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3 batteries in 4.5 years - Normal?

4K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  lambroving 
#1 ·
My battery would not turn the bike ('08 T100) over during a ride today. This is the third battery in 4 years. Is that normal? I ride about once a week. It is on a battery tender.

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Check out your charging system/output. OEM batteries last a long time. For a start search regulator / rectifier.
 
#4 ·
Rule of thumb for lead acid batteries:

Normal voltage at battery terminals:

engine off - 12.6 v
if less than 11.5 v with engine off, then have low charge or damaged cell

engine running - 13.5 - 15 v
if < 12.7 v engine running, then not charging
if < 13.4 v then insufficient charging
if > 15.1 v then overcharging

After full charge the terminal voltage will drop quickly to 13.2 V and then slowly to 12.6 V
 
#19 · (Edited)
engine running - 13.5 - 15 v

That's a bit over the top. A good regulator should hold the charge to 13.4 to 13.5. Anywhere north of 14 expect when revving is too much.

Sounds like your charging system isn't doing the job - but verify before moving forward on an upgrade. Search the forum for 'MOSFET regualtor' and you should come up with the right upgrade. I found the stock charging system to be marginal at best.
What he says!

Battery tender, quickest way to shorten the life of a battery.
That's just my opinion based on past experience.
Your experience seems to differ from most folks and is not supported by empirical evidence. A good battery tender is a good investment.
Charles

If you keep your bike on a Battery Tender, you're not riding it enough. Check you battery cable connections and clean them thoroughly. Are you buying quality batteries? Yuasa YTX12-BS is the recommended battery. It's a quality AGM battery that should last you a couple of seasons at very least. If your bike is stored long term, especially in extreme hot or cold, even a Battery Tender won't help prevent a pre-mature death. Remove the battery and charge it indoors at room temp.
Well said Mr. Mike. Also, has the OP commissioned each battery properly? Without the proper initial charging, battery life can be very short.

Charles
 
#6 ·
1. You have really bad luck
2. Your battery tender is over charging and smoking the batteries - most likely.
3. Your regulator is over charging the battery - doubtful with only one ride per week.
4. You buy $10 batteries from a guy at the car wash selling then out of his trunk.
 
#8 ·
Where are you getting your batteries? they might say "fits Bonneville" but it ends there I had a very bad experience with Scorpion batteries and will never use them again but Interstate, Yuasa + many other name brands are very good quality. Look up "testingRR/ stator" on youboob. Rick's has the best vids.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Depends on the battery tender type.

If it's a trickle charger it will overcharge at some point.

If you have a "float" charger, then there is an issue with it, as float-chargers monitor the charge, it turns off and on as the battery discharges.

If you are using a float and this is happening it might be the charger.


As others have said though you might be having a regulator/rectifier issue.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I typically ride a couple of hours. Yesterday was a long one and I noticed at one stop about 4 hours into the ride the battery was a little week. Then at the next stop (about 1 hour later) I had to jump start it.

The battery tender is a Deltran Battery Tender Junior. The solid green light indicates it fully charged over-night so I'm guessing it's the charging system on the bike. Thanks again for the info on how to better test for/fix charging problems. Weather is too nice hear in Oregon not to be out riding!
 
#12 ·
Do the basic checks that were posted above. If you have a manual go through that for trouble shooting the electrical system that would be more thorough and give you values directly related to your bike. First - put your charger on and see what the peak voltage while it tries to bring the battery up to full charge. If when the green light you described goes on check the voltage and see that it has backed way down to a very low voltage if any. If it is not backing off then that is over charging the battery and sulfating the plates causing the battery to die early.

Side note - the batteries you have replaced - Were they "bad" as in no longer take and hold a charge or were they replaced just because you had trouble starting the bike ? That changes everything if that is the case. That absolutely would lead to suspecting the charging system. Do the checks and see what you got going on.

Good luck.
 
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#13 ·
If you keep your bike on a Battery Tender, you're not riding it enough. Check you battery cable connections and clean them thoroughly. Are you buying quality batteries? Yuasa YTX12-BS is the recommended battery. It's a quality AGM battery that should last you a couple of seasons at very least. If your bike is stored long term, especially in extreme hot or cold, even a Battery Tender won't help prevent a pre-mature death. Remove the battery and charge it indoors at room temp.

