Battery Drain Opinions

[pontow]

The topic is a nearly dead battery.

2015 RT-S SE6. Purchased in June 2015 so battery is barely over one year old. Went to start it yesterday morning and it would barely turn over. Battery down. Put it on Battery Tender that evening, this morning had green light on charger and bike started right up, no problem.

So, here are some more facts. I ride daily back and forth to work. It's Southern California so I get to ride almost every day of the work week year round. The distance to work however is only 3-1/2 miles each way over city streets and sometimes I make a stop on the way home so in 7 miles I am cranking the starter 2 to 3 times each day. Not much charging time in between.

This past week, the bike had sat for 4 days prior to the failure due to a home improvement project we were doing. We also have not gotten to do a long weekend ride for about 3 weeks due to other projects.

So here is the question: Do you all think that my problem is simply related to the short jaunts without any longer stints in between this past month which depleted the battery or do you think I may have a battery problem and / or a parasitic drain from somewhere.

Either way, I will be keeping it on the Battery Tender while parked from here on out.

 

[billybovine]

IMHO your problem is caused by a lot of short trips with without the battery having a chance to recover its charge. Also a lead acid battery charges faster the lower its charge. So a battery that is half discharge it may only take 5 minutes of engine running to replace the power used to start the engine. But if the battery was fully charged it may 30 minutes to replace the power used to start the engine. It is very possible your battery is at a very low charge all the time because of the short trips. Anything out of the usual then will give you a no start because of a dead battery. So for for how you use your Spyder it would be good to use a battery maintainer.

 

[pontow]

Thanks billybovine. You are confirming what my thoughts are as well. We have a 1900 mile trip coming up in September and I didn't want to leave home thinking that I needed a new battery. I'll keep the Battery Tender on it from here on out and I also have an Anti-Gravity Micro-Start unit that I'm going to pack away in the Frunk and make certain that I keep that topped off for an emergency start if need be.

 

[ARtraveler]

:agree: also. Many short jaunts do not give the battery a chance to get up to full charge. Being on the brink all the time can cause the issues you are experiencing.

Suggest a weekly ride of at least an hour or so, if possible. That's where we are with Linda's RT. She rides once or twice a week at most and its parked the rest of the time. It always starts and she is still on the original battery (2011). :thumbup:

 

[2dogs]

Battery age??

At this point the age of your battery is unknown. How long it was on the shelf before it was installed may not be a question that can be answered. Normally a 5 min. ride or less would top off your battery's charge if the battery was new and in good shape. A one year old battery should not have a problem holding a charge for a month or even longer. If the spyder has a parasitic drain it's under warrantee. If you have a bad battery it should be a dealer issue. Make sure your battery cables are tight. It is not uncommon for loose battery cables to be overlooked by assembly employees. Never the less, your bike should operate flawlessly and be dependable for years to come. After all, there was nothing wrong with the money you used to pay for it was there?

 

[2dogs]

Your 2011 battery

:agree: also. Many short jaunts do not give the battery a chance to get up to full charge. Being on the brink all the time can cause the issues you are experiencing.

Suggest a weekly ride of at least an hour or so, if possible. That's where we are with Linda's RT. She rides once or twice a week at most and its parked the rest of the time. It always starts and she is still on the original battery (2011). :thumbup:[/QUOTE

And your wife's RT has a magneto to charge the battery. Not an 1200W alternator. Correct?

 

[ARtraveler]

:agree: also. Many short jaunts do not give the battery a chance to get up to full charge. Being on the brink all the time can cause the issues you are experiencing.

Suggest a weekly ride of at least an hour or so, if possible. That's where we are with Linda's RT. She rides once or twice a week at most and its parked the rest of the time. It always starts and she is still on the original battery (2011). :thumbup:[/QUOTE

And your wife's RT has a magneto to charge the battery. Not an 1200W alternator. Correct?

Yes. It has the magneto.

 

[finless]

IMHO your problem is caused by a lot of short trips with without the battery having a chance to recover its charge. Also a lead acid battery charges faster the lower its charge. So a battery that is half discharge it may only take 5 minutes of engine running to replace the power used to start the engine. But if the battery was fully charged it may 30 minutes to replace the power used to start the engine. It is very possible your battery is at a very low charge all the time because of the short trips. Anything out of the usual then will give you a no start because of a dead battery. So for for how you use your Spyder it would be good to use a battery maintainer.

FYI, we do not use Lead Acid batteries in the Spyder. Unless that changed in 2015?
We use AGM batteries. Not the same at all.

