Just wondering if anyone has re mounted their battery in the "frunk/trunk" in the normal upright position? Surely laying a battery on it's side can't be good for them?
The AGM batteries that are generally standard in our Spyders & most modern motorcycles are designed to work in just about any position, including how/where they are mounted on your RSS. They are perfectly fine on their sides, ends, upright, or for many even upside down, as the electrolyte isn't really a liquid, it's a gel that's been absorbed into a fibreglass mat and as such, it doesn't 'run' or slop around like a liquid. So there's no need for concern there, just so long as your AGM type battery fits in the space available; is secured properly; and has a capacity of
at least 350 CCA and 21 A/hrs.
That said, the earth point under the seat on those early Spyders is just a riv-nut type thread inserted into the frame in a way that is notorious for being stripped, causing a poor earth connection and the consequent poor charging; which in turn creates all sorts of problems, very much along the lines you've detailed above; and even the more recent Spyders will often present with similar issues if they have dirty terminals; poor earth points; a battery in not great condition; a new battery that wasn't fully charged before installation; a battery that never gets charged properly because it doesn't get regular 30+ minute runs at Hwy speeds; &/or even a battery that rarely spends much time off a tender when not being ridden which can hide a failing battery!! There's a LOT of discussion about all these issues already posted on the Forum, both collectively and individually, so it might be well worth your time to do some searching and spend a while reading.
All that said, it would help us to help you greatly if you could tell us - was your new battery initialised properly and charged for at least 8 hours on a proper charger (not just a battery tender)
BEFORE it was installed?? Has your battery (the new one!) ever been load tested?? If it has, what was the result, in volts under load?? Did the tester know that our Spyders are
EXTREMELY power hungry and that if the voltage ever
drops much below 12 volts under starting load when all the computers and sensors etc are also drawing scads of power, then there's a very good chance that the issues you describe will occur?? Have you had your charging system checked, and do you also have any accessories that draw power fitted to your Spyder?? The answers to these questions and maybe more that others might ask could help guide us in the right direction to help you, but for now, from what you've told us, it really sounds like you have a battery &/or earth/connection problem; and if it's
NOT that, then it may well mean a trip to your local dealer. If that's the case, then just be glad they're so close!
