battery

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sammy347
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Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:21 pm

battery

Post by sammy347 »

hi i need a new battery, i bought one in halfords dublin, yuasa ytx 12 ts last year, its only charging up to about 12.4 volts the bike live outside and has not been rode much. i am going to get a new one any idea which holds charge better and has good cranking, without doing any electrical damage, thanks in advance, sammy
tony.mon
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Re: battery

Post by tony.mon »

Ah, another one of the old Halfords Dublin stock.
They are usually more than four yours old, try buying one from Belfast Halfords, they rotate their stock and so it'll be more recent.
Or check the reg rec voltage to see if it's a bike problem.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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sirch345
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Re: battery

Post by sirch345 »

I agree with Tony, worth checking the charging system on the bike with a digital multi-meter. With the engine running and lights turned off you should be getting between 13.5 and 15.5 volts showing on a multi-meter at the battery terminals. Mine shows 14.4V. Also make sure all the connections are clean and terminal bolts are done up tight for both Positive (+) and negative (-) leads.

I like others on here use a bigger amp hour battery than standard to assist with starting. I have a Yuasa YTX14-BS battery in my Firestorm (1999 model). To use that size battery you need to remove the battery box lid (it unclips) as the YTX14-BS is 15mm taller.

I also keep my bike connected up to a battery charger/monitor when the bike is not being used a lot, as I have an alarm which drains the battery somewhat over time.

Probably not related to your problem, although another thing to watch is the connection to the starter motor (where the positive (+) cable bolts on) that can corrode/rust if not kept on top of. If you do ever have to remove that cable make sure the bolt itself doesn't turn, if it does it can break the insulator inside the starter motor,

Chris.
IanB
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Re: battery

Post by IanB »

I'm also expecting to be buying a new battery, for the bike that I haven't bought yet. How about going lithium? Here's one (there are many): https://fulbat.com/product/fltx12/

I checked specifically with the Dutch importer if the battery would be ok with the Firestorm's 20th century rectifier & regulator, they promise me it will. What still puzzles me is that pretty much all manufacturers tell you to only use a special lithium battery charger - odd, because that's certainly not what Honda put on 1999 Firestorms.

Whatever, as others said, check your regulator's output first - if it's not producing a high enough voltage, a lithium battery won't charge - you won't notice - until you press the start button, nothing happens. At this point, the lithium battery gets all the blame.

Ian
Ian
All of the gear, no idea...
tony.mon
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Re: battery

Post by tony.mon »

Lithium's work fine, I used one for several years on a storm with high comp pistons, then swapped it over to my SP2 where it carried on another couple of years.
Just don't use a regular battery conditioner, it has to be one designed for lithium's.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
IanB
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Re: battery

Post by IanB »

What I did read was that the more expensive lithium's have a charging protection circuit board built in, which controls voltage being supplied to the battery. It will protect from overvoltage, but won't make up for undervoltage.

Cheaper ones don't have the protection circuit, and may fail sooner.

Lithium batteries seem to consist of 4 X 3.3V cells, so they give 13.2 volts, and need a bit more than that to charge. A weak regulator may well keep a lead acid battery happy, but fail to charge a lithium. Hence the multimeter check.

There's also worries that small loads drain the battery - alarm systems etc, and that wrecks a battery. True - but a battery with a protection circuit shuts power off to prevent this.

Moral of the story - don't buy the cheapest lithium you can find.
Ian
All of the gear, no idea...
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sammy347
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Re: battery

Post by sammy347 »

thanks guys, i will check what charge the bike is putting out first, like the idea of the higher battery, because its higher does it interfere with the seat going down, and is the with and depth the same, ta
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sammy347
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Re: battery

Post by sammy347 »

by the way is halfords dublin noted for old stock, is there a sale date on battries
tony.mon
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Re: battery

Post by tony.mon »

Apologies for teasing you, as far as I am aware all Halfords stock is the same.
The 14 battery doesn't foul the seat at all, but the plastic lid for the battery will need to be cut off, as it won't hinge closed.
But as lithium's are now becoming cheaper if it was me I'd go down that route.

But then again I like to make my bikes lighter, on its own a lighter battery won't make a noticeable difference.

It's one of the cheapest weight saving gains you can get, much cheaper than saving the same amount of weight replacing standard parts with carbon or Titanium, or fitting a Ti full system.

And it's probably called a cell-by date on batteries.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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sirch345
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Re: battery

Post by sirch345 »

sammy347 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:13 am thanks guys, i will check what charge the bike is putting out first, like the idea of the higher battery, because its higher does it interfere with the seat going down, and is the with and depth the same, ta
The YTX14 being 15mm taller doesn't touch the seat. Some members on here even say the YTX16 will fit, although I believe that is an additional 16mm taller than the YTX14!
I would suggest you double check the battery sizes yourself if you do go for the bigger battery. In answer to your question, yes the YTX14-BS width and depth are the same as the original battery, it's only taller.

Chris.

**EDIT**
I have removed the information I posted regarding removing the battery box lid etc as it was wrong :oops:
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