Battery Problems

[fiero21]

Has anyone had their battery not hold a charge?

I had my Mana a little over a month and I had to return it to the shop because it would not start. A day later the shop called me and told me all that was wrong was that the battery needed to be recharged and that I might need a battery tender if I let the bike sit. I have only went one day without riding the bike. I have had 2 bikes and I let them sit the whole winter
and they start right up after sitting in a cold garage for 5 months.

I asked the mechanic to please check for a short something is draining the battery. A new battery should be able to hold a charge for at least a month right????

[Cochise]

Not quite! The immobilizer will put a drain on the battery and if your doing short runs the battery may not be getting charged, also check that the light in the helmet trunk is not staying on.

[pete roper]

I think one of the most common causes of early battery failure is if the battery is not put into service properly.

The sealed for life Yuasas used in these bikes need to be filled ad left for a couple of hours to allow the mats to absorb the acid, as short trickle charge after this doesn't hurt either. The most important thing though is not to simply add the acid, seal it and press it into service as the mats won't of absorbed the acid adequately and then the battery will a.) boil and b.) warp the plates and short internally.

There was such a problem with batteries failing on some Guzzi models that the factory put out a service bulletin for retards who couldn't read the instructions on the battery box. Problem is of course if they can't read the instructions in the box what chance of them reading a service bulletin???

Pete

[Shorts]

mmm every first accessory that should be purchased with a bike is a battery tender. I don't expect my truck batteries to be tip top shape when I let the truck sit for a month at a time. And I don't expect it from my bike either.

My current battery in my Honda was new in '06 and on a battery tender since. It gets ridden long, but it is not topped when I hook it up to the charger at the end of the day.

Battery tender = good investment

[Dragster pilota]

peteroper in da house:
The sealed for life Yuasas used in these bikes need to be filled ad left for a couple of hours to allow the mats to absorb the acid, as short trickle charge after this doesn't hurt either. The most important thing though is not to simply add the acid, seal it and press it into service as the mats won't of absorbed the acid adequately and then the battery will a.) boil and b.) warp the plates and short internally.

That is so correct!!! These new batteries need some special handling when they are first "started up", like you say after flling the acid it must sit for a while and breath before you seal it up, after that we always but it on our C-Tec charger for 2 -4 hours before installing it in the bike. One problem with the Mana is what someone pointed out the helmet compartment light, make sure it turns off, check it, check it again and then do it once more, the immobilizer should not drain the battery in a couple of days so there must be something else that draws current. I don't know how it's over in the US but here in Europe Aprilia only gives 6 months warranty on batteries....

DP says: I have all my bikes connections on the battery so I hook them up to the C-Tec without removing a screw...

[Shorts]

Good insight on the battery acid - you learn something new every day!:)

[fiero21]

Thanks guys for all of your advice I guess I will invest in a battery tender.

[mikelevitt]

I think if you only went one day without riding there is something wrong with your bike or with the battery. It is absurd to expect you to put the bike on a tender every night. A month, maybe, a week - no way, and absolutely not after one day.

A modern bike will drain more than an old one, but in the summer I would expect at least a couple weeks before problems. I say get it back to your dealer and demand they figure out what is wrong. Make sure to explain that it went dead just one day after riding it. Also check that helmet trunk light, that would kill the battery in a few hours for sure.

Where did you buy? Mine is from TTM Ducati outside of Detroit. A long drive for you, but they seem to be a pretty good shop.

Mike

[Fox Fader]

Obviously buying a better tender is not going to fix the problem.

Talk about putting the cart before the horse...

[Shorts]

Obviously buying a better tender is not going to fix the problem.

Talk about putting the cart before the horse...


Right.

We use the BT as a maintenance tool.

[fiero21]

I bought my bike here in Lansing at Full Throttle Motors. I will trailer it
to Detroit to see if they care enough to try to fix the problem instead of taking the easy way out..

[williamr]

I expect to be able to leave any of my bikes for three or four weeks without any problem and without needing a tender. Longer than that, and they need a charge. Don't leave a battery unused and uncharged for longert han 4 weeks. Otherwise they're used almost daily and I don't believe in journeys of less than about 15 miles round trip.

Apes being what they are, make sure that the charging circuit - rectifier/regulator and stator, are all working properly.

Rob

[RichardU]

Where do people leave the battery tender lead on the Mana? Inside the storage compartment, or do you route it out somehow? If so, where?

[Micah / AF1 Racing]

Leaving the tender harness inside the battery box/storage area is a bad plan. When charging you will also have the drain of the trunk light going on at the same time. My demo Mana can sit for a week or two without being run and then fire to life instantly, and I do not use a tender on it since sitting only a week or two is not really considered "sitting up" in my mind.

Check charging voltage at idle and just above idle, as long as you are exceeding 13.5V or so under light revs the charging system is fine.

Micah agrees with DP and others here, your battery was probably bad due to set up or some other non set up related failure. God knows I have seen plenty of low miles "new" batteries fail in my career, even ones I personally set up? The above statement ONLY applies in the event that you test your charging system with a multimeter and it passes muster.

[00zero]

The trunk light is not on until ignition is on, there is no drainage from it when the lid is open.
My plan was, instead of connecting the Battery Tender leads to the battery posts and have pig tail hanging somewhere, to get me male plug for the power plug and connect it to the Battery Tender leads, so I will just plug the Battery Tender right into the power plug.

BTW, the battery voltage is 12.73 V and that is three weeks after last use, unfortunately.
I think that fiero21 just got the bad battery, that happens for what ever reason, too late for that battery to reverse the putting in service procedure.

[thunderclap]

Has anyone hooked up a battery tender this way ^^^^^^^^^^^^ (as above post) ?
If so, should the center pin of the male plug be connected to the + (red) wire on the BT ?

[thunderclap]

Seriously...No one has plugged a battery tender into the power plug ????

[RichardU]

If you plugged your battery tender into the power plug, wouldn't that mean the lid to the compartment would be open and the light on the entire time?

I ran a standard SAE battery tender pigtail out the left side to connect with both the battery tender and the heated vest.

If you really want to use the plug, I'm 99% sure the center lead is positive. You could check with a multimeter.

[thunderclap]

Thanks Richard--- I'll probably do what you did--seems more versatile in the long run. The Mana is my wife's bike and I'm not too familiar with it (neither is she, yet !), but its seems that someone said the light isnt on unless the key is in ?