Battery / Charging System Question

[AZ Desert Spyder]

I have a 2008 RS that I bought new (premium edition) and have had very few issues considering it was a brand new design at the time. I noticed recently that the Spyder seems to turn over more slowly before starting and yesterday, it wouldn't start at all. It appeared to be a dead battery (trying to turn over and stopping). I checked the battery and it showed only 12.1 volts, so I assumed it was time to replace it. But I had the battery tested at Batteries Plus and they say the battery is fine. They did an overnight load test with several cycles, so it sounds like that really isn't the problem. So I'm thinking my charging system might be the problem. I'm definitely not a mechanic but I know a little about how the system works. Here's my question. Can I charge the battery and then disconnect the battery and see if the Spyder continues to run without the battery? (like the old days with cars) Things are a lot different today...especially with the finicky computers like the one in the Spyder so I don't want to take anything for granted. By the way, I haven't seen any real errors on my screen, but the battery symbol did show up for a few seconds once and also a couple of days ago, the Spyder started and showed the "Limp Home" warning. But I shut it down and restarted and it seemed fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Rick

 

[billybovine]

Check the battery voltage before starting and it should be about 12.9 V. After starting and with the engine running it should be about 14 V. That's a lot easier then disconnecting the battery.

Don't overlook the possibility of a loose connection somewhere.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

Check the battery voltage before starting and it should be about 12.9 V. After starting and with the engine running it should be about 14 V. That's a lot easier then disconnecting the battery.

Don't overlook the possibility of a loose connection somewhere.

Thanks. I did check all of the connections first and everything seemed clean and tight. I'll check the voltage as you suggested. Thanks again.

 

[Bob Denman]

12.1 volts seems really low.
Is this the original battery that came with the bike?

 

[Chupaca]

Have to agree..!!

with billybovine on this. If this is the original battery that may be the problem. :thumbup:

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

12.1 volts seems really low.
Is this the original battery that came with the bike?

I replaced the battery in 2010 with one from Batteries Plus. After Batteries Plus charged and tested it overnight, they told me the battery is still in good condition. It read 12.5 volts at that point so I re-installed it. When I started the Spyder, it showed 13.8 volts while charging. I haven't made any changes to my Spyder in more than a year so I don't know what else to do except wait and see if I still have an issue. I do carry jumper cables just in case. And I realize that 4 years is a lot for a battery, but if it still passes a load test, does it really make sense to replace it?

 

[billybovine]

I replaced the battery in 2010 with one from Batteries Plus. After Batteries Plus charged and tested it overnight, they told me the battery is still in good condition. It read 12.5 volts at that point so I re-installed it. When I started the Spyder, it showed 13.8 volts while charging. I haven't made any changes to my Spyder in more than a year so I don't know what else to do except wait and see if I still have an issue. I do carry jumper cables just in case. And I realize that 4 years is a lot for a battery, but if it still passes a load test, does it really make sense to replace it?

Battery Plus tells you the battery is OK I would tend to believe them. A 12.1 volts on a dead battery is fine. They would be happy to sell you another battery if it was weak. A voltage of 13.8 while running tells me the charging system is working. You may have fixed the problem by removing and reinstalling the battery. At this point if it was me making the decisions, I would assume it is fixed and drive on.

For you to think about. Do you have an alarm or some other devices using power while it is parked? Does it sit for weeks without being driven? When being driven do you drive for short distances with a lots of engine starts? If you have any of these conditions I would consider connecting a battery tender when it is going to sit for a week without being driven.

 

[AZ Desert Spyder]

Battery Plus tells you the battery is OK I would tend to believe them. A 12.1 volts on a dead battery is fine. They would be happy to sell you another battery if it was weak. A voltage of 13.8 while running tells me the charging system is working. You may have fixed the problem by removing and reinstalling the battery. At this point if it was me making the decisions, I would assume it is fixed and drive on.

For you to think about. Do you have an alarm or some other devices using power while it is parked? Does it sit for weeks without being driven? When being driven do you drive for short distances with a lots of engine starts? If you have any of these conditions I would consider connecting a battery tender when it is going to sit for a week without being driven.

Answers: No, I don't have any alarm or anything that should be consuming power while the Spyder is parked and no, it doesn't ever sit for more than a couple of days without being driven. Like most Spyder ryders, I find "excuses" to go to the market or the local hardware store because I still love riding my Spyder as much as the day I bought it! :yes: But I do have to say I do make a lot of short runs of a couple of miles, so maybe that's part of the issue. I would have actually thought that even a couple of miles would be enough to replenish the battery from each start, but as I've said, I'm no mechanic. Anyway, thanks for the comments :bowdown:and I'll keep carrying my jumper cables just in case. :sour:

 

[GOZFST]

Answers: No, I don't have any alarm or anything that should be consuming power while the Spyder is parked and no, it doesn't ever sit for more than a couple of days without being driven. Like most Spyder ryders, I find "excuses" to go to the market or the local hardware store because I still love riding my Spyder as much as the day I bought it! :yes: But I do have to say I do make a lot of short runs of a couple of miles, so maybe that's part of the issue. I would have actually thought that even a couple of miles would be enough to replenish the battery from each start, but as I've said, I'm no mechanic. Anyway, thanks for the comments :bowdown:and I'll keep carrying my jumper cables just in case. :sour:

The short runs may be a big part of the issue, it doesn't give the alternator enough time to charge the battery. especially if there is additional loads like extra lights or heated clothing. Even just stop and go riding in traffic can cause the charging system to take a long time to recuperate. A $20 battery tender from Walmart would help that.