press the green button, and all there is one solid click, I do it again, same thing, then again and eventually the engine starts to turn, them the third or forth time it fires up with an ABS fault. This only happens when shes cold.

 

If I put the bike into the sun, even though its cold out, and even though a engine is cold, it cranks right up no issues.

 

I JUST put a new battery in about 3-4 months ago....

 

ANY IDEAS????

 

Afternoon McDuugle

 

What type battery did you install? (battery type might make a difference).

 

Otherwise it's a guessing game as it could be a relay, or starter solenoid, or starter, or cable connection, or even the battery, or ??????

 

You might have to do some circuit load/voltage tests, or voltage drop tests, to find the smoking gun.

 

That short time in the sun is too short to effect oil thickness.

 

 

 

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Its definitely electrical..... My favorite ;)

 

Here is the battery I bought:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/UPG-UT12220-12V-22Ah-BMW-R1100RS-R1100RT-51913-Battery-/130826570135?hash=item1e75df0997

 

Evening McDuugle

 

Those are not starting battery's, they are backup power supply battery's. This isn't your direct problem though as that battery should have enough power to start your bike.

 

The main downside of those light duty power supply battery's is the light duty battery posts as they are very delicate & weak so can't handle much battery cable loading on the thin terminals.

 

I'm still not sure where your problem lies so you probably need to examine the battery cable attachment to the battery posts then if OK put a voltmeter on the battery cables at the battery (on metal cable ends not the actual battery posts) then try to crank the engine cold to see if you are maintaining 10+ volts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I've run the UB12220 battery in my R1100RT for over the decade and ridden many times down to upper 30F weather, including outdoor cold soaks for 8-10 hours. It cranked the motor over as well as any typical automotive battery. So, that battery isn't an automatic for the source of your problem, although it isn't impossible to get a punk battery right off the shelf.

 

The standard 20W-50 oil can be a real strain on any battery to push that oil around when temps get down toward 40F, or less, but that battery should crank it up just fine at 50-60 F with 20W-50 oil in the motor.

 

That battery is an AGM type and requires a different charge voltage to keep it healthy. Do you use an AGM compatible maintainer between rides?

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the engine does not even crank... I turn the key, press the green button, and all there is one solid click,

 

Well, for me, it doesn't sound like oil. As for the battery, what voltage are you getting before and during cranking?

 

Have you checked the connections at the battery, solenoid and starter.

 

Also, this would be the PERFECT time to take the starter motor out and give the whole mechanism a good clean and lube. Check the starter motor magnets are still stuck on.

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Never heard of the Sunshine treatment really working before. I would look at the cold cranking amps available for that battery, I bet it's too low. Do a battery load test to see if your battery is really good enough for the temps. Many auto stores can do it for free and Harbor freight sells a hand held load tester for under twenty dollars. Mike

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Never heard of the Sunshine treatment really working before. I would look at the cold cranking amps available for that battery, I bet it's too low. Do a battery load test to see if your battery is really good enough for the temps. Many auto stores can do it for free and Harbor freight sells a hand held load tester for under twenty dollars. Mike

 

Morning Mike279

 

He is using a power supply battery so there is no CCA rating on that battery.

 

The UT12220 battery is designed as a power supply type battery so is more for long term moderate continuous low amp output than for a high-peak-amp starting type usage.

 

Even the amp hour is rated at a different pull-down voltage so isn't a direct comparison to a vehicle starting battery.

 

BUT, at 60°f most universal UT12220 batteries should crank that 1100RT OK. Those UT12220 battery's are fairly powerful for their cost, they are just very fragile as to plate durability & fragile for battery post durability & internal connections.

 

 

 

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I'm in central Florida also and just had to put in a new battery. The guy at the shop in Orlando said he sees it every year about this time.

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Haha! A rush on replacing weak batteries when it gets cold must be a relative thing. 60F here is a nice spring or fall day and the start of many summer days in these parts. Weak battery season doesn't show up until the first frost in late fall. Maybe in the warmer climes the battery will get the life baked out of it in summer and poor cranking performance shows up at much higher temps than what I am used to seeing. I agree maybe the starter is not up to snuff because at 60F, a UB12220 UPS battery should crank that motor with ease.

 

Never heard of the Sunshine treatment really working before.... Mike

 

Oh that can happen. I had a bike that I was running straight 50wt in a bike back in the day and it would not crank on one unusually cool summer morning while camping. Tried to start the bike with the starter and it acted like it was pushing mud. Tried kick starting it to maximize the power for the spark and it felt like was churning butter. Pushed that bike out from under the tree for 30 min in the bright sun on the side case and went to start it again. It fired groaned and chugged for a minute until the oil loosened as the motor warmed.

 

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