maintenance free batterys

[ace lucas]

about two weeks ago i tried to start my bike so smokin joe could hear my jcw mufflers, all i got out of it was a grunt, i then proceeded to ck out the battery, it says do not open. well i opened it any way, the battery was dry as a bone, so i figured that i would not lose anything by trying to revive it, as it was dead anyway i filled the battery with new acid and put it on a trickle charge for two days. the battery charged up to full capacity, left it sit and went out the other day when it was so cold, hit the starter button and it fired up like it had a new battery in it. this is not saying that it will last forever but i would check the water level in your batterys even tho they say maintenance free. when you run it dry your battery is ready to die------------------ace

[bluto]

I wonder what cause you to boil off all your water? Do you have anything that really loads the electrical system? I pull a trailer (with lots of lights on it), lightbar, fog lights and a 200W stereo without any battery problems (38000 miles). Now that I've jimxed myself, better start shopping for a new one! :shock:

[ace lucas]

looked at the overflow tube and it is clean dosn't look as tho anything went through it, i don't have anything extra except a voltage reducer for my radio, it drops the voltage to 6 for my system, it either takes 4 aa batterys or the power cord, its a possibility that the battery was never filled up properly, but it is also three summers old, a lot of different things that could have caused the problem, but as i said i would check the fluid level even if they say do not open. time will tell, ill let it set and when it gets freezing a$$ cold i will start it up and i will see how much power the battery has then. thanks for the input-------ace

[mark_1bx]

I wonder if it froze and cracked? Maybe you want to check if you've got acid all over the bike.

Mark

[ace lucas]

just empty hasn't leeked a drop since i filled it.

[David]

How old is that battery?

A battery can go dry for a couple of reasons:
- over charging / over voltage - put a volt meter on it and idle the bike (800-900rpm). If it drops below about 12.5VDC at idle then you have a low rpm charging problem (should maintain about 13-14VDC at idle), you have too much load on the bike, or a combination of both.

Then high idle (2000rpm) to see if the alternator is going above 14.8VDC. If it is over this value at high idle then you have a charging problem.

- overloading, with or without enough capacity to maintain a charge. Too much load, in turn always putting a charge to the battery, will boil a battery dry. This one is what will really kill a battery before its time.

If more than three years old you could have just boiled off the liquid over time of normal wear. Three years for a battery is pretty good.

I would consider configuring that battery reducer where you can disconnect or isolate it when you are not operating the bike. If that is the only thing on the bike, and it is not causing the drain, then old age (battery - not you! :P ) is probably the factor.

My '03 VTX never had a trickle charger on it for the winter storage (two seasons). Fluid level was good, and never had a problem of starting her after sitting for a month or longer during winter hibernation.

The VTX does not have a history of bad alternators, just a bit anemic. At 435watts it isn't much of a charger. In contrast my '03 Wing has 1,100watts, and the new '06 Wing has 1,500watts. (fast idle output)

My '03 Gold Wing has the original battery. It does need a trickle charger because all the crap on the bike will drain the battery during winter hibernation. Before the first long distance trip in '06 (if I still have the bike) I will put a new battery in the bike. Bluto is going to do the same before his big trip in '06.

My '04 Rune had a new battery installed by the original owner after only a month of ownership - but the bike sat on the show room floor for two years with good charging. Just as bad for a battery as overloading it.

My only other comment (question) is where did you get the new battery acid? Is it the correct type for your battery's construction (plates)?

[vtxter]

Heat is the killer of batteries. Causes all the electorlyte to slowly evaporate and does not need to boil to do that. You use to have to install a new battery or top off the battery every 3 years or so in a car for this very reason. Try making a battery last longer than 2 years in Nevada! Good luck! :) With some cool technology batteries will last lots longer. We are now using AGM (Glass Mat) batteries in some of our cars. We put fiberglass mats in between the lead plates and fill them with gell that cant evaporate! 500% reduction in failure and 120% longer life. Most of our tests show that an AGM battery in some cases will outlast the car. These batteries are now becoming available for cycles as well!! A bit more expensive but truly maintenance free. Oh and the reason they dont want you to pull the cover off is it releases a whole bunch of emissions into the air. Tree huggers dont like that. :twisted:

Hope that helps ace

[ace lucas]

thanks guys for the come back on the battery thing, when it was so damn cold i went out to the garage to start my bike and it fired up like it had been running every day, conclusion no acid no battery, and david the acid, is acid that i got for filling motorcycle batterys, well we will see what happens in the spring, i cant wait till they come out with the altama dry cell battery for bikes. my brother put one in his 1950 chev about 12 years ago and it still cranks that car like it has two batterys in it, another friend has a amc pacer with a 700 hp engine in it and he also has the dry cell battery in it and it kicks it rite over-----------WELL ANY WAY JUST WANTED TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY--------------------im just waiting for spring, man winter sucks---------------ace