Well, that was different from my experience

[rjs987]

Just had my battery suddenly and completely die on me... at least for starting the bike.
Had a clock with the key off but all lights and all indicators gone as soon as key turned on.
No prior warning symptoms. Started fine this morning, then went out to start it for the ride home and nothing. I carry jumper cables so flagged down another worker who was parked just next to mc parking at my work. Bike started and ran just fine from their battery (car engine off of course), and continued to run fine once the ST engine was running. I had a stop to make on my way home and the same thing. Parked the bike and turned it off, but when I turned to key to start it up, even right after turning it off, nothing. Like the battery was disconnected. Got another jump. Suspected the ground to the battery was broken but it wasn't. At home I hooked up my maintainer and all indicators showed a full battery. Of course that was no load. Did some preliminary checking and on a whim thought to try an old spare battery I had sitting around and now all is fine. Didn't bother to check voltages on the old battery since it's obvious it's toast for any load.
It was just a different symptom for mc battery fail than I am used to seeing. Usually there are a few days of the starter spinning without firing up until the key is released or some other warning symptom before it was dead. Never had a sudden death like this though. I know it does happen.

 

[BakerBoy]

Bob, I had my most recent Batteries Plus battery do the same thing. One or more internal cells fail, and will show correct voltage but will not carry current (voltage drops the instant any reasonable load is applied, such as turning on the key).

 

[rjs987]

That's what happened. This one was an Interstate battery. I usually use Westco batteries but with this bike they cost a bit more than some others. Maybe I'll go back to those. The spare battery is the new Yuasa that was in the bike when I bought it so it didn't get much use before I took it out. 3 months after I bought the bike I thought I had a battery problem so replaced it with the Interstate but that wasn't the problem. I just left the newer battery in and kept the Yuasa as a spare.
I will likely replace that soon anyway due to its age but it should last some months anyway (4 yrs old with regular maintenance charging but no significant use).

 

[dwalby]

Years ago I rode home, went in to take a shower, change clothes, etc. and when I went back to the bike less than an hour later it was stone dead.

 

[st1300r]

Sounds like a loose connection which could well be inside the battery (cracked buss bar).

Had a PU do the same kinda of thing thing, That one was a bad crimp on the battery terminal lug.
It would run the headlights with the key on but go dark and stay dark when I hit the go button and released it.
A few minutes later after cooling it would do the same thing.

 

[ST Gui]

A friend's ST did a similar thing. We were on a road trip and made a stop after crossing into Montana about an hour earlier. Lots of ride time with no stops. We stopped at some Native American landmark to talk photo ops, turning off our engines. In 30s or so we decided to press on and took off. Well, two of the three of us did. The third guy was obviously in trouble and pulling the seat and some plastic off his ST.

The bike wouldn't start. The lights were on, instruments were on but wouldn't start. Turn the key off, turn it on, nada. Stone dead. Couldn't figure it out, no jumper cables (we have some now) bump started it and got to our destination fine. Turn his bike off and bak on, nada. No indications of any potential problem prior to that day.

A new battery and all was right again.

 

[jspringator]

Same failure pattern happened to me. The battery was used for 5 seasons, so its replacement was on the short list anyway. Mine wouldn't even bumpstart.

 

[Tidrick]

Last three batteries I've replaced did this, too. Like the OP, I am more used to a bit of a slow fade at the end. Not so of late. I am wondering if there is a difference in today's batteries?

One was in a Ford pickup, one in my ST1100, one in my Blackbird...

Strange. And disconcerting!

 

[steve3b3]

Not on the ST, but a few years ago I stopped for gas in my Altima, and it wouldn't even crank when I tried to restart.
A month earlier, my wife's Mitsubishi... same thing at the mall.
When it was MC annual time, the battery was replaced as a matter of course. By then it was 4-5 years old, and I was taking no chances.

Steve

 

[rjs987]

Turns out the spare battery is not holding a charge very well. It is, after all, as old as the Interstate battery that died. It just hasn't been used for almost 4 yrs even though I kept it charged. So a new battery is on order and I am plugging in the spare every night now until it arrives. I have an AccuMate battery maintainer that I bought many years ago when I bought my first WestCo battery for my Gold Wing. I've had good performance from WestCo batteries, usually last 4-5 yrs for me, so I ordered another one of those. The dead battery is an Interstate and the spare that I am using now is a Yuasa. The Interstate is about 3-1/2 yrs old and the Yuasa is just at 4 yrs old (shelf life should be longer than that). At least the spare isn't just doing the sudden death thing.

 

[Indian Express]

My battery failed in the driveway while the bike was idling! It started just fine and I was letting it warm up while I put my over pants and jacket on. Just as I was about to mount up she died with lights on, nothing when I hit the starter! Rolled her back into the garage and took the cage to work. Had the battery tested showed 13 volts but only 3 under load. We guessed it was some type of internal failure since it was only a year old. The dealer did pony up and give me a new one.

 

[rjs987]

ordered the new Westco battery Saturday and it arrived last night. Will install tomorrow. Thought I'd also have to replace my Stebel Nautilus air horns since that seemed to start only working sporadically. As I dug into that last weekend I found the main relay for my fused power panel was failing. It was unsealed and sitting right behind the battery where you could see it in the vent so it filled with water and failed. I had a cover on it but that came off. Found it due to the LED lights not working also... except when I banged on the relay. Replaced the relay and sealed the new one and replaced the cover to protect it. All is working fine with the lights and the Stebel now.

 

[JZH]

Unfortunately, without testing the battery, you can only speculate as to the reason for its demise. As a long-time VFR owner, I tend not to just assume the battery was at fault, because that usually is not the only cause (on a VFR)! ST1300s seem to be much more reliable in the charging department, however...

Ciao,

 

[drrod]

In the last couple of years, I have had 2 failures like this. One on the VStrom and one on the ST. Fine one moment and dead the next. Both would register 13v at rest but dropped dramatically when you hit the starter button. New batteries cured the problem. Seems the gradual lessening of "power" is not necessarily something we can rely on anymore. I now plan on scheduled battery replacement on all my bikes. I think it will save me being stranded.
Rod