Dead battery?

dshishir42

dshishir42

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Hey guys, so I had left my bike without charge for over 6 months. Recently, I started the bike and it wasn't starting (Lights were on, but the ignition would not work). So, we push started it and put it in neutral for around 5 minutes. After, I took the battery out and put it on battery tender. The battery charged within 10 minutes! All the way from solid red to blinking green, and solid green! Does this indicate a dead battery that needs to be changed, or is 5 minutes of starting a bike enough to fully charge the battery? Please advise.
 
If your battery was so low that it wouldn't turn your starter at all, I can't see how 5 minutes of idling and then 10 minutes on a tender would be enough to fully re-charge it.
You'll want to load test your battery before you spend the money on a new one.
If your battery tests good, start checking connections... battery, starter, ground...
What bike are we talking.
 
Only 2 ways to test a battery that I know of other then just using it. Meter test for voltage will indicate if all of the cells are operational and battery hydrometer test will do the same thing, but motorcycle batteries are so small it can be difficult to draw up sufficient fluid to hydrometer test with an auto type tester. Visually examine the fluid in the lowest part of the battery (assuming it has a clear plastic case) and if there is a considerable accumulation of solid sulphide material in there it will short out the plates. If the plates are warped from excess heat that will also short out the plates. Charging rate has a lot to do with how fast the battery will charge and charging at too high of a rate is more likely to warp the plates.

Was the battery stored at room temp or sub-zero? I've rarely had a motorcycle battery last more then 4 years when it has been stored in sub-zero temps, ymmv.
Sounds to me it was just too low on charge to turn the starter motor which puts the highest demand on the battery. Surprising enough the horn actually uses a lot of power, sometimes there is enough charge to lite the lights and not beep the horn.

A meter continuity test is the best way to test your battery ground connections between the motor/frame & - battery terminal, there should be little to no measurable resistance between any of those connections.

... hope this helps some.
 
When you say pushed started it, did you actaully get it going and was able to ride?
 
Need at least a couple of hours on a tender to float charge, so 10 min isn't going to do it. Charge it for a couple of hours on the tender and see if it's working fine after. 6 months without top up generally kills a batt.
 
shadowman said:
If your battery was so low that it wouldn't turn your starter at all, I can't see how 5 minutes of idling and then 10 minutes on a tender would be enough to fully re-charge it.
You'll want to load test your battery before you spend the money on a new one.
If your battery tests good, start checking connections... battery, starter, ground...
What bike are we talking.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what worries me. Is there a place I can take the battery to that load tests it? It's the 2015 Yamaha R3.
 
Riceburner said:
Need at least a couple of hours on a tender to float charge, so 10 min isn't going to do it. Charge it for a couple of hours on the tender and see if it's working fine after. 6 months without top up generally kills a batt.
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I charged it overnight, but battery tender color was solid green the whole time, which according to the battery tender means it is fully charged.
 
Trials said:
Only 2 ways to test a battery that I know of other then just using it. Meter test for voltage will indicate if all of the cells are operational and battery hydrometer test will do the same thing, but motorcycle batteries are so small it can be difficult to draw up sufficient fluid to hydrometer test with an auto type tester. Visually examine the fluid in the lowest part of the battery (assuming it has a clear plastic case) and if there is a considerable accumulation of solid sulphide material in there it will short out the plates. If the plates are warped from excess heat that will also short out the plates. Charging rate has a lot to do with how fast the battery will charge and charging at too high of a rate is more likely to warp the plates.

Was the battery stored at room temp or sub-zero? I've rarely had a motorcycle battery last more then 4 years when it has been stored in sub-zero temps, ymmv.
Sounds to me it was just too low on charge to turn the starter motor which puts the highest demand on the battery. Surprising enough the horn actually uses a lot of power, sometimes there is enough charge to lite the lights and not beep the horn.

