Test your battery

[gsxbarmy]

Here's a quick way to test your battery

- Using your voltmeter just check the voltage if it is under 12.5 volts, the battery will need some more charging.

- Don't bother testing without a fully charged battery,you will get a false result!

- 12.5 to 12.8 is fully charged. If you just took it off the charger and it reads above 12.8 volts, let it sit 30 minutes or so to dissipate this "surface charge"

- Connect the battery up to the bike, and connect the voltmeter to the battery. Turn the headlight on to high beam. The voltage should drop to just over 12 volts. Leave the headlight on for three minutes and monitor the voltmeter. It may drop to just under 12 volts,but it should stay above 11.5. If it goes below 11 volts at this point, and it was fully charged to begin with, it's junk. After 3 minutes turn off the headlight.

Now you are testing "recovery". After 2 minutes(no longer),reconnect the voltmeter. It should be back up to at least 12.5 volts. If not replace the battery.

While passing this test will not necessarily eliminate your battery as a cause of your problems (if you have any), if it fails this test, you know it's bad, so there is no sense in going further until the battery is replaced.

If you do have to replace your battery consider a heavy duty version as this will make the bike turn over a little quicker and will also improve cold starting. Standard battery (or equivalent) is the Yuasa YTX14-BS and has 200CCA. The Heavy duty version is the Yuasa YTX14H-BS which has 240CCA.

[paulr5604]

Great how to thank you

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Here's a quick way to test your battery

- Using your voltmeter just check the voltage if it is under 12.5 volts, the battery will need some more charging.

- Don't bother testing without a fully charged battery,you will get a false result!

- 12.5 to 12.8 is fully charged. If you just took it off the charger and it reads above 12.8 volts, let it sit 30 minutes or so to dissipate this "surface charge"

- Connect the battery up to the bike, and connect the voltmeter to the battery. Turn the headlight on to high beam. The voltage should drop to just over 12 volts. Leave the headlight on for three minutes and monitor the voltmeter. It may drop to just under 12 volts,but it should stay above 11.5. If it goes below 11 volts at this point, and it was fully charged to begin with, it's junk. After 3 minutes turn off the headlight.

Now you are testing "recovery". After 2 minutes(no longer),reconnect the voltmeter. It should be back up to at least 12.5 volts. If not replace the battery.

While passing this test will not necessarily eliminate your battery as a cause of your problems (if you have any), if it fails this test, you know it's bad, so there is no sense in going further until the battery is replaced.

If you do have to replace your battery consider a heavy duty version as this will make the bike turn over a little quicker and will also improve cold starting. Standard battery (or equivalent) is the Yuasa YTX14-BS and has 200CCA. The Heavy duty version is the Yuasa YTX14H-BS which has 240CCA.

Just tested my Motobatt YT14 3yo battery using this procedure, as I was suspecting the battery was on the way out.  Results below:

1) Battery fully charged via my 10Ah 3 Stage charger, was on for >2h, the fully charged light was green. Connected multi meter and read 13.14 V

2) let the battery 'rest' for 30 min then reconnected my mm and read 12.79V

3) battery installed into bike, switched on headlight,  ignition and indicator, plus put my foot on the brake, as I have all LEDs so the current draw would be minimal, I was trying to maximise the current draw.  After 3min the mm read 12.29V. The rate of voltage drop was low as expected with LEDs. 

4) turned off ignition, so removing all load from the battery.  Kept the mm connnected, and after 2min, I was reading 12.63V, so recovery seems to be ok.

Been having starting problems, as I haven't been out on the 1400 for a bit. 

Seems battery is ok, am kinda disappointed as I was hoping to justify fitting a SSB LFP14H-BS, this is the lithium equivalent of the Yuasa YTX14H......the SSB is currently available on eBay (AU) for 179.99 delivered, 12months wty.    New Yuasa is around 240 ex USA.  Century batteries do a YT14H-BS as well, 160 bucks from our SuperCheap Auto stores.

Will see and check battery again later tonight to see if any further voltage drop or parasitic losses. 