Perfect timing for me thread-wise as I just ordered earlier today a Yuasa YTX20HL-BS battery for one of my Harleys. I rarely ride the thing anymore, and it didn't survive the winter on the BT.

/M
 
#21 ·
If you keep your bike on a Battery Tender, you're not riding it enough. Check you battery cable connections and clean them thoroughly. Are you buying quality batteries? Yuasa YTX12-BS is the recommended battery. It's a quality AGM battery that should last you a couple of seasons at very least. If your bike is stored long term, especially in extreme hot or cold, even a Battery Tender won't help prevent a pre-mature death. Remove the battery and charge it indoors at room temp.

Perfect timing for me thread-wise as I just ordered earlier today a Yuasa YTX20HL-BS battery for one of my Harleys. I rarely ride the thing anymore, and it didn't survive the winter on the BT.

/M
But I have more than 1 bike, so I will keep the one I am not riding that day connected... In my case its the Triumph that stays home more than the HD...
 
#15 ·
I have a 2008 T100 since new, over the years has sometimes sat 4-6 weeks when I couldn't ride, never on a tender and just kept it topped off over winters, always started first push of the button. Changed it out last year for another of the same not because it died but because I figured I had gotten enough years out of it and why get stranded.
 
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#16 ·
A good battery should last at least three years.

The regulator-rectifier is a known weak component in these and other Triumph bikes. If you're on the original r-r, replace it at the same time that you put in a new Yuasa battery.

Here it is, plug and play, or you can get a different one and make a project of it, there are other threads about it. Get the "hotshot" MOSFET unit, not the "original replacement part".

http://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/part/10-004H/MDhUcmlCb25uZXZpbGxlODAwL1QxMDA=
 
#17 ·
I bought a Battery Tender in 1992 or something and it mysteriously died a couple of years later…they replaced it free with a newer model (now a very old model) that's been in use since…20 years or something? In any case I keep it on the bike (2012 t100 bought new and the dealer included the little charging point for the tender) always…cold Right Coast winter, hot summer…battery works like new.
 
#18 ·
My 2010 America still has the original Yuasa battery. Store it in the cold for winters (min -30c/-22f at the coldest). Only charge it with a smart charger before and after off-season. Charger is a Swedish CTEK which is markeded as a charger that can be connected year-round without boiling the battery. Even has a winter mode which boosts voltage 0,3 volts when in freezing temperatures.

I don't know if this is the "correct" way of maintaining a battery but it still gives out over 220amps (EN) when tested with a battery tester and going it's 7th season.

:)
 
#20 ·
OK MR BAD LUCK BATTERY MAN !!!!! Guess what I got when I went out to start my bike yesterday afternoon ????? !!!:surprise:

Yep, the click of a dead battery - dead and never coming back to life dead.... Thank you very frick'in much for passing along your battery bad luck.:wink2:

Oh well - for what its worth Wal-Mart has the YTX12BS for $40.65 free shipping. :laugh2:

Hope you get yours straighten out and back on the road.
 
#29 ·
I put a battery tender on my bike a few weeks ago, I have only used it in reverse as a usb charger for my phone on longer trips. I was planning on using it as a tender during the winter only...pretty much plug it in after my last ride of the year, and leave it plugged in until my first ride of the year. then go back to not using it for the riding season. I see some comments that suggest a battery tender is the best way to ruin a battery. What should I do? I thought the best way to ruin a battery was to let it freeze/ leave it for long periods of time with no charge?
 
#30 ·
I see some comments that suggest a battery tender is the best way to ruin a battery. What should I do? I thought the best way to ruin a battery was to let it freeze/ leave it for long periods of time with no charge?
Your bike is only a year old. Some day after sitting the a couple of weeks, your bike will utter the dread "click" and you'll have to charge it briefly to get underway. The stock rectifier/regulator is marginal for charging.

Use the Battery Tender Jr. for topping up the battery after a ride. You may be surprised at the time that takes. I do this with mine and also every couple of weeks regardless of season.

While the Battery Tender brand is probably fairly reliable, I still don't thrust it 100% for long term overcharging. My battery is 7 years old now and still OK but have a spare off my Ducati to drop in, identical 4-year-old battery, should a cell in my original finally croak. Had it swapped out on my last major as it's buried under bodywork not something I ever wanted to tackle at home.
 
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