AGM Battery

[webbcraft2150]

April '08 I pop the the big bucks ($84) for a AGM battery. Bitchin I think, no more pulling the battery to check the water. High capacity battery to. No problems. Kept a maintainer on it when it sat for more than a few days, new cables also made at time of install. My little handlebar mounted LED voltmeter rarely dropped in to yellow. Flash foward to Monday. Cruise into work, no problem, cruise on home. Stop at the gas station for a soda and some smokes. Come out, turn the key and my idiot (oil and neutral) lights glow real dim, hit the button and a muffled click is all I hear. My LED voltmeter dives to a single dim red light. Curbside troubleshooting finds nothing. Call the wife, bring my multimeter and the jumppack. 12.8volts on the meter, turn on the key and it plummets to 8,7,6 volts, not good. Jumpstart it, fires off, let it idle, it dies. Ride the 3 miles home keeping it above 3k, runs good. Charge battery overnight. 12.8volts in the AM, turn on key and it plummets again. Fearing a wiring problem, I pull the battery and hook a headlight up to it, dims out in matter of seconds. Gonna find out tomorrow if I have any warranty and hope I didn't fry my charging system.

[motoman]

That's always frustrating to find what was thought to be a good battery on volts has a shorted cell. My Interstate has been in for four years now and have had to add water once. They are $80+, so don't feel too bad. The problem I see with these charging system, and it's true with most bike charging systems including my Honda ST is that at a cruising RPM, or anything above 2500rpm, the charging rate is TOO high. I see this on my XS at 14.8V and the ST at 15.4V. Ideal in ANY twelve volt automotive type charging system is 13.8-14.2V. Seems most all bike systems I've come across are above that for whatever reason. Result of that is it will for the most part(cept for idleing/lowerrpm) be overcharging the battery a bit, which accounts for having to add water to a battery minus minimal evaporation. Guess could add more farkles, but the downside is you can easily end up pulling more amps than the system can put out........not good.

[XJOK2PLAY]

I've always been told the higher the capacity #'s are on a battery, the thinner the plates are, so the more fragile they are to breaking and shorting out a cell.

Goes against the general grain of thinking, I know... go figure.
One would think more is a good thing... but when it comes to batteries & longevity, seems bigger's not always better. Who'd a thunk it?

[fredintoon]

Battery blues

Hi Webb,
hopefully you have a warranty. Another list I'm on recently had a whole raft of "My costly (expletive deleted) AGM battery died - - - " posts.
Consensus was that they were great while they lasted but got shaken to death sooner than ordinary batteries did because their innards were more delicate.
Because of Saskatchewan's 6 month long annual deep freeze my solo bike batteries all got winterkill no matter how well they were nurtured. I bought new ones each spring and for my BSA I still do. The XS11 sidecar rig wears a big ol' car battery and that one is going into it's 5th winter.

[cywelchjr]

That's always frustrating to find what was thought to be a good battery on volts has a shorted cell. My Interstate has been in for four years now and have had to add water once. They are $80+, so don't feel too bad. The problem I see with these charging system, and it's true with most bike charging systems including my Honda ST is that at a cruising RPM, or anything above 2500rpm, the charging rate is TOO high. I see this on my XS at 14.8V and the ST at 15.4V. Ideal in ANY twelve volt automotive type charging system is 13.8-14.2V. Seems most all bike systems I've come across are above that for whatever reason. Result of that is it will for the most part(cept for idleing/lowerrpm) be overcharging the battery a bit, which accounts for having to add water to a battery minus minimal evaporation. Guess could add more farkles, but the downside is you can easily end up pulling more amps than the system can put out........not good.

Every one of my cars all run 14.5 when running which is proper since you need over .5 volts over 100% charge to actually put any charge in, and a 12v lead acid at 100% is actually 13.8 volts not 12. Now they won't stay at 100% for any amount of time in most cases, but that is the theretical full voltage. Now 15.4 is certainly too high, but 14.5 is just about right. The problem with the yamaha charging system is every time you drop below about 2500 the battery starts to discharge and THAT will kill them. Lead acid batteries (except for deep cycle batteries) are designed to stay at full charge all the time except for things like starting. If they drop below 80% charge their life starts to degrade rapidly, and most will take no more than 2 or maybe three times being run dead (and some only once) before they won't hold a charge anymore.

[81xsproject]

The problem with the yamaha charging system is every time you drop below about 2500 the battery starts to discharge and THAT will kill them.

