Weird. What is that crack all about? You get the feeling the way you're describe this, that crack is like the sound of a welding arc. Because you know if you touched the leads [of the batt] without any resistor like a light bulb, that screwdriver say, will have a bite out of the shaft like literally melted that metal along with the post lead.
You could tell right away if that was having a direct ground by pulling the ground off if that is where the current is going so fast [being depleted by the battery]. But you still have a battery up to 12v, right? Not like you put current to it key on or key off. It is either a stuck relay that should pop a fuse or a relay with not enough push to close, the battery is weak and cannot answer the call.
CAN is slow but still holds data. Here is a sitter for about a week? I have a shot at 12.4v, so I gained a 10th by running approx a 70 mile loop. As I took off after the starter was released, I noted the volts shoot down to 11.9v as that took a draw down on the battery. Nice CAN work, no?
Here is a clue. Say I am bike tag 09/08. That means I am in the crate or am on the line being stamped that day for complete assembly, battery included. Strapped on a crate leg is a box of acid along with manual, mirrors, etc. Let us now do the math as to how old that battery is and now put it into service; 07/11. There is more...
I gave a call to Yuasa techline. We have a great conversation. I learned some things. It was suggested that as they experiment with batteries at the plant, he told me to cycle the battery down 3 tunes, then charge it up 3 times. I'm doing that now. It is really taking too long to come back just on the one shutdown. See, we tried to walk how I charged the battery so I am not the problem being the wet-boy. It seems to his discussion, I did not lose that round against the dealer claiming it was my charging the battery that they wipe their hands of it. HA! ASS if I lost that round I can't wait to nail their ass is. Customer is always right... OK, some of the time, not most, not all in this situation/saturation.
I said, 'What is the shelf life of a battery if I am looking at a buildate of 09/08 and the bike is sold as an '09.' I then kept trying to walk out that [dry] battery as sitting too long. Oh no. Wet it and now begin the aging process he said [paraphrasing]. So it is not the dry sitting I can add decomposition being dry? No, was the answer. OK, so I charged it wrong, not by the book/vid? Nope, you did fine. Knowing I cleared my side to the evidence, I can back it up via techline. It shows me [my way was OK]; as I told him how I charged my batteries with my background, and experimenting a charge this way. It prove to me that I did not follow Yuasa video procedure; we have a well charged H-D battery in my care with batt out of bike for a year and a half and counting.
He then said and I'll paragraph it, 'Watt is your charging setup?' I then proceeded to explain a charger that runs up to 3amp max. He then said, 'Oh, that's not a problem. Not even a 10amp spike would hurt it, but dummies [I'm converting his conversation now remember], would keep it on too long, buckle the plates it gets too hot and all that.' [Squids = Figures].
WATT? I heard that!; and with that evidence where I charge my own batteries and how old is that original still looking good @ 12.4/12.5v and aging away. I see 14.2/14.4v at the dash. Look at that recovery @ the CAN saved 11.9v on the dash. I am not liking the look but look how little I ride it. Look how it was prepped in the beginning. I'm sitting on 4 years and I think BnB has the record for a 14's battery life, I may be wrong.
Anyway, I am trying to figure out how that battery is someway, somehow not up to snuff like I can get a battery up and running out of the package, or I think I'm doing the right thing and as we speak. I am staying within bounds of the charging follow-thru [I love it!]. I said, 'I'm trying to walk how that battery is not coming up and being a sitter in that crazy environment, yeah, like in the front window with the hot sun in the summer seasons cooking that bike. Oh, turn the air on and now it is in a new environmental change at how many years sitting?'
How about that battery lost it's seal, because that vapor has peppered that area, I said. I touch that battery area or the outer areas with my bare hands, I can fell that acid eat me I touch the wire harness, the kick over sensor [that is part of the hold down strap for the battery tray. I'm being pelted with that acid I said. Could that seal have popped? I didn't hear a good crack of air like a fresh sealed one.'
He then thought about sulfation hitting the plates with that seal collapsing or something? See, I'm adding those years, the age, the seal, the wet showroom with the A/C on, they leave for the night anshit. It is all about that initial charging process I stressed. We sort of concluded it is a warranty claim. Not Yuasa's fault that bike sat for years. Not my fault I fluffed the charging out the box? Nope, not according to Yuasa. Plus, it makes sense with the 10amps thrown at it, won't hurt. Not the dealer's fault this piece of shit pops all day long [out the throttle body] and is dangerous to ride if setup by the book. It's one of the reasons it sat on the floor and ape fire sold them out the door.
Now, we are back to the percentage loss times days without a charge. 1% is lost is your gauge. If 15 days go by, that says 15% down. If 2 months go by, 60% down. That is way too long to think that battery will come back. And if you do that shutdown load test/charge it back up kind of ain't gonna work if that sulfation kicks in on the plate. All it takes is one plate (2v x's 6 plates) to drop out of the loop and you have 10v on the dash, right?
And now????? YOu install a slow charger after a month sitting? And the age of the battery starts as it is wetted down, or say the seal has lost integrity, you got problems, fella. That battery may say 12v plus. But once the load test [starter motor] sends that volt read back down to 5v?
* Last updated by: Hub on 8/31/2011 @ 10:21 AM *
Tormenting the motorcycling community one post at a time
