Lesson learned

Dbar

Dbar

Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Messages
59
Location
Livermore, California
Bike
1998 ST 1100
So I'm out on an eight day camping scoot through the Northern reaches of California and note thunderstorms over Lake Almanor, which is my Tuesday destination. Wimp out and head for a motel in Yuba City. While wrestling with Google maps, I stop at a quiet spot, figure out where the motel is, punch the start button and...nothing. no lights, no nothing. Having just read the forum posts on the dreaded red wire issue with 1100's, I unload 70 pounds of gear, strip off all the Tupperware to get to the fuse box/battery area and discover all fuses and the red wire are just fine. Then I turn the key on, dash lights up, push starter button, just a click and nothing. Classic dead battery symptoms. Fortunately there's a Honda dealer three miles away and they put a new battery on the charger for pickup by my riding partner in two hours. So as I sit in the heat staring at a dead motorcycle, the thought comes to my feeble brain to pull the battery and pry off the plastic strip covering the cells. Bone dry. I top of the cells with a bottle Crystal Geyser's finest, reinstall the battery and she starts right up. Note to self: Do not neglect to check your battery before embarking on a long trip. Drove myself to the dealership, waited until closing time, replaced long-neglected battery with a new Yuasa, and trip resumed.
 
I carry a clear condiment bottle of distilled water on my Nighthawk (AGM in ST). The nozzle comes with a cap, easily fits in the battery fill ports, and the small hole and squeeze bottle allow precise flow control. I got it at Kroger for $1.49.

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Bush said:
+1. I didn't think batteries that needed water top ups were still on the market these days!
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Me either. Someone installed the wrong battery in that bike as I believe AGM (or at least maintenance free) batteries were OEM, even back when the ST1100 was introduced
 
wjbertrand said:
Someone installed the wrong battery in that bike as I believe AGM (or at least maintenance free) batteries were OEM, even back when the ST1100 was introduced
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I don't know one way or the other but this thread is very first reference I've ever seen of a wet cell battery in an ST of any flavor. Maybe that battery was probably cheaper than any AGM battery or the PO saw the price of an OEM and balked.

Nothing like a good vintage of Crystal Geyser to raise a dead battery in dire straits (cue Water of Love).
 
wjbertrand said:
Me either. Someone installed the wrong battery in that bike as I believe AGM (or at least maintenance free) batteries were OEM, even back when the ST1100 was introduced
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yeah, I've never put water in any of my batteries for the 22 years I've owned mine, and I typically get 7+ years of life per battery.
 
Bush said:
Peeing in it would have been cheaper and known to work. :D
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Reminds me of an old joke:

Two nuns who worked for a home health care agency were out making their rounds when they ran out of gas. Yet as luck would have it there was a fuel station just down the road. So the nuns rummaged through their vehicle for a container to carry down to the station to fill with gas but all they could come up with was a clean bedpan. Always resourceful, the nuns carried the bedpan to the station, filled it with gasoline, and carried it back to their car. As they were pouring the gas into the tank of the car, a couple drove by and was a little bemused by what they saw. Just then the man turned to his wife and said, “Honey, I sure do admire that kind of faith. If that works I’m changing my religion!”​

Michael
 
Bush said:
Peeing in it would have been cheaper and known to work. :D
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I would not do that if I were you. Me and a hunting buddy were out in the field hunting rabbits. I had to go and stopped by a fence. Bad idea because that fence was electrified. Anyway lesson learned because whatever current in that battery will find its way to you know where.:(
 
red one said:
I would not do that if I were you. Me and a hunting buddy were out in the field hunting rabbits. I had to go and stopped by a fence. Bad idea because that fence was electrified. Anyway lesson learned because whatever current in that battery will find its way to you know where.:(
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That's why perfecting your aim is sooooo important!
 
red one said:
I would not do that if I were you. Me and a hunting buddy were out in the field hunting rabbits. I had to go and stopped by a fence. Bad idea because that fence was electrified. Anyway lesson learned because whatever current in that battery will find its way to you know where.:(
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not even close to being true, its voltage that determines current flow through any resistance, and 12v isn't enough voltage to do anything to a human, much less the 2v per cell that you'd be peeing into.
 
dwalby said:
not even close to being true, its voltage that determines current flow...
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Depends, though, on what voltage was hooked up to the fence. When I worked in Africa, we used to hook our electric fences up to 230V two-phase power.

Michael
 
dwalby said:
12v isn't enough voltage to do anything to a human
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You've clearly never tested that a 9v battery still works. As everyone knows, the only way possible to test them is with ones tongue.
 
ad.hom said:
You've clearly never tested that a 9v battery still works. As everyone knows, the only way possible to test them is with ones tongue.
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yeah, I remember doing that when I was 10 years old, so I have tested a 9v battery that way, just not in my adulthood since I've owned multimeters.

CYYJ said:
Depends, though, on what voltage was hooked up to the fence. When I worked in Africa, we used to hook our electric fences up to 230V two-phase power.
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I think that's exactly what I said earlier, "its voltage that determines current flow" as in I = V/R, so yes, it depends entirely on what voltage is hooked up to anything.
 
I think the important thing to know, in red one's case, is what an electric fence looks like and, if you don't know, don't pee on a fence.
 
dwalby said:
not even close to being true, its voltage that determines current flow through any resistance, and 12v isn't enough voltage to do anything to a human, much less the 2v per cell that you'd be peeing into.
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And you would have to have a negative terminal wire attached to your leg!
 
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