One other note for you pontow.
Try not to leave your key on a long time after killing the engine. The spyder does draw a lot off the battery while stopped with the key on.



Bob

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

MAYBE THIS

If the battery was not properly charged in the beginning it's life and performance were compromised and it's not going to get any better ................ possibly a maintainer that can de-sulfate might help.....PM " PMK " about what He has ........Mike :thumbup:

 

[pontow]

Lot of good input, thanks to all. No, I will never know exactly how old the battery is even though the bike was purchased about 13 months ago. No, I will never know if it was initially charged correctly. Yes, the charger I'm using is a BMW branded Deltran 021-0156 and I believe is a "smart" charger that will not overcharge the battery. Got it originally for the K1600GTL we used to have and since I installed an always hot BMW style connector on the Spyder this model works great for easy connection.

The charger has two lights with different combinations for less than 85%, 85 to 100% and holding at 100% of total charge. I'll try to pay attention to how far / long some of the weekend rides are and when I come home and plug in see if I can tell any difference in the current level of charge according to the indicator lights on the charger.

 

[Bfromla]

If the battery was not properly charged in the beginning it's life and performance were compromised and it's not going to get any better ................ possibly a maintainer that can de-sulfate might help.....PM " PMK " about what He has ........Mike :thumbup:

:agree: & see no one asked about additional farkles you may have added , lights or such....& squeeze in a good longer ride:doorag: Hour or so once a week for sure, just take the long way home. f you have a charger in addition to the maintainer give it one night on that, see if that makes a change, otherwise keep on maintainer & have your jump pack ready

 

[billybovine]

FYI, we do not use Lead Acid batteries in the Spyder. Unless that changed in 2015?
We use AGM batteries. Not the same at all.

One other note for you pontow.
Try not to leave your key on a long time after killing the engine. The spyder does draw a lot off the battery while stopped with the key on.



Bob

A AGM battery is a lead acid battery.

 

[finless]

A AGM battery is a lead acid battery.

While chemically true, how you treat them is different. So they are not the same.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

Bob

 

[billybovine]

While chemically true, how you treat them is different. So they are not the same.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

Bob

Come on. The first line of the article says that a AGM battery is a lead acid battery. :shocked:

 

[pontow]

Some more feedback to try to keep this thread where I intended it to be: "Am I not riding enough to charge the battery or might I have a battery or parasitic drain problem".

Turning off the bike. I always turn off with the key, not the kill switch. This provides for instant power cut off.

Farkles that could drain power. Flashing additional brake light but that was added by Joe Meyer in August of last year when we went to Vegas to get Squared Away. Tric LED turn signal lights in the mirrors.

I do have a coaxial port for both the driver and passenger for heated gear but of course they aren't being used at present.

Second day now on the maintainer and it seems to be topping off the battery with no worries.

 

[Doc - Riverside]

Battery terminals

Check and make sure the battery terminal screws are tight. On some RT's I have seen the screws loosen up as they don't use a lock washer.

 

[pontow]

Check and make sure the battery terminal screws are tight. On some RT's I have seen the screws loosen up as they don't use a lock washer.

Doc - This step is already on my weekend agenda but based on my results with the maintenance charger so far it would seem that the "short trip syndrome" of driving the 3-1/2 miles back and forth to work every day is probably what was taking its toll. Hopefully I can forego the projects this weekend and convince the missus that a long ride is required for "scientific testing purposes".

 

[Doc - Riverside]

Screws

If the screws are not tight you are not passing 100% of the voltage/current to the battery. Screws loose while riding are moving ever so slightly. I got stuck at a gas station after a fill up. Tightened the screws and it started right up. Now I add a drop of locktite to the screws to ensure they stay tight as well as lock washers.

 

[Bob Denman]

Doc - Hopefully I can forego the projects this weekend and convince the missus that a long ride is required for "scientific testing purposes".

There's a simple solution for this problem:
For every route that you take: there has to be a "short-cut", that'll add at least 40 miles to the trip! :thumbup:
(Blame it all on the GPS! )

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

STAR WASHERS WORK

If the screws are not tight you are not passing 100% of the voltage/current to the battery. Screws loose while riding are moving ever so slightly. I got stuck at a gas station after a fill up. Tightened the screws and it started right up. Now I add a drop of locktite to the screws to ensure they stay tight as well as lock washers.

.........I've always put them on and never had a wire come loose by itself ........Mike :thumbup: