New bike dead battery

[Caesar]

My buddy got a new '11 FZ6r that he picked up last July... he had it stored in his garage for the winter and went to start it the other day and the battery was dead. It had enough to prime but not enough to turn the starter. He has tried two different battery tenders and neither one of them will charge the battery over 6 volts. One of the battery tenders is the same one that I use on my bike.

Now he thinks the battery is bad but I think it must be something else. isn't a year really fast for a battery to go bad? Does anyone know if we are missing something that we should be checking?

 

[Nelly]

My buddy got a new '11 FZ6r that he picked up last July... he had it stored in his garage for the winter and went to start it the other day and the battery was dead. It had enough to prime but not enough to turn the starter. He has tried two different battery tenders and neither one of them will charge the battery over 6 volts. One of the battery tenders is the same one that I use on my bike.

Now he thinks the battery is bad but I think it must be something else. isn't a year really fast for a battery to go bad? Does anyone know if we are missing something that we should be checking?

Was the battery left on a tender whilst stored?
Is the bike alarmed?

Can you bump start the bike?

Nelly

 

[Caesar]

there is no alarm on the bike. the bike was not on a tender while stored and he didnt try to bump start it... now the battery is so dead that the bike doesnt even prime so he can't bump start it now.

 

[Nelly]

there is no alarm on the bike. the bike was not on a tender while stored and he didnt try to bump start it... now the battery is so dead that the bike doesnt even prime so he can't bump start it now.

It sounds like the battery needs replacing one or more of the cells is likely beyond repair.
You can bump start a bike with a flat battery. I have done it lots of times.
How many miles on the bike?
Nelly

 

[motojoe122]

The all-knowing MOTOGIRO gave me the inside scoop on this when it happened to me:

If you have jumper cables, hook them from a vehicle to the motorcycle battery...DO NOT START THE VEHICLE!!

Let it sit for about 10 minutes.....Then disconnect jumper cables.

Give it a start:thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

Sounds like there's a problem and like Joe said you can jump start it with a car but keep the car motor off. But first, if the battery has a bad cell/s you might just pull the battery, have it charged and load tested. When the specific gravity changes in the electrolyte the battery can freeze can become damaged.

 

[Caesar]

the bike has less than 3k miles on it... i guess the batt is bad im just surprised that the batt can go bad so fast... and we are atlanta which has had the warmest winter in years.

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[TownsendsFJR1300]

I bought my FZ from a friend. The original battery died the next day the picked the bike up (likely form the dealer playing with it and not re-charging/riding it). The dealership did replace the battery under warranty..


*Also, some chargers will not recognize a battery is hooked up to it if the voltage is very low and WILL NOT CHARGE. Once its at a certain voltage, the charger will kick in and charge.

As noted above, a load test, on a FULLY CHARGED battery will determine of its health...

 

[Nelly]

the bike has less than 3k miles on it... i guess the batt is bad im just surprised that the batt can go bad so fast... and we are atlanta which has had the warmest winter in years.

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If the bike has had lots of short stop start journeys the battery never reaches a decent charge.
This coupled with a long storage can be enough to harm the battery.

Nelly

 

[Motogiro]

the bike has less than 3k miles on it... i guess the batt is bad im just surprised that the batt can go bad so fast... and we are atlanta which has had the warmest winter in years.

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Yes there is some validity to the idea of a battery's age but that is more related to it life and how the plates and electrolyte have changed over time/usage.

A battery can be quickly damaged from improper treatment.
Best thing now is take the battery and have it tested. If this battery has severe defects you could risk other exposure by trying to hook it to other devices so at this point just take it to a place that can charge and load test the unit. If bad, replace it.

Please wear safety eye wear when working with batteries and have a water source for flushing if you do become exposed to electrolyte.

Also when removing the battery, undo the negative terminal first and then the positive. When re-installing, attach the positive terminal first and the negative terminal last.

 

[Dave.TX]

It's possible that just because the battery is fairly new that it still may have a defect. The bike may have something that is draining the battery too. Electricians are usually called for that problem.

For instance: years ago when I worked for Pacific Bell, they installed GPS units on all the tech's vans. We were told that the system would automatically power down after 4 hours of the van not running. Found out they stayed powered on all the time. We started getting dead batteries. First time my van had to be jumped I reached over and unplugged the power connector to the GPS tracking unit, left it that way for a month. No dead battery. Plugged it in again and the next morning... dead battery. Funny how no one mentioned my van wasn't being tracked for that month.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Not sure if there are any Cycle Gears around where you live, but they have their own brand of batteries that offers a life time guarantee for the life of your bike. Needless to say, with 80k miles on the bike, they have lost money on that deal with me. I've gone through about 3 replacements so far. Yeah, not the best battery, but I get a brand spanking new one whenever mine no longer is able to hold a charge. CG can also do a load test for you free of charge.

 

[Motogiro]

It's possible that just because the battery is fairly new that it still may have a defect. The bike may have something that is draining the battery too. Electricians are usually called for that problem.

For instance: years ago when I worked for Pacific Bell, they installed GPS units on all the tech's vans. We were told that the system would automatically power down after 4 hours of the van not running. Found out they stayed powered on all the time. We started getting dead batteries. First time my van had to be jumped I reached over and unplugged the power connector to the GPS tracking unit, left it that way for a month. No dead battery. Plugged it in again and the next morning... dead battery. Funny how no one mentioned my van wasn't being tracked for that month.

I would wonder what would draw that much current with the GPS uplink unless it was constant transmission. Wouldn't be need for constant telemetry unless you're on the move and then your engine would be moving. Maybe it was supposed to be wired to the keyed voltage source and not constant battery...?