Even with the added draw of the FI fuel pump, my bike runs in the 13's at idle with the XJ stator.

[Jerry]

Kept a maintainer on it when it sat for more than a few days,

What type of maintainer? AGM batteries should use a 'float" type charger when needed. I did not use one on mine; an AGM will keep its charge - up to 80 percent - for a year or more with no maintenance at all.

I ended up cooking my first AGM by using a trickle charger instead of a float charger, it makes a difference!

[crazy steve]

I'm personally not a fan of 'sealed' batteries of any kind, and particularly on a bike. I've had a few and have not been impressed with battery life. Three years seems to be about the best most will do, and you pay more for them to boot. And the fact that they're 'no maintainance' means you can't do any maintainance.....

I run old-fashioned non-sealed lead-acid batteries in my bikes, and have gotten 6 to 8 years out of them pretty consistantly. Yeah, they can make a mess and you do have to keep track of the water level (always use distilled water), but as long as you do this, keep them reasonably charged, and also make sure they have been properly activated, they hold up well. I'll buy them 'dry' and activate them myself, so that way I don't have any concerns about how long they've been on a shelf or if some moron just put a 'quick charge' on it before handing it to me.

'78E opriginal owner

[webbcraft2150]

Well I got hosed at Batteries Plus. True, the battery was 7 months out of warranty but I had (key word here, had), spent alot of money in that store. Little counter boy dug his heels in hard about it being out of warranty. I brought up the fact this was an unusual failure,it didn't just go dead slowly, it took a major dump virtually in an instant. "Thats just the way it is" he snips back. He had my purchase records on his computer, proving I was a "regular", 5 of my own cars/trucks plus the boat, 6 company rigs and the bevy of people I steered there way. That wasn't cutting any ice with him. "You can't expect more than a year out of a motorcyle batttery" he adds. I retort with how come I can get 3-4 out of a "regular" battery. "I guess you just been lucky". I leave, go buy a "regular" battery, install it, all is good again with my XS. I guess I just will go back to pulling and checking it every couple of months, just like the last flooded battery I got 4 years out of. I have sadly learned my lesson about AGM batteries from Batteries Plus.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Sorry to hear that happened to ya, Webbcraft.

Does your charging system check out ok, then?

One major lesson I'm learning in life fast these days... Price does not dictate quality or longevity, and we're living in a disposable society.

Sad, but true.

[XScafe]

Who made your AGM batt? I have had good luck with my DEKA AGM battery. I think they have a 5 yr warranty.

[webbcraft2150]

Battery was a "Extreme Permaseal". Charging system was up to snuff before the failure, and thankfully, after the failure. I have nifty little LED charge indicator that sticks to my handlebars, red, yellow, green LEDS indicate charge or no charge. With AGM battery it rarely went into the yellow at idle and indicated 13-14 volts at speed. Once a "regular" battery gets about a year old, I would get a flashing yellow at prolonged idle but would come up to "green" soon as you started moving. I figure since I don't live where it gets to freezing (or hardly ever) anymore, this "regular" battery should last quite a while. After reading about the AGM's in bikes, I am gonna stay away from them. I was lucky this one failed only 3 miles from the house and once I got it running, and kept it over 3k, I made it home.

[oldyam80sg]

I bought an AGM battery from Dennis Kirk and it lasted less than a year.Finally took it to an auto parts store and a cell was dead.Usually can get 4 = years out of a battery.My 99 ZRX battery is close to 10 years old and still going strong-Yuasa.

[latexeses]

I e-mailed Optima once and asked them why they don't build motorcycle batteries. They said they would have to make too many sizes. I have two bluetop deep cycle batteries that I purchaced in 1999 for my bassboat. Still haven't been able to run them out on a day on the water. The starter battery for the boat was bought in 2001. Still going strong. I have an Optima red top in my little toyota pu since 97. Still starting the truck just fine.

I wonder why they can't do the same thing for motorcycles.

Maybe they need to read this thread.

Rodger

[madmax-im]

I have a sealed battery...not AGM but I forgot which one it is...only paid $74 or it...its been in the bike little over a year with no problems...havent even tried to trickle charge it...I have had the old style conventional batteries and I will never go back...the last oldstyle type leaked battery acid down the bike frame and onto my MAC chrome exhaust staining it rather badly..it needed fluids twice a year and had to be kept on trickle charge over the winter..I have done none of that with the sealed batt.