Battery died

[dogman]

Here I am away for work and on my motorbike, in a very small town. I went out to go for a ride this evening and the bike was completely dead.

I was helped out and taken to Canadian Tire. They had a battery that was compatible for $124. I was happy to purchase it but there was not anyone authorized to charge it for me as they did not have the required training. I asked if my battery could be tested and they performed that test which also charged my battery. In 20 minutes.

So I walked out with my old battery charged for free and did not buy their battery that was for sale since they couldn't charge it for me.

I hope this original battery is still good enough for me to get home on Friday and look into buying a new battery.

 

Is this an unusual failing of a battery all of a sudden without any warning? Or is it not so uncommon.?

[Marcarl]

You might have drained your battery.... it is a possibility,,,if you forgot to turn something off,,,,, but it's more likely that you have a failed battery, or a problem in your charging system. From where you are to home your battery won't last. A good battery might, I said might, get you to my place, and from there you might get home.

You could tell us what they found when they checked your battery, or were they not smart enough for that as well. Hey, if you can charge a battery to do a check, couldn't you do a regular charge as well... I know they are really different, and there's new rules governing charging a dead battery, but me I'm not that smart and would just charge it the conventional way and hope the Gov doesn't notice.

If you do decide to ride, I would unplug the headlight. The headlight draws the most current and will kill your battery a lot sooner.

I could come over tonight to check the system and the battery, and if you want, bring a new AGM battery with me as well if I can find one. Need to have an excuse to ride and now I have one, if you can wait til then.

[Wizard765]

Where is this little town you speak of? Worst case is your charging system is compromised.. You could (with help) get to Carl's and get a ride home while the needed part is acquired.. If I came along we could swap batteries at some point on the way back if necessary..

[The Tooch]

Hey Dave

 

Can I guess your working on another "BA".....Been to Aylmer/St. Thomas?!

 

Hope you just unknowingly left something drawing down the battery and you really don't have a problem. And if you do that it's an easy find and fix.

[dogman]

Yes I am in Aylmer at the Ontario College

I was shocked, frustrated and a few other emotions when they would charge my battery and not a new one.

I did check on the bike this morning before I went to class and it did start.

I will try it again early this evening.

It is my original battery, so I'm hoping it is simply that and not a charging concern with the bike.

 

Thank you Carl and Wayne for your offers of help and assistance. At this time I don't want to put you out. Maybe I did not turn the key off beyond the acc spot and it was human error.

The simple test from Can Tire just showed a green light for an Ok battery.

Well it's back to class for me now

[cowpuc]

Dogman, I have had batteries die like you describe.. It doesnt always happen that way but sometimes it does. If your battery has been in that scoot since new so its going on 8 years old? I would just change it if it were mine. Tired low volt/amp output batteries are hard on the scoot in many ways - both electrically and mechanically. If I were a betting man I would put my quarter on the battery itself and thats where I would begin..

Of course, I would still toss a meter on the battery cables when I replaced the battery though,,, gambling never did much for me

[saddlebum]

Just an FYI Dave If you do need a battery check out ACME Battery on Parkdale in Hamilton. As far as I know they are still the cheapest place to get one and they carry YUASA, DEKA and ODESSEY. I paid $94 for my DEKA AGM when even in the US the best price I could find was $124. US$ That Deka Is now 3 or 4 years old and still running strong.

Edited August 30, 2015 by saddlebum

[cowpuc]

Am I missing something here? Says Canada under free shipping...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YTX20L-BS-SMF-12V-Battery-For-Yamaha-1300-XVZ13-Royal-Star-Venture-All-1996-2012-/171875732779?hash=item2804978d2b&vxp=mtr

[cowpuc]

Wellll,, for some odd reason I cant get that link to work, I also tried it in the Ebay listings and couldnt get it to fly there either... Hey Dave, if you copy/paste this in your URL it should take you to a $49 Battery with free shipping. Curious if something like that is still cost prohibitive because of exchange rates/provincial taxes or something?

 

""""""""http://www.ebay.com/itm/YTX20L-BS-SMF-12V-Battery-For-Yamaha-1300-XVZ13-Royal-Star-Venture-All-1996-2012-/171875732779?hash=item2804978d2b&vxp=mtr"""""

 

Oh yea, dont forget to remove the """""""""'s before your run the link..

[The Tooch]

Hey Puc

 

That price would be $66 Canadian still not bad.....but free shipping isn't free from the U.S. To good to be true! Just FYI

 

You can't mail a battery.....

 

We would be glad to ship most items to you in Canada. We are limited in how we can ship, based on international law. For instance, we cannot ship a

battery

to Canada via Post. Canadian law forbids the transport of batteries via the Postal Service, in fact we were unaware of this and had several shipments confiscated and destroyed by an over zealous Canadian postal official, which left both us and our customer without a battery.

And UPS & Fedex.....will kill you with broker fees and duty.

 

We can ship

powersport batteries

to Canada via UPS, but as most Canadians are aware, UPS will bill the receiver (that's you) for all customs duties and fees which includes customs broker fees. This amount seems to be arbitrary, and can vary from 5% to 40% of the determined value of the shipment. We refer to that fee as the 'Brown Robber charge' and unfortunately we cannot avoid it, or even accurately predict the total for you.

