Battery issues

[tomasito]

Hi Folks,

Had a question about batteries that came out of an issue I had this weekend. Went to the bike on Saturday morning and it wou
ldn't start. All dash lights and such were coming on, but there'd be a small click and then the dial would reset whenever I
actually tried to start it. Confirmed that it was a battery issue, and so bought myself a new battery, and a battery charger
. Followed the instructions for priming the new battery (i.e. charging it before completely sealing it), and once installed
it seems to be working fine (i.e. the bike runs fine now). I then put the old battery on the charger and it did need chargin
g (which is now done).

The bike is a very low mileage (1039 when I got it) 2007. I've had it for about 2 months, and only ride it on the weekends,
but every weekend.

So, my question is, does this mean I had a bad battery, or is this somewhat expected for the age of the battery and the amou
nt of usage it gets? Should I expect similiar issues with the new battery? I've heard that batteries in the 675 can be someh
what tempremental, or rather that the 675 is very tempremental when it comes to batteries

Cheers, Tom

[TripleThreat]

This is a very common issue with Daytona 675s. The batteries are very small by design to save weight. They are known to go bad if you don't keep the bike on a battery tender when you are not riding it.

Additionally, a few people have reported problems with the regulator/rectifier. Making sure that your charging system is putting out the proper voltage would be a good idea.

The best investment you can make in the health of your battery is a Battery Tender Jr. or other similar product that monitors the current charge level of the battery and provides a maintenance trickle charge as needed.

[tomasito]

I (now) have a charger that does the trickle charging, but the problem I have is that the garage I keep it in doesn't have a power outlet, so I'm basically in the situation where I have to just hope it doesn't fail on me, but if it does, swap it out with the replacement that I keep charged at home.

Doesn't bode too well for road trips... I assume it should be fine if I'm riding it every day (I don't commute on it), but if I'm on a road trip I guess I'd be riding it every day, so hopefully less likely to have the battery discharge on me.

[Will]

If you ride every day, the battery will last for years just fine without a battery tender.

[tomasito]

Yeah, see that's my problem. I live in London (UK) and don't want to commute on the bike since it's much more likely to get scratched up or worse, so it'll be weekends only for me. Think I just have to hope the new battery I have holds its charge well, and have the old spare ready to swap out in case.

[El Paso Joe]

Already answered in this post, but I figured I'd share.

I had the same exact problem. Lights, gauges, EFI all sound normal but when you push the starter button you hear a click under the seat. The solenoid is engaging but no sound of the starter. Always taught to check the battery first, so I did. Dealership had a nice battery tester and showed my battery had zero life in it after one year and 18,000 miles. Even though I put a lot of miles on it during its first year I was told the battery should have lasted at least another year. After doing some research I ran into lots of posts from people with similar problems at the one year mark. Bad battery design? Who knows.

New battery ran about $65 after tax and discounts.

[Budo]

Originally Posted by Will

If you ride every day, the battery will last for years just fine without a battery tender.

The battery might last a while... but your charging system will probably fail which in turn will cause the battery to fail. I ride every day and have so far had to replace the stator (warranty) and the R/R (my own). Thank god D'ecosse is an electrical genius and helped tutor me through the replacement process.

[Stuwegie]

Thought id share my experience with batteries on my 675.
The bikes a 2006 model and has 6000 miles and im on to my third battery. There are a few problems specific to me which might shed light on other peoples problems too.
Firstly i have never had any problems in good weather, the cold really affects your battery performance and the battery will drain in cold weather. I also have the added problem of not being able to hook up a trickle charger as the bike is parked too far away from an outlet (i live in a 3rd floor flat and chain it to the ground floor of the building)
Secondly because of the power needed to start the bike from cold your journey needs to be at least 10 - 15 miles to fully charge the battery again. My commute is barely 4 miles so it doesnt take long to squeeze the life out of the battery.
Thirdly the biggest leech on the battery is the alarm/immobiliser. It really kills the battery if i havent used the bike for a week or two.
Ive come up with a couple of fixes which help but wont eliminate the problem altogether.
I purchased a 12v solar trickle charger designed to top up car and caravan batteries however ive blown the fuse on this a few times and am in the process of finding out why this is happening.
Ive also recently discovered (through reading the manual) that my datatool alarm can be put into 'winter' mode where it uses the absolute bare minimum power required so it doesnt damage the bikes battery by bleeding it dry. There are 3 different settings you can use with the datatool alarm which have ever decreasing power usages. I can pass on the details and how to put the alarm into these modes for anyone who asks.
Finally if i cannot resolve the solar charger fuse problem, ive purchased 40m of twin core 12v 6A cable which i intend to run from my flat to the bike on the ground floor so i can keep it on trickle charge at all times.

I hope some of this has been of help to someone out there.


Cheers

Stuart

[Brooksie]

Luckily, I have a garage and power, so I've had my '07 hooked up to a tender since new with the original battery. Starts right up. I also put racing fuel in her for the long winter hibernation. I've never had battery issues doing this every winter with all my bikes. During season, I still hook up after a ride but she never really needs it, just insurance.

[Moose]

You need to somehow get power to your garage,once this is done and your charger is connected to the battery you will have no more problems with your bike starting and never replacing your battery again!! Its one of the best things i have ever bought for my bikes.I would rather pay for someone to instal power to my garage than lay out for a battery every so offten.And the agro of planning and looking forward to a ride out only to find i've got another flat battery!!!