Engine turns over but no star after sitting few days

[dbarkdoll_imp]

I think that’s a good attitude to have Houtman. In this materialistic world so many people are so concerned with saving, sometimes literally, pennies on stuff just so they have a little more dough in their bank account when they croak. Guess what, can’t take it with you though. Peace of mind and enjoying THIS life are usually worth more. IMO.

 

[Obleo]

Here’s my 2 cents … Yesterday was going to be my maiden voyage after a Triple bypass on December 5th. Bike was started just before that date. Bike is stored in a heated garage, always on a battery tender ( that’s the brand) was on full float,fully charged. Battery is a yusa Ytz 14s 230 cold cranking amps . Battery about 15 months old . Went to start bike dead as door nail . Jumped it over and rode for 1 hour never shutting it off , on my return ,shut off ,then tried to start ,no soap. Had battery tested 12.8 volts . Put in new battery not the yusa that I wanted but direct replacement.No w bike is a go . Have no idea why battery died always on tha tender never stored without being on the tender. What gives $150.00 battery 15 months old .

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Not sure if your battery tenderer is a "smart battery charger". There is a difference. A classic tenderer will essentially slowly boil and bake the battery. A "smart" charger will attempt to apply current in ways that are intelligent, and not otherwise. Not sure if that is what you used.

I use a smart charger, but not all winter. My battery essentially freezes this time of the year. The charger won't help much until the thaw. A "frozen" battery won't get worse unless it was bad to begin with. A warm battery is subject to the usual redox reaction on each cell.

 

[Obleo]

Yes smart battery tender .75 amps with a power , charge, and float lights so I can read what it’s doing in real time. I just think the battery is not built very well !

 

[SportsterDoc]

Obleo, congrats on your recovery!
Did the battery not turn the starter motor or did the starter turn and fail to start after your 1 hour ride?
Under what conditions was the battery tested?
a. Out of the bike?
b. In the bike?
c. Key off?
d. Key on?
e. While pressing starter button?
f. What did you see and hear when pressing the start button? Did you hear fuel pump? Gauges do full sweep?
1. If not, all fuses check good?
2. Engine stop relay swapped with fuel cut-off relay?
3. Clutch lever pulled in?
4. Side stand up?

 

[Houtman_imp]

Many years ago I had the Battery Tender but that piece of something did not last long at all.
Since than I use the Optimate /Tecmate 4 and that is a MUCH better charger , they also have many accessories to go with their chargers to make charging/maintaining your batteries.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Yes smart battery tender .75 amps with a power , charge, and float lights so I can read what it’s doing in real time. I just think the battery is not built very well !

Obleo, my ignorance, glad to read you are on the road again.

Okay. Hmmm, the Yuasa YTZ14S is suppose to be a very good battery, made in Japan. I could say possible lemon? ... but can't say from here.

 

[the Ferret]

Batteries have warranties too. Might check and see if yours is still in warranty. If original it might only be 12 months. If aftermarket it might be 24 months.

 

[peterbaron]

Batteries have warranties too. Might check and see if yours is still in warranty. If original it might only be 12 months. If aftermarket it might be 24 months.

+1 and some only have 6-10 months to prevent from re-replacing every motorcycle season under warranty (my friend specialized in it, this is why I know:-/)

 

[SportsterDoc]

It may be a battery issue, but pending answers to post 45, it is a bit early to blame the battery.

 

[Rocky_imp]

Many years ago I had the Battery Tender but that piece of something did not last long at all.
Since than I use the Optimate /Tecmate 4 and that is a MUCH better charger , they also have many accessories to go with their chargers to make charging/maintaining your batteries.

I use an Optimate 3 now and have for the past five years.
My CB was dealer-fitted with an Optimate pigtail on the battery so it was a good excuse to move up to the better charger.
I bought the original Battery Tender when they first came out and used it for many years with apparent good success. It always worked fine for me.

 

[suhawk305]

Maybe I am missing something here with the discussion about "smart chargers" vs "tenders". Is it implied that my "Deltran Battery Tender Jr." (I have 4 of them going 24/7) are cooking my batteries?http://products.batterytender.com/Chargers/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html
Granted, on my small CB77 battery, I hookup a tender only part-time.
Then, what does "float" mean? I always assumed that during the float phase, the tender was monitoring the battery for a voltage drop rather than providing a charging current.
Or, am I over scrutinizing this subject?

