| Author | Message | ||
     Xdigitalx |
My bike's battery has drained fully 3-4 times since I've owned my bike. I bought my bike as a leftover (06 bought in 08) and I am not sure if the battery was new when I got the bike or was the original. The battery is a Harley battery "E7" part: 65948-0xx . Can it take the abuse of fully drained 4x and still be reliable? I am trickle charging it with a 1-amp charger. I would normally just charge for a few hours then throw it back in. How long would be ideal to fully charge it?? 12 hours enough?? | ||
| Xdigitalx |
NOTE: I should say, the battery went dead 3-4 times due to leaving the key in park position by accident. Or forgeting to turn off the heated grips. (Message edited by xdigitalx on November 03, 2010) | ||
| Sifo |
Draining a typical lead acid battery is not good for them. Best bet is take it an auto parts store after getting it fully charged and have them do a load test. That's really the only way to check it before it leaves you stranded. Get those heated grips on a switched circuit! Pretty easy to do by controlling it with a relay so you don't start blowing fuses. I'm not sure how long to get a full charge from a trickle charger. Most have an idiot light to tell you it's charged though. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
Thanks, it's Schumacher MC-1 (under 20 buks) I found the manual online, charges a 12 amp battery in 12-15 hours. I think this charger will keep charging. Manual says it has a built in circuit breaker for overloads.. is that for the charging or the outlet? eh... I guess getting it tested wont be too much trouble. | ||
| Sifo |
BTW, most parts stores will test them for free. | ||
| Aesquire |
The circuit breaker on your charger is just to stop overheating as you'd get with a boiled out cell or shorted cell. It's more to protect the house wiring and the charger than the battery. You want a smart charger that tapers off the flow of juice & won't overcharge/boil the battery. I like the battery tender Jr. It's worked pretty good for me for years. Just a wall wart with some circuitry inside, and a cord with a simple plug on the end. Mine came with one end piece with eyelets to leave on the Battery, and one with jumper clips. In winter, I'd swap the tender from bike to lawn tractor twice a month. Test the battery. It's not like they can be abused only a certain number of times. "Don't run it down" is good advice, it does shorten the life & ability to hold charge, but it happens. ( sorta like "don't burn rubber" it shortens the life of the tire. how much? depends.... ) The usual failure mode is when lead oxide flakes ( that form in the acid during recharging ) pile up in the bottom of the cell & short it out. Gentle charging reduces the size of the flakes. ( they look like crappy snow & pile on each other like snow. ) | ||
| 46champ |
Your on borrowed time my rule of thumb is anything you get after killing a battery twice is a gift. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Get a new battery....your old one is toast. | ||
| Jandj_davis |
What would one expect to pay for a new battery? I'm not terribly keen on paying $100 for a new yuasa or an HD-branded one. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
I charged it 12+ hours and went on a short 30 mile highway ride today, wasn't raining when I left (just spitting) but got into a downpour for a bit. Anyways... I looked online at a few places and my battery seemed to be around 79.00 (aftermarket) I have a Batteries-Plus store up the road from me as well. | ||
| Fahren |
Keep it going, as long as you don't need your bike for critical transportation. You may need a new one, but if you buy a Battery Tender, JR.(around $30 - good investment no matter what), you can keep it topped up all the time, and you may be pleasantly surprised. Times are tough - if you use your bike in a way that you don't have to depend on it starting 100% of the time, then try holding on with the current one. |
