Why do batteries keep dying on me [a rant]

I previously posted that I planned to test ride Sunday. Pulled bike out of garage but damn thing would not start. After adding fresh gas, which did not work, I tried load testing the battery and it failed the load test !@#$%^&*/!!!. Found replacement at Napa Auto, ran down to get it. It had been sitting on shelf for a few months, but I put it on charge and it charged right up. Installed new battery, bike fired right up and I was able to test ride yesterday. Norton ran well.

Prior battery lasted 13 months before it quit. Battery before that lasted less than 2 years. I have the battery on trickle charge (Battery Minder) when I am not riding it. Why me??

nortonmargie said:

I previously posted that I planned to test ride Sunday. Pulled bike out of garage but damn thing would not start. After adding fresh gas, which did not work, I tried load testing the battery and it failed the load test !@#$%^&*/!!!. Found replacement at Napa Auto, ran down to get it. It had been sitting on shelf for a few months, but I put it on charge and it charged right up. Installed new battery, bike fired right up and I was able to test ride yesterday. Norton ran well.

Prior battery lasted 13 months before it quit. Battery before that lasted less than 2 years. I have the battery on trickle charge (Battery Minder) when I am not riding it. Why me??

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There is a difference between keeping a battery charged, and keeping it maintained. Some trickle chargers just charge, whereas some go through cycles to keep the battery in optimum health. Maybe your charger is the issue ?

Just connect the charger to the battery once a month when not in use and store it in above freezing temps when not in use. My Yuasa AGM battery is now 5 years old

nortonmargie said:

I previously posted that I planned to test ride Sunday. Pulled bike out of garage but damn thing would not start. After adding fresh gas, which did not work, I tried load testing the battery and it failed the load test !@#$%^&*/!!!. Found replacement at Napa Auto, ran down to get it. It had been sitting on shelf for a few months, but I put it on charge and it charged right up. Installed new battery, bike fired right up and I was able to test ride yesterday. Norton ran well.

Prior battery lasted 13 months before it quit. Battery before that lasted less than 2 years. I have the battery on trickle charge (Battery Minder) when I am not riding it. Why me??

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Are you using AGM batteries?

I had a failed bridge rectifier last year, (only 50 years old) that kept draining the battery.


Do you have a multi meter? Do you want to test and diagnose the problem?
Or simply rant, as the title clearly states? (Thank you!)

Worth ocassionally checking that the charger is doing what it claims. It took me while to work out I had one that wasn’t .

I've had 2 Optimates fail. The first just died, not the fuse. The last one I could hear the battery fizzing, it was hot. Tossed it and moved on to CTEK, which have been very good for the last 4 years.

nortonmargie said:

I previously posted that I planned to test ride Sunday. Pulled bike out of garage but damn thing would not start. After adding fresh gas, which did not work, I tried load testing the battery and it failed the load test !@#$%^&*/!!!. Found replacement at Napa Auto, ran down to get it. It had been sitting on shelf for a few months, but I put it on charge and it charged right up. Installed new battery, bike fired right up and I was able to test ride yesterday. Norton ran well.

Prior battery lasted 13 months before it quit. Battery before that lasted less than 2 years. I have the battery on trickle charge (Battery Minder) when I am not riding it. Why me??

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Your battery maintainance is shite. Charge battery every two months. Don't leave it connected to the charger, or ride the bike more often

Madnorton said:

Just connect the charger to the battery once a month when not in use and store it in above freezing temps when not in use. My Yuasa AGM battery is now 5 years old

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....and freezing temps are no problem whatsoever, provided the battery remains charged.

Pull the fuse to stop parasitic discharge and any inference by bikes voltage regulator, connect a charger plugged into a timed socket. Set timed socket for a weekly charge or whatever you want as a variation.

When you let the charger plugged in , and when your battery is fully charged , I think the extra/surplus amps , goes through the reg which is useless and even more could damage the reg , the charger or the bat , or am I wrong ??
unless as said above you pull the fuse off , or disconnect the bat , but the better is either a timed socket (as said by Kommando) or a monthly charge , depending of your situation and the allways possible drain ..........

nortonmargie said:

I previously posted that I planned to test ride Sunday. Pulled bike out of garage but damn thing would not start. After adding fresh gas, which did not work, I tried load testing the battery and it failed the load test !@#$%^&*/!!!. Found replacement at Napa Auto, ran down to get it. It had been sitting on shelf for a few months, but I put it on charge and it charged right up. Installed new battery, bike fired right up and I was able to test ride yesterday. Norton ran well.