Good to hear about you recovery Obleo.

 

[the Ferret]

Yea I'm not up on all the fancy theories about battery chargers, all I know is I use my Battery Tender Jr's 24/7 .... whenever I am not riding, on all my bikes, my quad, and my lawn tractor and have for at least the last 10 years or more, with extremely satisfying results.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

suhawk, you're good. Your Battery Tenders are float chargers. You're not cooking anything. No worries.

 

[rboe]

Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.

 

[peterbaron]

Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.

^ agree

 

[max]

On a closely related sideline; how many of you actually " work" your battery when in winter storage?

Just leaving the battery on the optimate is of course preferred over just leaving the battery to"sit" over winter but from the battery's point of view it still falls asleep, i think most would agree with me that a working battery is a happy battery, even with the tender connected it is a good idea to exercise your battery by switching the ignition on for 5 to 10 minutes, the pump runs and builds pressure, the ecu cycles on and the battery discharges at a rate of around 5 amperes with the h4 light on, the heat build up of the halogen is the limiting factor.

Depending on the rider's situation and preference you could even start the engine, run it for 20 seconds and let the tender top up the battery again, that way you also find out early and when the battery has actually given up, i do this about every month over winter and even take it for a short spin on a nice day.

Here is a link to some thoughtful practical points on various batteries i came across;

http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?...&chapter=1

It does not cover sitting in winter but explains a lot about different batteries, and i personally want to verify if the battery tender float voltage is appropriate for the battery ( or defective ) by checking it with a volt meter, a $20 meter will provide you with peace of mind and prevent unpleasant surprises.

Over time i have destroyed nice gel cell batteries by overcharging them, even one day is enough to permanently destroy them, i never go over 13.5 volts on a lead acid of any kind for a float charge,( if the battery is full it converts the incoming charge into heat and eats itself ) any more is pushing it for no reason i can think off except when it is critical to maintain 100% delivery capacity in case of a power outing situation in a commercial setting, but you pay for that with a shorter battery life .

Most of us have an opinion about batteries, this is mine from experience, i have also started to look at lithium but at this stage i wait for reliable reports about them but it does look promising.

Float charge means; to maintain a " float" voltage that supplies current that balances out the discharge rate of the battery.
At a set voltage the charger ( tender as in "tending" ) supplies a very small amount usually some milli-amps ( thousands of an ampere ) to offset the self discharge of a battery.

Somewhat like having a full bath ( with capacity to empty ) and maintaining the full level with a slow dripping tap to offset the evaporation of the water, the hotter it gets the more drops are needed to maintain the full level or even a toilet cystern with a float valve

If this amount gets bigger over time it indicates the end of the battery's life.

So the tender makes up for the quality of the battery thereby maintaining it's level of charge over time, low battery voltage is another way for a battery to lose faith as is low or high temperatures.

Hope this helps.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Left it alone overnight came to the garage this morning battery tested fully charged. Flip the switch and it fired right up. Also temperature today is near 30 so maybe that helped too. Anyway I count this one as a fluke for until it reappears again.

I wonder if this was a TP sensor acting up. I've had this occur on a Ford P/U and holding the throttle wide open while cranking, I was able to start the motor. I seem to remember someone else on the forum having this problem a few years back and holding the throttle full open, the engine started. TP sensor was the culprit.

 

[Obleo]

Just got back from a 2 hour ride ,not bad for February 3rd. So sportserdoc I’ll try 2 answer your questions . A. In bike and out of bike. C key off d key on . E not with starter button . F gauges did sweep , starter tried to go but not enough juice. Did hear the fuel pump. #1 all fuses good #2 don’t know. #3 clutch lever pulled in .#4 side stand up . On my Road King first battery lasted 8.5 years with the same smart battery tenders. This bike 3rd battery . .?.?.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Optimate charger here too but for long term idleness I now pull the battery. Then charge it about every two weeks. If it's cold out, I'll go longer. Heat is a much higher danger factor than cold for a battery. Batteries produce charge by chemical reaction and chemical reactions slow down as it gets colder - speed up if heated up. So as long as you don't freeze the battery solid, cold is your friend. For storage anyway.