Battery life

[Tdinova]

I installed the mirror led lights yesterday. I had the key on for a max of 4-6 minutes playing with the signal lights. It went well and after the install the bike would not start, it rolled over 3 times and died. I charged the battery and the bike was fine. So I took the battery to the local Walmart to have the battery checked.

The battery is the original.

The bike is an '07 with 37411 km.

Attached is the results.. NOT to bad. What is your thoughts:bow1:

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

Sounds like your time is to start looking fro a new battery... Usu batteries do a slow capacity death till they are no longer able to turn the bike over... this also commonly shows up as the St's clock re-setting during starts; ie; the voltage of the battery during high draw of starter, drops the clock voltage below its working level = reset.

As to leaving the lights on... the ST's have very little battery reserve to run the lights for 10-15 mins at which point ( like you ) the older battry just doesn't have enough to start the bike... recharge and it starts fine.

Short story, not today, not tommorow, but soon you have to replace it so shop around and look for the best battery/price that fits yr needs and buy same.

 

[Maverick]

Just when you really new it to start .... murphy bites you ... Just as an FYI I received some good advise on this forum to purchase a battery tender and all has been well since. I have an 07 with original battery YTZ14S and its working fine ... also a few good tips on the site on howe to check your battery while in the bike ...

Enjoy the ride ....

 

[nhdiesel]

Buy a battery tender, and keep enjoying your original battery. No battery you replace it with will be any better than the original, so use it as long as its good. I thought my original '06 was going bad because it would only handle having the key on for a few minutes before not being able to start the bike. 2 days before I left for Moonshine I put a brand new Scorpion battery in, bought straight from Scorpion. A week later I was in Kansas getting gas, and turned the key on long enough to write down the odometer reading and zip up the tank bag (about 1 minute, minute and a half tops) and the bike wouldn't start. I'm probably going to send the "new" battery back and put the old one back in. As long as its working better than a new replacement, I'll keep using it!

 

[DaveST]

Buy a battery tender, and keep enjoying your original battery. No battery you replace it with will be any better than the original, so use it as long as its good. I thought my original '06 was going bad because it would only handle having the key on for a few minutes before not being able to start the bike. 2 days before I left for Moonshine I put a brand new Scorpion battery in, bought straight from Scorpion. A week later I was in Kansas getting gas, and turned the key on long enough to write down the odometer reading and zip up the tank bag (about 1 minute, minute and a half tops) and the bike wouldn't start. I'm probably going to send the "new" battery back and put the old one back in. As long as its working better than a new replacement, I'll keep using it!

Stop by the house. I'll give you my old OEM Yussa.
Kidding. Sort of.

 

[NorCalBusa]

The industry standard for testing a battery is a carbon pile. That tester doesn't have that (likely made by Medtronics) and is a "conductance tester". While it can offer a sniff at condition; it won't tell a complete story until they offer several diagnostic "maps" for it to compare to, for the variety of batteries on the market (right now all batteries are tested against a single, standard map).

That said, for almost any battery- beyond three years and you are ahead of the game- like tires, they wear out (from a variety of things). Peace of mind= replace it and fergetaboutit.

BTW- a new, unfilled battery (the ones you fill after you buy it) have decades of shelf life as long as you don't activate it. So don't worry about having a spare in the garage just in case.

 

[Dinkie Diesel]

I haven't yet bought into the whole Battery Tender thing. I just replaced my OEM battery on my '06 at the beginning of the year with the Scorpion. 5 years and never used a tender is a pretty acceptable scenario for me. Luckily, my original battery took the slow death path and started showing signs by resetting of the clock as opposed to sudden death on the road somewhere. 1-2 minutes of key being on and it not starting is unacceptable. I'd guess the new battery Jim installed is defective. I've tested mine beyond that 1-2 minutes already and it started fine.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Like most things; it depends. If you ride your bike (car, truck, quad, etc.) regularly- then a maintenance charger may not be needed. What is unrefuted is; a battery lasts longest when kept in a fully charged state, they will discharge at a modest rate just sitting with nothing attached and once discharged it is best to recharge it right away. Add some parasitic draw in the toy's wiring and it accelerates things obviously.

I ride every weekend, so I know I likely don't "have" to use a maintainer- but I want to give the battery its best chance at a long life and never get all geared up only to hear "click" and then crickets...