[cowpuc]

Well what dah heckter Tooch,, didnt know that

Another thought,, take a look at this

http://www.batterysharks.com/Yuasa-YTX20L-BS-p/YTX20L-BS_M12-19-270L-HD.htm?gclid=Cj0KEQjw6vquBRCow62uo-_J_YYBEiQAMO6HipMwwPTUJXL9MkUvfYUJpp_WEaEj8bWs-FExbv5dV84aAkuT8P8HAQ

 

I wonder if their are "Canadian" based suppliers such as this that you guys can somehow deal with? Used to be (and maybe still is) that even Walmart carried bike batteries.. Do you guys have Walmart up there??

[dogman]

Thank you Ben and Scott.

Too bad about all the duty fees as Tooch points out.

I'll have to look into the Hamilton spot Saturday when I get home.

[The Tooch]

See Puc

 

When it's something we need right away like a battery, we just suck it up, hold our nose and pay!

 

But if it's something like a winter project or just some bling we want to add and it can wait awhile. There is something up here called "The Ways & Means Act"

 

There are alway means and ways to go about acquiring the things you want at the price you can live with.

 

I have found BongoPost, Fed-Bongo-Ex, and yoU Pester Smuggler Bob as the means, it just takes a little longer to get your way!

 

(I should mention these are not the only options, there are several others out there with many different Handles/Names!)

 

(I should also add Ex is a brand of Canadian beer.)

Edited August 28, 2015 by The Tooch
Include other options.

[relic]

Bad news Dave. Hope you make it home tonight as we will be there. I know you said you would leave the light on so I will tell Bernie to leave it on for you. lol

No, seriously hope all is good for you. I would think battery just because of the age. See you tonight.

[DMAN999]

Here's a Great Battery (420 CCA - 22 Ah) that a lot of Vmax guys use.

http://www.batteryspecialist.ca/12-volts-22ah-terminal-t4-sla-agm-battery-ub12220/

http://www.amazon.ca/UB12220-Wheelchair-Medical-Mobility-Battery/dp/B007L4JXF6

 

I just bought the APEX battery version of that one (also made by UPG):

http://www.apexbattery.com/apex-battery-apx12220-12-volt-22-ah-battery.html

 

My last battery was the UB12180 (283 CCA- 18 Ah) and it lasted 9 years.

http://www.apexbattery.com/universal-ub12180-12v-18ah-sealed-lead-acid-ba.html

Edited August 28, 2015 by DMAN999

[dogman]

Thanks, those are some cheap prices compared to what we would pay here in Canada.

[billmac]

think I need a battery for my Connie. keeps dropping down to 12.1 volts from a full charge of 12.6, no cables connected to batt. take about 3 hours to drop.

[Marcarl]

think I need a battery for my Connie. keeps dropping down to 12.1 volts from a full charge of 12.6, no cables connected to batt. take about 3 hours to drop.

 

I agree,, wouldn't take the time to put that thing in the scoot.

Just as a note of interest,,,, some people consider a battery is considered dead @ 11volts, but definitely dead @ 10volts. I think we tend to think that all the volts need to disappear for the battery to be dead, but that is just not the case. A good battery should show at least 12.5v even after a day, but maybe not after 6 months, considering that nothing is connected to it.

[cowpuc]

I agree,, wouldn't take the time to put that thing in the scoot.

Just as a note of interest,,,, some people consider a battery is considered dead @ 11volts, but definitely dead @ 10volts. I think we tend to think that all the volts need to disappear for the battery to be dead, but that is just not the case. A good battery should show at least 12.5v even after a day, but maybe not after 6 months, considering that nothing is connected to it.

 

Right on Carl,, also, any form of low voltage is really not good for starter. Considering what it cost for a starter and the pain in the backside it can be to swap a starter out it just aint worth the risk..

 

I wonder what the deal is about now being able to ship batteries across the border. I wonder if it has to do with battery acid being hazardous.. If so, I have purchased many batteries "dry" before - last one I put in Tweeks was a 23 dollar battery with NO acid shipped with it. Went down to Auto Zone, purchased a few bucks worth of acid, filled it, charged it and away I went.

Wonder if a "dry" battery is still not shipable..

[saddlebum]

I agree,, wouldn't take the time to put that thing in the scoot.

Just as a note of interest,,,, some people consider a battery is considered dead @ 11volts, but definitely dead @ 10volts. I think we tend to think that all the volts need to disappear for the battery to be dead, but that is just not the case. A good battery should show at least 12.5v even after a day, but maybe not after 6 months, considering that nothing is connected to it.

Then too thee is the other side of the equation. A battery may show 12.5 volts with a volt meter but may not be able to maintain it. A soon as a load is put the the battery those 12 volts suddenly disappear, so if if you dont have access to a load tester you can get a somewhat idea of the condition of your battery by checking the battery with a voltmeter then while leaving the voltmeter connected, flip on your high beams and see if the voltage drops right off or whether it seems to be able to hold it or just drops off very slowly. Best to fully charge your battery with a charger 1st but even if the voltage is down to 10 volts when begining your test the rate at which it drop further will give you some indication as to the health of the battery.

 

Hey Dave after having said all that I do actually have a proper load tester if you want to drop by with your battery and test it properly.

[dogman]

Thanks Ben, I stopped in at Carl's on my way home and he tested it. I went to get a new battery at Acme that you suggested on Saturday, but they closed at noon. No luck getting a maintenance free battery my size any where else, so I'm bringing my battery tender back to Aylmer tonight to keep it charged and I will stop in Hamilton on my way home on Friday.

[billmac]

bought a new battery, calls for a 12v 18Ah but the new one is 12v 17.5 Ah. they said it will be fine.