Prior battery lasted 13 months before it quit. Battery before that lasted less than 2 years. I have the battery on trickle charge (Battery Minder) when I am not riding it. Why me??

Click to expand...

This?

For winter storage, I do what some here have suggested, the occasional charge on a trickle charger. This happens when I remember to do it, usually 2 or 3 times from November thru March. During that period I only have 1 bike insured as the weather is generally poor for riding. There is always some nice riding weather even in the winter months so it's good to have a bike on the road.
The others sit so the batteries drop a bit. They definitely drop fastest on the 2 modern bikes, which have computers.
I haven't bothered to disconnect fuses, I suppose I should.

The Thruxton r Yuasa lasted from new in 2016 until 2022.

I've been using the cheapest batteries available on the other bikes. These are averaging about 3 to 4 years, not bad for such cheap batteries.
One cheap battery purchased at Battery Sharks is now in its 6th year, still tests OK on drawdown.

Despite what the manufacturers of these so called "intelligent chargers" tell you, motorcycle batteries are not designed to be float charged which is what these chargers basically do. Some are a bit cleverer about it but they are still float chargers. As others say. Just connect it occasionally to keep battery going.

The longest life I have ever gotten out of a battery was my wife's little diesel Peugeot. She drove it once or twice a week, sometimes leaving it a couple of weeks without driving. The battery was never charged other than by the car and when we sold the car at 12 years old the original battery was still healthy.

In response to some items above, the bike gets ridden at least once a month, year round. It rarely goes below freezing in my neighborhood. The diagnosis of float charger problem and/or rectifier problem sounds worth pursuing. I have a multimeter. The battery is an AGM. Thanks for all the suggestions.

My winter storage is to disconnect the fully charged battery; no charging over the winter. Reconnect in the spring. Never had an issue with the first start in the spring (or whenever).

I will second the use of the CTEK charger (CTEK - 40-206 MXS 5.0 Fully Automatic 4.3 amp Battery Charger and Maintainer 12V). Not cheap but it both a charger and maintainer, separate cycle type for car, motorcycle, and AGM battery type, and has a deep restore cycle that pulls a marginal battery back to its duty. I purchased additional pigtails and installed them on two cars and one motorcycle for quick access.

I remove the fuse when in storage as there are always small phantom discharge that slowly drain the battery when using original wiring setup.

Nortoniggy said:

Despite what the manufacturers of these so called "intelligent chargers" tell you, motorcycle batteries are not designed to be float charged which is what these chargers basically do. Some are a bit cleverer about it but they are still float chargers. ....

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Im happy with this one: CTEK - MXS 5.0

Margie,

Hate to write this here but will withstand the haters.

You're asking a lot of an AGM battery with a MK3 that you've fought long and hard. I know the electrical system has been fixed - needed it pretty bad. All those bad things hit the battery hard when starting and didn't help while recharging. Yes, fixed but damage done. A good (even cheap) AGM in a non-electric start will last. In a MK3 you need a lot of "juice" to start and when down just a little on voltage it takes even more current to spin the motor. This is especially true of the original more and cables.

Fire Extinguisher ready: Flame on regular flamers:

I prefer these: Shorai LFX18A1-BS12 18AH or LFX18L1-BS12 18AH but most places are out of stock. IMHO, the 14AH version is just good enough and the 21AH version is overkill in IMO.

These should be a good substitute: https://a.co/d/aLEsoel but check the dimensions to be sure it fits your battery box, they are bigger than the Shorai battery I use. And I would also buy a Noco Genius charger unless you have a Lithium-aware changer. I use the Noco Genius5. It knows Lithium, AGM and Lead Acid. It can be a smart trickle charger but there's little to no need for trickle charging a Lithium battery.

I have forgotten what regulator you have - if PodTronics or original Zeners, remove the fuse if leaving the bike parked.

Don't leave any batteries in freezing weather. If cold out, and using a Lithium battery, turn the bike on, turn the headlight on, wait 30-60 seconds. turn the headlight off and start. That warms a Lithium battery and greatly increases its "power" for starting.

BTW, the last three Shorai I bought were $25 less at Wallmart.com than Amazon.com and came just as fast.

With the battery I use for e-start, you can start and turn off and start 10-20 times - you'll never do that with AGM batteries. For non-e-start bikes I use 8amp AGM only.