Battery question

[ebock112]

Ok i have an xj1100 when i bought the battery i got it back in september and i didn't start riding it until recently. i was riding it about two weeks ago and in pretty heavy traffic and the bike just dies out on me. and i go to start it back up and the battery was jucied. i got it home by push starting it charge the battery for twelve hours everything was fine again. the other day i was riding it the same thing happened. i have a aftermarket regulator which is better then stock and my charging system is fine i replaced/ checked everything on it. so i was digging a little deeper today and found out i am suppose to have a 12v 20 amp battery but i have a 12v 14 amp battery in it. i moded all of the electrics so im only running headlight taillight turn signals and to run the bike. is it possible that the battery is overcharging because the alternator on these bikes puts out alot of amps and thats why its draining the battery or do you guys think i have a short somewhere and should start poking around with a mm cause it only seems like this happens when i take on longer distances and stuck in traffic

[nate]

First thing i would try would be taking a wire wheel/brush to the battery cable ends.Bike left me sit 2yrs ago.Battery cables looked clean but was something on the ground cable.

[ebock112]

yeah i replaced all of the battery cables and i have it grounded through the engine block is it possible if it isn't grounded properly that it would take two and a half weeks to drain out

[DGXSER]

You seem pretty savy, but I'll ask anyway. Did you fully charge the battery before you started using it?

[BigRed]

What's your idle set at? If it's too low, you may not get enough charge from your alternator to power your lights. You should check your voltage at idle with the engine hot to make sure you're putting out more than 12V. I don't know what the standard measurement should be, but if you're not getting over 12V, then you're draining your battery.

The amperage of your battery should only matter when you're starting the bike. A 14A battery won't overcharge if it's hooked up to a 20A alternator. Your voltage regulator dumps the extra amperage.

It could also be that your battery is faulty even though it's new... it could have been bad off the shelf, or it could have frozen over the winter. Getting it load tested would be a good idea. Have you checked the electrolyte level?

Good luck!

[Jerry]

One item you mentioned...stuck in traffic. The XS / XJ systems are drawing on battery power anytime the engine is running at less than about 2,800 RPM. Above that you are charging the battery and supplying all the electricity needed for lights, horn, and ignition. Below that you are discharging the battery. If you have an under-rated battery, 14 amp instead of 20, you battery will go dead sooner than if you had a battery with the correct rating.

Best way to check the battery is to take it in to a battery shop and check it under load. Batteries can show voltage but be sulphated to the point where the load capacity is severly diminished, but the voltages still check OK. It is unlikely that the battery is overcharging due to a bad regulator; one way to check is to see if the battery keeps losing fluid. Overcharging will result in a hot battery that boils the liquid out. If you do not have to constantly add fluid is is likely the charging system is OK.

My guess is that you have a marginal battery that can't handle prolonged loads when the bike is running at less than 2,800 RPM. Particularly on an XJ, with its LCD display, the current load at idle is higher than an XS. It is for that reason that the XJ went to a bush-type alternator, which puts out more current than the brushless XS design. The XJ has a higher demand for electrical power, and has a higher-output alternator as a result. However, like the XS, you are discharging the battery when you run under about 2,800 RPM, just faster

[ebock112]

yes i fully charged the battery when i bought it i stored it in my house over the winter on a battery tender. when the bike is idling it is putting out 14.5 v. could it be possible it the regulator casing wasn't properly grounded that it could be doing this. cause when you say the regulator dumps the extra amps is that how it dumps it through the ground. like i said it is an aftermarket regulator that seems to work better then stock cause right when i turn it on the lights are super bright. while on my xj550 when it is idling and sitting for a while the lights will get dimmer brighter dimmer brighter etc. i'll take the battery to get it load tested cause i brought it to the place i got it from yesterday and they did a check on it and said it was fine but that was after i charged it for 15 hours. and the level on it is fine

[cywelchjr]

14.5 at idle seems high for these bikes actually. What is your idle set to, and if you hold it at about 3000 rpm what is the voltage? These regulators don't control the current/amps, they control the voltage, and as such will not harm the battery even if too small unless they are not working properly, and unless it stays at about 14.5 to 14.7 volts it will likely cook any battery given long enough. I know most of these bikes will slowly decrease in voltage as they idle, but geezer on here sells an aftermarket unit of his own design that is supposed to get full voltage at about 1400 rpm rather than the 2800 or so needed by the stock alternator. That said, with the voltage reported, you either have a short or a bad battery if the alternator is not going too high above idle.

[XJOK2PLAY]

14.5 is kinda normal... at least on my XJ. It'll charge more than that immediately after first cranking, then it settles down. I installed a voltmeter in my faring, so I can monitor mine all the time now.

At idle, it drops to around 12.5 V. Add brake and turn lights at idle... it'll drop below 12 v.

XJ factory idle speed says 1100 rpm. But, I tweaked mine up to around 1400. That way the signals still flash w/o me having to twist the throttle when I stop. (I only really like to do that when I'm moving....LOL)

Cruising on the highway around 4000 rpm, it charges steady at 14.2 V.

If you overcharge, you'll usually know it because it will puke the acid out the overflow hose from the battery.

My bets are... connection problem somewhere, something's staying on and draining it, or you might see improvement by going w/ the larger AH battery...
OR.... XSive ideling in stop & go traffic w/ too low idle speed... w/ too many accessories working.

HTH's.

[cywelchjr]

14.5 is kinda normal... at least on my XJ. It'll charge more than that immediately after first cranking, then it settles down. I installed a voltmeter in my faring, so I can monitor mine all the time now.

At idle, it drops to around 12.5 V. Add brake and turn lights at idle... it'll drop below 12 v.

XJ factory idle speed says 1100 rpm. But, I tweaked mine up to around 1400. That way the signals still flash w/o me having to twist the throttle when I stop. (I only really like to do that when I'm moving....LOL)

Cruising on the highway around 4000 rpm, it charges steady at 14.2 V.

That was my point, the OP stated that it was putting out 14.5 at idle, which seems high to me, but normal for normal operating speeds. My concern is that if it's really getting 14.5 at idle, and the idle is reasonable (IE: not idling at 2500 or something like that) then I would be worried about the voltage at higher RPM's. Now, if it's a Geezer regulator, and the idle is around 1400 that part might be just fine, but my money would be on something drawing more than it should, or the voltages are not as described. And frankly I would convert at least the brake lights to LED's, it makes such a large difference in the electrical, and let me add 4 more lights on the back and STILL have a lot less draw, even with the brake lights on. Now I just need to get the right LED bulbs for the turn signals.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey, Cy...
Sorry about that... I went back just now & re-read that part... missed the part about "at idle..."! Wow... that is high....
my bad...

[ebock112]

yeah its an aftermarket regulator kind of like geezers, voltage stays constant at 14.5 v even when i rev the engine