A meter continuity test is the best way to test your battery ground connections between the motor/frame & - battery terminal, there should be little to no measurable resistance between any of those connections.

... hope this helps some.
Click to expand...
It is not a clear plastic case unfortunately. It was just in the garage parked there for the winter, so close to sub zero temperature as it is not a heated one. I am using the standard battery tender recommended by many to charge the battery so it shouldn't be charging at too high of a rate. Do you know of a place where I can take my battery to get it tested? Would Canadian Tire, or some car repair shop do it do it? Thank you!
 
You could bring it to my house and I would test it for you but it's probably too distant and my driveway is shear ice right now :| CT or practically anyone could meter test the battery for sure, auto mechanics will probably lack a small enough tester to do a hydrometer test.

Personally I would just use it normally for a while and see if it fails again. Seeing as you were successful in bump starting the bike I assume you either do not have a high demand fuel injection pump or your battery was strong enough to power up the fuel pump. That is a good thing! my MV Agusta will bump start with a flat battery but no way will my BMW bump start unless the battery is good even down a huge hill, hence it is bike model dependent. (carburetor equipped bikes may or may not be equipped with a fuel pump depending on the model)
;) make sure you park at the top of a hill for a while and not at the bottom of the hill, that's what I would do.

The original battery on my MV Agusta died after only 2 years, motorcycle batteries basically suck imho and the smaller they are the more prone they are to failure.
... check you fluid level in each cell if it's not a totally sealed battery.

Places that specialize in selling replacement batteries would be a good place to have it checked :/ although they are highly motivated to declare the battery as done. Most will want your old battery or some battery in exchange for a small discount.
 
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The battery is likely toast. What you’re experiencing now is what’s called a “surface charge” - the battery behaves as if it’s fully charged from a voltage perspective, but it’ll have little to no cranking amps.

If, when indicating “full” on your charger/tender it won’t crank the engine for 20-30 seconds, or you see a major voltage drop when it’s cranking, it’s probably time for a replacement.

A SLA battery left in a state of deep discharge for an extended period is always going to suffer damage as a result.
 
PrivatePilot said:
The battery is likely toast. What you’re experiencing now is what’s called a “surface charge” - the battery behaves as if it’s fully charged from a voltage perspective, but it’ll have little to no cranking amps.

If, when indicating “full” on your charger/tender it won’t crank the engine for 20-30 seconds, or you see a major voltage drop when it’s cranking, it’s probably time for a replacement.

A SLA battery left in a state of deep discharge for an extended period is always going to suffer damage as a result.
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Yeah, it is a 2015 model and due for a battery change anyways after 4 years of use. I am gonna order a new one in. It bump started, so I don't think there is any issues with any other parts of the bike anyways.
 
have you put the battery back in to see if it will crank the engine?
like mentioned, charging system on a bike does not work well at idle
and 5 minutes on a tender will do very little for a truly dead battery

what you really need to do is get that battery on a proper charger for awhile
and then have it load tested

new one will also work
 
dshishir42 said:
Yeah, it is a 2015 model and due for a battery change anyways after 4 years of use. I am gonna order a new one in. It bump started, so I don't think there is any issues with any other parts of the bike anyways.
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How was your bike running previous to winter storage? Hopefully it's just the battery and nothing with the charging system. If you do end up getting a new battery get a multi meter and see if your battery is getting any power to it from your charging system. I thought the same earlier this year but the fresh battery died in 30 minutes as it wasn't getting a charge from the stator/rectifier.
Good luck!
 
Riceburner said:
I tend to get 7 years on a bike batt
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Yep. Easy when the battery is maintained over the winter on a proper tender, however.

The OP left it for 6 months however with no attention. All symptoms as he describes leads towards a deceased battery now as a result.
 
basmn said:
If you replace the battery get a deca AGM.....worth the money
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And a proper battery tender so the same thing doesn’t happen to this brand new battery next winter. AGM’s are not immune to damage from low SOC either.
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