When to change battery.

[scarecrow]

I have a 2014 Rts bought new. Have less then 9k on it. When we are out riding we will be riding a hour or two. I have been noticing that when we do stop that when I go to restart the starter seams to load down a bit. Yes I do have Hid head and fog lamps with front fender lights, rear saddlebag markers and the led rear brake strips. Just wondering if I should be looking for a new battery.

 

[SpyderAnn01]

If it is the original battery it is probably due to be replaced.

 

[ARtraveler]

Three to five years depending. My 2014 is going to get a new battery come spring riding season. No problems yet, but when they go, it is never a convenient time or place. :thumbup:

 

[4 MARIE]

pay it now, or pay more later. When the crankin' aint whankin', your wallet you should be takin'.
Your underwhelming mileage of 9k has absolutely nothing to do with it.
If you get three years, almost four ? you did well.

 

[MEP]

I'm replacing the battery in my 2014 when it comes out of storage this Spring, too.

 

[asp125]

Average life of a battery is around 5yrs. Even if it's on a tender. I got 7 out of mine, but it's on a GS with not a lot of current draw for accessories and farkle. BUT FIRST.. check the health of your charging system. If you're not getting 14-14.5V with the engine running, then throwing in a new battery will not help.

 

[Peter Aawen]

...... Yes I do have Hid head and fog lamps with front fender lights, rear saddlebag markers and the led rear brake strips.....

The extra lights & current draw you have there is probably barely enough to be of concern on one of the earlier V-twins running a magneto, let alone for it to be of any worry to a 2014 with a 1330 motor and an alternator (once it's running)!! So like the others have said, it's waaay more likely that your battery is just reaching that age where things start to slow down & eventually stop working. :sour:

If anything, the relatively low miles have probably ADDED to the aging effect on the battery, cos (to a certain extent) batteries thrive on being discharged a little & then fully re-charged; and they really only maintain their peak efficiency if they are ALWAYS stored at full charge & also regularly loaded up then recharged fully once more! So not ryding regularly (ie, once a week or so) for an hour or more is just not good for your Spyder (or for you!) and leaving your Spyder standing or stored for more than about a week without having the battery connected & maintained by a proper 'charge-cycling' battery tender just increases the impact of battery aging.... :gaah: You should consider that in good conditions/with good treatment your batteries 'life' is really only likely to be about 3 or so years; and anything more than about 4 years on one of these batteries is a real bonus, even tho some might last 5 or more years with luck & care - and that's ESPECIALLY so if you don't regularly ride your Spyder often or for long enough to properly recharge the battery, &/or if you don't keep the battery on a proper charge/discharge/recharge tender!

So you've done pretty well, considering... but now it's time for a new battery. Never hurts to get the charging system load tested at the same time tho. :thumbup:

Ps: and it's ALWAYS worth taking the terminals OFF the battery posts, checking that they & the posts have clean, bright metal at all the contact points, then refitting them TIGHTLY before sealing them. Do the same with all the major earth straps/points too! :thumbup:

 

[JAS POWER]

If in doubt

Why not pull the battery, and have it load tested if your in doubt :dontknow:

I would agree 100% that the average life on power sport batteries to be the 4 - 5 year range.

A simple load test is usually free at a good shop :yes:

 

[Spyderglide]

buying new batteries before there time

http://www.lamonstergarage.com/rugged-geek-1000a-battery-jump-pack-lamonster-approved/

I was was thinking about buying this from Lamonstergarage and keeping it with me if I ever suspect a battery is going to die in one of my vehicles!

 

[JayBros]

I bought a Rugged Geek from Lamonster specifically for my long trip to Red Rocks rally just to have a complete kit on my Spyder -- better safe than sorry.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

BATTERY DEATH

http://www.lamonstergarage.com/rugged-geek-1000a-battery-jump-pack-lamonster-approved/

I was was thinking about buying this from Lamonstergarage and keeping it with me if I ever suspect a battery is going to die in one of my vehicles!

:agree::agree: .... I bought one on-line for $45.00 ( a different brand ,but the same technology ) ...... to have " Just in Case " .... Spyder owners are at the mercy of " whoever initially " charged the Battery. My 2014 RT was not done correctly , which I discovered on my way home from purchasing it in Ill..... It failed :gaah:.... I had it tested ( at a dealer ) and was told it was OK, and NO warranty claim would be submitted..... ( I think it was BS ) .... I have been using batteries for 70 years, I know a WEAK battery from Good battery ..... The Lithium " jumpers " are reasonably priced ...... Your present battery might last another 3 years or more, they cost $ 125 to 150 ( Yuasa ) .....you do the Math ......... PS I haven't had to use the " jumper " yet ..... annnnnnnnnnnnd Merry Christmas ... Mike :thumbup:

 

[kbwitt]

Go on line and shop around. I saved almost a 100. Over dealers price.
I live in very hot climate battery, life is shorter then cooler climate.
Kenn

 

[ronrico]

I have a 2014 RTL and ha to replace my battery yesterday. It started and I road for 20 miles; turned it off and when I got back in about 10 minutes it would not start, there was nothing. Even though it is a 2014 it is only two years old. So only getting two years out of the battery was not good.

 

[Little Blue]

Battery

All very good advice here. I ride at least one day a week for 1 hour plus. Also I keep a Battery Tender on the Spyder while sitting in the garage. Merry Christmas to ALL. Little Blue:agree:

 

[rcturner]

Put a voltmeter on the battery and start it. If the voltage is low before you start it, it could be the charging system not being up to the task. If the voltage is good but dumps when starting, it is probably the battery.

 

[Mr. White]

I change my batteries out every three years on my scoots and truck as I don't want to be caught in west Texas with bad battery, no cell service and little traffic. (or anywhere else) I plug in my charger in the cigarette outlet in trunk. Make sure you change the fuse on your RT if you plan to do this. Always charge a new battery 24 hours before installing. Dealers pay little attention to this and seldom sell a fully charged battery.

:spyder2:

 

[Easy Rider]

Just wondering if I should be looking for a new battery.

YES.

AND.....you should be doing some voltage checks to be sure the alternator has enough capacity to actually keep the battery charged with all those extra lights.

AND.....with the relatively low mileage you report, you NEED a small automatic tender type battery charger to be connected any time the Spyder will sit unused for more than a few days.

 

[Easy Rider]

Also I keep a Battery Tender on the Spyder while sitting in the garage.

While that seems like a good idea, you need to be aware of this:
Connecting a tender ALL the time will pretty much guarantee that it will start every time immediately after disconnecting the tender.
At some point down the road, this will MASK the fact that the battery is way past it's useful life and the failure will occur out on the road somewhere.

If you do a substantial ride once a week on average you might be better off to NOT use the tender all the time.
I only connect mine when I realize that it's been more than a week since my last ride.......or when I know there will be some extended down time coming up.

 

[Chupaca]

Tough one....

As we have seen here there are those that get weak and signal they are going out and those that just up and die. Trying to out guess the life span of your battery is a shot in the dark. Mine, now six years old, has been run down to nothing in a couple of occasions but has not failed out on the road. Kids playing on it left the lights on :banghead: but carrying the jumper pack is the way to go or going with the average life you see here. Not quite sure what that is. There are many variables that affect the life of your battery.

 

[scarecrow]

Finally get a chance to check the
Battery while the bike is running it was 14.4 volts. So the system is working. The problem I see is when starting the voltage drops to 10 volts. I will be looking into a new battery soon.