Battery

[usaffjr]

I replaced my battery about a year ago before moving to Colorado Springs. It's been weak for the last six months. Never performed well in the cold and didn't like being unused for more than a week or so. Yesterday I tried to leave work and it wouldn't turn the engine fast enough to start and I had to get a jump.

Should a battery die within one year? Seems odd to me. It's one of the glass mat batteries. Any suggestions on what to get next? Not looking at Shorai... Don't want to deal with the pre charge before it'll start nuttiness.

Thanks!

[ionbeam]

Well, that's just not right. Choose one or more from the following:

1. you got a bad battery, it's rare but happens
2. your charging system is weak
3. you have a drain on the electrical system when the key is OFF
4. you have too much of a drain when the engine is running (too many farkles or farkles that are power hungry)
5. the battery has been really drained more than a couple of times (< 9 volts on battery posts, goes CLICK CLICK when starter button is pressed)
6. the starter is going bad
7. the battery cables aren't tight
8. the battery cables are bad
9. the R/R wires at the starter relay are loose or corroded (this is where the R/R 14 ga wires meet and turn into the heavy battery cables)

A. Do you have a multimeter
-- do you know how to use the meter
B. We can help if you have a meter
C. Do you have a current meter that can measure 100 amps DC
-- not necessary but a very helpful luxury

[usaffjr]

A. Yes and no.
B. Looking forward to it.
C. Don't think so....

E. Today I came home for lunch. When I left, it turned over faster than it has in months. Went back to work about three hours later, it started just as fast. No blanking of the screen or anything. It was almost twenty degrees warmer today...

So. Is it dead or not? It's always been terrible in cold weather.

[HotRodZilla]

What brand is it? You sure it's not a lithium battery?

[usaffjr]

I'll have to open it up tomorrow to get the brand. DefinItely AGM though. Yellow no name if that helps.

[silverback]

It's a chemical reaction that slows down in the cold, so a weak battery will cause low volts at low temps. Being a year old doesn't mean it didn't sit on the shelf for two years or more before it got sold.

Also, acid freezes at lower temps than water. A zero volt condition means the acid has been used up and only water remains. That and less than 33°F means freezing and warping the lead plates. That usually means a dead cell after a while. So, keep it charged in the cold.

As ionbeam said, volt readings are crucial for diag. Best to start with at rest reading, then check volts while cranking. If 12V at rest, then it goes to 9 or less during cranking, that's a pretty good sign its toast.

Beyond that, there are other checks, but we need more info first.

[usaffjr]

Any suggestions on how to check the voltage? It's been great the last couple of days. It's also been warmer (not that I'd consider 60 degrees cold...)

[silverback]

Red lead on positive terminal and black lead on negative terminal of the battery. You'll have to pull the right black dash panel. It's pretty important to check directly at the battery to ensure you're not catching a voltage drop in any of the wires or connections.

[ionbeam]

Disconnect at least one battery cable and trickle charge the battery overnight. Remove the trickle charger and let the battery stand for at least one hour without connecting the battery cable. This will allow the ’surface charge’ voltage to settle. Read: <12.8 volts the battery has issues; ≥ 12.8 volts the battery reads correctly.

To approximate a load test: Connect the battery cable(s). Start the engine, then using the red RUN/STOP button on the handlebar, switch the engine off and leave the key ON. The headlights should remain ON, switch the headlights to HI Beams. Time 5 minutes. With the lights still on after 5 minutes read the battery voltage. At 80⁰F your meter should read 9.7 volts or higher. Temperature is important for the voltage reading from this test. When testing is complete turn off the bike and recharge the battery right away to prevent sulfation. Ideally this test should be performed with a load that is equal to ½ the CCA rating of the battery. A standard FJR battery is 135 CCA so a load of 67 amps would be applied for 15 seconds which is impractical without a real load tester. (I find car parts places that load test a battery don't always provide a good indication of the battery's health, YMMV.)

If your battery passes both these tests it’s good.

Connect the recharged battery and start the FJR. After a couple of minutes measure the voltage at the battery terminals (not on the battery cable terminals) with all accessories off. It should read higher than 13.7 volts (13.8 to 14.5 volts). A reading of 13.2 volts or lower indicates a charging problem and a reading of >14.6 is a problem. If the charging voltage is incorrect there will be another set of troubleshooting steps.

If your battery passes these tests yet you still have cranking problems: The battery cables or their connection at the starter solenoid may be bad; the starter solenoid may be bad; the starter may be bad (and the starter can be very temperature sensitive). This will be another set of troubleshooting steps.