Quick battery question

[stelartia]

can you tell me if there is anything that would cause the battery to discharge while its parked up (while the electrical system is off)

[The Stranger:Me]

can you tell me if there is anything that would cause the battery to discharge while its parked up (while the electrical system is off)

Sometimes a buggered battery will just do that i.e. not hold it's charge for very long.

[stelartia]

sweet

thanks

[johnnyflash]

depends what "extra's if any you have wired in, that may NOT go through the ignition/accessoriy switch... ie, radar detectors, navmans, comms ....

[The Stranger:Me]

depends what "extra's if any you have wired in, that may NOT go through the ignition/accessoriy switch... ie, radar detectors, navmans, comms ....

Looks like ArcherWC has some competition for the most gadgets on a motorcycle.
Fancy being out tricked by a GN250.

[johnnyflash]

sorry forgot to add, Alarm system, Mood lighting, Reversing light, etc, I assume you have all seen that sort of stuff on a AG150... LOL but I assume u understand the point :-)

[surfer]

Don't leave the key in the ignition switch.

If your switch is a bit old and loose it may leave a small charge that trickles through into the system. I had a faulty switch so know about this one, leaving the key out of the ignition it was fine and once I'd replaced the switch it was sorted.

[sinned]

How old is the battery?
Most people wait until a battery fails before they replace it - not a good idea. For the little extra cost it pays to replace a battery when its warranty is up and about the time they start to fail. That time is about 3 years. When I had a boat I replaced the battery at 3 years (kept the old one as a spare in the boat) because a motor that won't start on a boat ........?

[davereid]

Dirt. If the battery is OK, and it still goes flat, It may be discharging through dirt on the battery case. Wipe it clean, clean all the crap off the terminals.

[Guided_monkey]

Most electrical systems have a small 'leakage' where even with everything off there is still current flowing.

Turn off ignition key.

Take a multimeter, disconnect the negative lead from battery and then create circuit using multimeter (Current/amp setting) between negative lead and the negative battery terminal. There should be very litle ie under 0.1 amp flowing.

If there is more then disconnect electrical systems until the current leakage is found.

[bimotabob]

Hi

Your battery might be the original (2004) one - wouldn't think the chinese batterys to be any great quality on these, 3 years isn't too bad though.

Some bike shops will test them for free as they want to sell you another one.
One of ours here has a tester that you tell what battery it is i.e. YB14L-A2
and it does a custom test that is very accurate - pity they arent cheap or I would buy one.
You can also put a 12v test light between either battery terminal and the lead(s) removed off it and see if the bulb glows indicating a leakage.
Motorcycles as a rule DO NOT have any leakage unless they are tourers fitted with clocks or aftermarket components like alarms etc.

Cheers

[sAsLEX]

Motorcycles as a rule DO NOT have any leakage unless they are tourers fitted with clocks or aftermarket components like alarms etc.

Cheers

Most newer bikes with electronic dashs would to save info such as trip meter etc I would guess.

[Max Preload]

If left connected a battery will still discharge. If disconnected they're about 4% per month.

[chillirider]

Old batterys suffer from a thing called solfation which floats around in the acid while it is being charged but when this stops it settles to the bottom and will cause the battery to discharge.

[Whynot]

Old batterys suffer from a thing called solfation which floats around in the acid while it is being charged but when this stops it settles to the bottom and will cause the battery to discharge.

I think you mean sulfation.

It is a chemical process, not something that "floats around in the acid".
Also it doesn't settle to the bottom and discharge the battery, it causes a build-up of lead sulfate on the battery plates which doesn't conduct electricity and therefore reduces the performance of the battery.