 

[nhdiesel]

Dinkie- I had a snowmobile battery that had given up. It was about $120 to replace it, and it wouldn't take a charge from either the snowmobile charging system or a 2-amp charger. Although I didn't really buy into the Battery tender thing, I figured for $30 for a BT jr., or $120 for a battery, it was worth a shot. I hooked it up to the battery, and it took over 2 full days of conditioning before it showed that it was charged. That battery started the sled for 2 more winters.

I'm going to put the BT on my original Yuasa battery for the ST then reinstall it.

 

[okckeith]

I bought my 07 new five years ago this month. Still on the original battery. I have a battery tender. But it's never been hooked up to the bike. Maybe I should take it out of the plastic.

 

[RCS]

Your receipt says it all. The battery has lasted almost twice the length of time as an average CAR battery, which lasts longer than a motorcycle battery. Time to replace.

I keep my motorcycle batteries as long as they pass the load test or up to 3 full years, whichever comes first. The plates inside the battery corrode over time and after a while cannot muster the charge necessary to start the bike.

Sure, I've discarded a battery before its full life, but I do not want to get stranded on the side of the road for what may amount to 1/4 the cost of a new battery ($35) to get that "extra" year or two out of it.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

Well, some batteries will go for a whle, some not... as stated, if you get 3-5 yrs out of it then you did ok.
My battery lasted from 04 till just recently but I use a tender all the time...who knows.

I put the new battery in and fully charge it and tested the "lights-on" test while a meter was hooked up.
The old battery had good voltage and would run the light for about 1 min but not start... after one min it was NFG. ( volt= 12.9 at turn on , but dropped like a rock below 10v )
The new battery sitiing was over 13v, and after about 5 mins of lights on was still above 12v....starting the bike dropped it to hi 11's but no problem starting.
Batteries are considered "dead" at below 10.5 to11v.

Remember, they loose capacity slowly over time, I'd rather throw in a new battery, than be stuck some where!

 

[st1300r]

Net nanny's at work won't let me see the attachment but 4-6minutes bike on and not running....don't do that.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Testing voltage alone tells you nothing about the battery's ability to hold a charge...

 

[st1300r]

True dat. But testing a charged battery under load does.
I've heard 10 and 10.6 min while cranking, is that in the manual somewhere?

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

I've heard 10 and 10.6 min while cranking,

sounds about right since the battery is considered dead at that point... guess it would also depend if bike was warmed up!

 

[st1300r]

Sorta
There's a difference between a voltage at rest and a voltage under load.
For a properly functioning battery resting voltage can estimate state of charge but under cranking load it can give you a fuzzy feel for capacity or abiltiy to deliver power. iow voltage vs. change in voltage under load.

A battery voltage can look good at rest but drop too much under cranking indicating it has lost capcacity. The battery bugs etc. attempt to map that voltage drop and guestimate remaining battery life looking at the history of voltage drops while starting.

 

[NorCalBusa]

How a battery works; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IgHj2Uim_0

 

[Tdinova]

Yesterday after work I took the battery to the local Honda dealer and they checked it. They say it's fine so 'I'm good to go' . I explained about leaving the lights on for a few minutes but I had the lights on high beam, using the signals several times, so it could have been more than several minutes. Time will tell. I gotta find out before August 4th because me and 2 of my friends leave for Reno NV. One of my friends owns a Hayabusa and we are going to the Hayabusa rally from the 13th to the 18th. We are also going the full distance to San Francisco. One way is 50900 km to Reno and 6200 to San Francisco. We expect to get there in 5 days. Gotta love biking.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Yesterday after work I took the battery to the local Honda dealer and they checked it. They say it's fine so 'I'm good to go' . I explained about leaving the lights on for a few minutes but I had the lights on high beam, using the signals several times, so it could have been more than several minutes. Time will tell. I gotta find out before August 4th because me and 2 of my friends leave for Reno NV. One of my friends owns a Hayabusa and we are going to the Hayabusa rally from the 13th to the 18th. We are also going the full distance to San Francisco. One way is 50900 km to Reno and 6200 to San Francisco. We expect to get there in 5 days. Gotta love biking.

I wouldn't trust a battery test that takes 5 minutes. At least they have a 50/50 chance of being right...