Battery seems dead after charge?

[Jpich85]

I've been having issues getting my bike going, I've been working on a rad cover the past few weeks so I thought I'd start the bike as it's been a few days since I started it, I found that the battery seemed flat so I charged it overnight and tried again but it was still the same... seemed dead.

I had the battery checked at a garage and they said it was fine, it's reading 12.8v after I charge it but when it fit it to the bike and give it a start it's showing 6v on the speedo.

ive tried charging it a few times now and not sure what's up with it, maybe the cold weather is affecting the battery or there may be an electronic problem which I'm hoping there isn't.

Just wondered if anyone may have had this issue before?

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

[alfiestorm]

How old is the battery. have you put a multi meter across the battery terminals to see what the voltage drops too when it is turned over.

[banoffee]

How did they test it?

do you have / can you borrow another battery to test on the bike?

[Jpich85]

Thanks for getting back to me guys, the battery is only about a year old and the bike isn't on the road yet it's just sat in the garage and I start it up a few times a week so I have to charge it now and then but this time the battery just seems dead after one or two turns, I haven't checked the voltage on start up but I will try, I don't have another battery unfortunately but my dad said he could try jump starting me but I don't think that'll do much to fix the problem, I think they tested it with a tester of some sort, my dad took it there so didn't see what they did.

Could the cold be affecting this? I've got the battery in the house now just to see if improving the temperature might help

 

[strima]

If its a standard lead acid then the plates may have sulphated. If you have access to a CTEK/Optimate etc that has a desulphate cycle on it that would be worth a go.

Do you have a multimeter that you can check it with? If so put a load on it such as a headlight and measure the voltage over 30 seconds, the voltage on a good battery should not drop below 11.5 volts. If you can stand the noise a horn is an even better load to put on as it will make the battery work harder.

Edited January 27, 2017 by strima

[Jpich85]

Could it be the regulator/rectifier? I've read online that the might have the same effect but I'm not sure where they are on the bike and they seem pricey

[Captain Chaos]

what bike?

[Jpich85]

Sorry it's a gsxr 750 wn mate

[johnr]

ive had issues with batteries that wont chareg with a battery tender, but if i put them on my old fashioned low tech battery charger for an hour they will hold a charge and i can put them onto the optimate which will then put a charge into it. if its totally dead, the likes of an optimate wont charge it at all, just giving an error signal.

[strima]

Optimates and the like require a small amount of voltage to register before they put any form of charge back into the battery. This is a safety feature that stops the charger putting out any current if no battery is detected, also stops you from charging a battery and giving it reverse polarity.

Edited January 28, 2017 by strima

[alfiestorm]

On 1/27/2017 at 8:09 PM, Jpich85 said:

Thanks for getting back to me guys, the battery is only about a year old and the bike isn't on the road yet it's just sat in the garage and I start it up a few times a week so I have to charge it now and then but this time the battery just seems dead after one or two turns, I haven't checked the voltage on start up but I will try, I don't have another battery unfortunately but my dad said he could try jump starting me but I don't think that'll do much to fix the problem, I think they tested it with a tester of some sort, my dad took it there so didn't see what they did.

Could the cold be affecting this? I've got the battery in the house now just to see if improving the temperature might help

 

I would be very careful about jump starting, i once blew my cdi box doing this on my old efe. If you do jump start it take the battery out of the other bike/car and connect it to yours to be safe. cdi's ain't cheap cost me £100 for a second hand one for the efe.

Going by whats been discussed on here I and leaning towards the battery being duff through not having much use. Good luck

[Jpich85]

Thanks for your help everyone, I didn't jump start it in the end, I thought it wasn't actually going to fix anything, I did a few tests tho, I charged it and was getting 12.7 volts from the battery, I connected it and switched the lights on and it help 11.5v ok but then when I tried to start it nothing, it was just dead and the volts went down to 6v, I think I should change the battery first but I thought it might be the charger as it's quite old and not sure if it's any good any more, my dad said it didn't do much to his battery that he was trying to bring back to life after awhile being flat

[strima]

I'd say the battery is fucked. If it shows 12.7V after charging then the charger is OK.

[Jpich85]

Are gel batteries any better, would it be on to use one on the gsxr 750 wn?

[strima]

All depends on the use, if daily riding then lead acid would be fine as it has a better cycle rate than AGM. If being left stood for long periods then AGM has a slower self discharge rate.

 

[Jpich85]

Ok thanks mate, what's the difference in the 9ah and 12ah versions?

[strima]

12ah is higher capacity, gives you better and longer cranking power.

[Jpich85]

Thanks mate, I appreciate your help, would a gel type battery be a straight swap or would I need to upgrade anything?

[strima]

Straight swap, most manufacturers will be able to tell you the correct battery for your bike.

[Biggsxrcol]

Check your earth for the battery return, if you've been altering anything frame wise you may have disturbed one, put multiple earth connections on like endurance racers do