[grog]

Pretty good info above but not quite. Charge it up, load it up, headlight, just a minute. Still should be 12.6, if not, throw it. If still 12.6, check cranking volts, 9.5 is minimum acceptable. If not, throw it. I have several pulse batt testers, dont test unless no load volts around 12.5. They test cca, cold cranking amps, the best way. Bike batts arent really that good. My original Yuasa lasted 9 yrs, new Yuasa nowhere as good. Fitted Moto Batt, lasted 13 months. Fitted SSB, lasted 13 months, they replaced it, now nearly 3 yrs. Deka seem to get nod as the best. If you go Lithium, make sure it has BMS, Batt Management System, others can explode. I fitted $400 Lithium to Diavel, could sit 3 months and still start it. Bit of luck involved in batt choice. 

[grog]

One of my testers

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Thanks mate, will check cranking voltage.  From what you said, even with low current draw from leds, seems battery is still cactus at 12.26V

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Tested cranking voltage today, remember from last post battery was 100 charged and appeared to pass the initial load and recovery test.

Pressing the starter button saw the cranking voltage drop to 8.4V almost instantly, a few cranks later 4.5 to 5V.

So I can confirm this battery is now the way of the Dodo.

Interestingly  my SSB lithium battery I'm watching on ebay just became $25 cheaper due to a well timed ebay promo.

Just need to find that credit card....

[VladTepes]

grog those testers are the schizzle eh. They tell the true story.

Interestingly just recently 'The Car Wizard' on youtube posted a good video about battery testing and diagnostic equipment.

[KiwiCol]

Just to add a bit to this, even though it's about the auxiliary battery in the Merc, it is the same size & type as the 14 battery. 

I had a "Auxiliary battery malfunction" warning come up on the dash, I know it's the same physical dimensions and capacity as the bikes battery. so just ordered one of them. (Poweroad NanoGel)
When I got the original one out & tested it, it was at 12.6v, hmmm me thinks, so put it on the digital load tester, came up as 7% health - 55cca only (should have been 200 - 220cca)  so, you can have what appears to be correct / acceptable voltage, but not have the ah (aka grunt) needed to do the job.   Volts is just 1 part of the equation.

The battery I took out was 9 years old, going by the date engraved into it.  (021113)

[VladTepes]

Col does your Merc have stop/start?  That's often what an auxiliary battery is for. (not always by any means)

[KiwiCol]

Yeah, stop / start, but apparently it's for shifting the electronic auto trans from park to whatever you select should your main battery be low / flat, enabling it to be shifted. Probably does lots of other stuff too, but it's got a new start battery & a new auxiliary now, so should be good for a fair while now. 

I mostly turn the Stop /Start off as it's really only worthwhile if you're stopped longer than 30 seconds.  Where I live now, 3 cars at an intersection constitutes a traffic jam!   Love the small town environment compared to the city chaos.

[grog]

Wheres the new little town Col?

[KiwiCol]

Hi, I replied to this yesterday, but it's gone???   How odd,  must of forgot to push post?  Anyway, I'll try & remember what I wrote.

New home town is Westport.  It's still in the South Island but on the West coast whereas Christchurch is on the East coast.  Population approx 4500.  Everyone here knows everyone else & newbies like us stand out.  Friendly place though & I'm originally from the coast, so it's like coming full circle for me. 

Westport used to be the main Cement shipping port, but that's closed down now. Only fishing boats now.  I will be launching the boat into the Buller river & going out over the bar to fish, fine on a nice day but even the fishing boats (and cement boats) wouldn't cross it if it was rough.  The Greymouth river bar (90 odd k's further south) is much worse than this one.  Looking forward to getting out to some new hunting grounds. 
We get a lot of rain here, the other week we got 500-600 ml in the hills behind the town, river was at alarm levels, but still just shy of flooding the town - again!

[grog]

Yeah Col, just disappeared. Seedless from Notty gone also, that was funny.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Noticed that it was gone too. Weird