can i replace a wet battery with an agm battery?

T

teddycrawler

New member
hi,

so i recently got an 83' yamaha xs400 special - like this: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/jfboy/xs400stock.jpg

the battery is pretty much dead so i'm looking to change it, never done it before but i've been doing some research online. i believe it is a wet battery (i can see the 6 small knob like things across the top). i'm wondering if i can replace it with an agm battery (this one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GWZZBQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1X7T0NB572XNW). My search online has given me some mixed answers, so if someone could validate it for me it would be awesome!

fyi - i'm a new rider (m2 course this weekend) and not a mechanic but bought this bike as a project to learn something new :D

thanks!
 
As far as I know you can -- in terms of power a 12v automotive battery is a 12v automotive battery. Although I'm new to bikes as well, when my 2006 Accord's OEM battery died I replaced with with a Optima YellowTop (which is a spiral-cell AGM). Mainly what you want to be concerned about is the overall (physical) size of the battery vs stock, the power output (cold cranking amps and amp hours), and the location of the terminals vs stock.

Arguably I'd figure you'd WANT an AGM on a bike anyways -- no adding water, no real chance of it spilling or leaking if there was ever a crack, would hold a charge slightly longer, etc ,etc. Near as I can tell my CBR250R has one stock from the factory.
 
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I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't. AGM batteries have higher cranking amps, are much more resistant to vibration, don't require water level monitoring, have a longer service life and have a much slower self-discharge rate. Only issue I could see is that you may require a smart charger in the off season to maintain it. I use a CTEK battery charger from Chinese Tire to maintain the agm batteries in my bike and boat.
 
The only difference that I've seen between charging systems designed for flooded-cell batteries and sealed maintenance-free batteries has been the charging voltage.

The flooded-cell charging system on my FZR only charges to about 13.5 - 13.6 volts - the very bottom of the acceptable range - and this is to avoid boiling off the electrolyte (and it still slowly boils it off). The charging systems on my other bikes (and my car) are all designed for sealed batteries and they regulate to around 14.4 - 14.5 volts.

I suspect that if you use a sealed battery in a system designed for a flooded battery (lower charging voltage) all that will happen is that it won't FULLY charge the battery but it will still charge it enough to work okay.

I found out the hard way that those fancy lightweight lithium batteries really need 14.5 volts charging voltage, otherwise they don't recharge properly and die in very short order ... and they don't tell you that in the promotional materials, either (I got a warranty replacement and I'm using it in one of my other bikes, which has enough charging voltage)
 
Brian P said:
I found out the hard way that those fancy lightweight lithium batteries really need 14.5 volts charging voltage, otherwise they don't recharge properly and die in very short order ... and they don't tell you that in the promotional materials, either (I got a warranty replacement and I'm using it in one of my other bikes, which has enough charging voltage)
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Just chiming in on lipo's because i feel so strongly about using them safely! Lipos are like hand grenades. but instead of pulling a pin to set it off, you need to stick it into the battery and boom, there goes your left arm.... Lipo's do explode, it is a known fact, if punctured, used improperly, or charged/discharged improperly. Here is a youtube clip so you can see the danger :D

P.S. i think the song suits the video, dont you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR7o5QIhzvM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EseOhC8n7ro&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf7wMTfyeQM&feature=related
 
My friend had a flashlight explode using Li-Ion batteries. Blew out a sliding patio door window, ripped his metal railing in half and broke the wooden table it was sitting on in half. Luckily he heard it start hissing and getting hot so he set it down and ran for cover (it was turned off at the time)! Was a NiteCore Tiny Monster light. Talk about pipe bomb!

Don't forget that LiPo and LiIon give off SUPER hazardous chemicals when they "go bad" too, look up hydrofluoric acid poisoning :( NOT good, and it might not to show symptoms until days later! SCARY!

-Jamie M.
 
toysareforboys said:
Talk about pipe bomb!

Don't forget that LiPo and LiIon give off SUPER hazardous chemicals when they "go bad" too, look up hydrofluoric acid poisoning :( NOT good, and it might not to show symptoms until days later! SCARY!

-Jamie M.
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+1 to the hazardous gas, forgot to include that :P although i thought the crazy white smoke implied something dangerous anyways :P
 
Armen444 said:
+1 to the hazardous gas, forgot to include that :P although i thought the crazy white smoke implied something dangerous anyways :P
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Apparently my buddie thought "oh, white smoke, like a campfire". Ummm. Not so much like a campfire, no.

-Jamie M.
 
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