Bike Battery Issues...

[eddyace595]

My old XJR13 is sometimes a bit sluggish to start.Takes sevral attempts before
it kicks in..I have charged the battery from time to time and when I stick my multimeter
across the terminals I get a reading of 12.8 volts or so...Seems ok ...yes ???
Dont know the age of the battery..It was on the bike 3 or 4 years ago when I bought it...So could be be even older..
Anyway I invested in one of those new fangled Automotive battery testers a month or so back
and am ashamed to say I didnt even get it out of the box until Saturday ( I HAVE BEEN BUSY O/K !!!)
I clipped it to the battery terminals and the digital display presented me with a bunch of options
and tests....The one that jumped out at me was CCA Cold cranking amps..
Anyway I selected CCA Test.I had to Tab down to the CCA value of the battery ..I think that it was 210.
The tester than asked me to start the bike...A bit of churning over and the motor kicked in and the tester
game me a value of 9. something...I checked this against the results table that came with the tester
and it was the next to bottom value..and advised me to change battery soon.I switched off and repeated
the test and the value was even less ..the chart telling me to replace battery now!!!
So can it be that you can have a standing unloaded voltage that looks ok using a meter ... but fails once a
proper load is applied????
Or am I doing something wrong and my tester is a pile of crap...mmmmm
I will have another play tomorrow...I may even read the instructions this time..

 

[Jaws]

My old XJR13 is sometimes a bit sluggish to start.Takes sevral attempts before
it kicks in..I have charged the battery from time to time and when I stick my multimeter
across the terminals I get a reading of 12.8 volts or so...Seems ok ...yes ???
Dont know the age of the battery..It was on the bike 3 or 4 years ago when I bought it...So could be be even older..
Anyway I invested in one of those new fangled Automotive battery testers a month or so back
and am ashamed to say I didnt even get it out of the box until Saturday ( I HAVE BEEN BUSY O/K !!!)
I clipped it to the battery terminals and the digital display presented me with a bunch of options
and tests....The one that jumped out at me was CCA Cold cranking amps..
Anyway I selected CCA Test.I had to Tab down to the CCA value of the battery ..I think that it was 210.
The tester than asked me to start the bike...A bit of churning over and the motor kicked in and the tester
game me a value of 9. something...I checked this against the results table that came with the tester
and it was the next to bottom value..and advised me to change battery soon.I switched off and repeated
the test and the value was even less ..the chart telling me to replace battery now!!!
So can it be that you can have a standing unloaded voltage that looks ok using a meter ... but fails once a
proper load is applied????
Or am I doing something wrong and my tester is a pile of crap...mmmmm
I will have another play tomorrow...I may even read the instructions this time..

Nope.. you did the test correctly and it did not put you wrong
Long tech explanation available by fone call ... typing is a chore for me and I have to be in the mood nowadays !!

 

[slim63]

My old XJR13 is sometimes a bit sluggish to start.Takes sevral attempts before
it kicks in..I have charged the battery from time to time and when I stick my multimeter
across the terminals I get a reading of 12.8 volts or so...Seems ok ...yes ???
Dont know the age of the battery..It was on the bike 3 or 4 years ago when I bought it...So could be be even older..
Anyway I invested in one of those new fangled Automotive battery testers a month or so back
and am ashamed to say I didnt even get it out of the box until Saturday ( I HAVE BEEN BUSY O/K !!!)
I clipped it to the battery terminals and the digital display presented me with a bunch of options
and tests....The one that jumped out at me was CCA Cold cranking amps..
Anyway I selected CCA Test.I had to Tab down to the CCA value of the battery ..I think that it was 210.
The tester than asked me to start the bike...A bit of churning over and the motor kicked in and the tester
game me a value of 9. something...I checked this against the results table that came with the tester
and it was the next to bottom value..and advised me to change battery soon.I switched off and repeated
the test and the value was even less ..the chart telling me to replace battery now!!!
So can it be that you can have a standing unloaded voltage that looks ok using a meter ... but fails once a
proper load is applied????
Or am I doing something wrong and my tester is a pile of crap...mmmmm
I will have another play tomorrow...I may even read the instructions this time..

Quick answer
A battery can show VOLTS but be low on AMPS & that is exactly what you describe
Battery is fooked mate don't baffle yourself will all the tech stuff just get a new one & be happy again

Long tech answer ..................
No I cant be arsed either, its pointless as the result will still be the same ....... fooked battery

 

[Ned52]

Would be interesting to know more about the "Automotive battery tester" as it sounds like a
handy thing to have in the bottom draw.

 

[eddyace595]

Nope.. you did the test correctly and it did not put you wrong
Long tech explanation available by fone call ... typing is a chore for me and I have to be in the mood nowadays !!

If battery voltage looks ok..but amps are down then resistance inside the battery must be higher.......V=IR.....at least i think that is what my that's what my old physics teacher would tell me...??????

 

[andyBeaker]

Quick answer
A battery can show VOLTS but be low on AMPS & that is exactly what you describe
Battery is fooked mate don't baffle yourself will all the tech stuff just get a new one & be happy again

Long tech answer ..................
No I cant be arsed either, its pointless as the result will still be the same ....... fooked battery

I like the way you slipped 'baffle' in there.

Our less discerning readers,of which there are very, very many, will not spot the link to the subject.

 

[Squag1]

If battery voltage looks ok..but amps are down then resistance inside the battery must be higher.......V=IR.....at least i think that is what my that's what my old physics teacher would tell me...??????

Don't believe it, the earth is flat!!

 

[andyBeaker]

Don't believe it, the earth is flat!!

Only if it's not connected to the chassis properly.

 

[Malone]

Don't believe it, the earth is flat!!

who lives on the other side if it’s flat?

 

[ogr1]

who lives on the other side if it’s flat?

The underlings.

 

[slim63]

Would be interesting to know more about the "Automotive battery tester" as it sounds like a
handy thing to have in the bottom draw.

All a bit pointless mate you can do the same thing as it does with an electrical tester, all you really need to know is what to set it at

 

[andyBeaker]

All a bit pointless mate you can do the same thing as it does with an electrical tester, all you really need to know is what to set it at

Which, in fairness, is a mystery to most of us.

I can just about do a continuity check, test a battery voltage and put the crocodile clips on my nipples with mine.

 

[slim63]

Which, in fairness, is a mystery to most of us.

I can just about do a continuity check, test a battery voltage and put the crocodile clips on my nipples with mine.

Set it to volts & if the volts are low charge it & test again, if its still low on volts the battery is fooked its as simple as that really & thats all an expensive charger/conditioner/tender is doing as far as I can figure

 

[andyBeaker]

Set it to volts & if the volts are low charge it & test again, if its still low on volts the battery is fooked its as simple as that really & thats all an expensive charger/conditioner/tender is doing as far as I can figure

So how do you read ampage?
As I understand it it is this, or lack of, that is usually the problem with a duff battery?

 

[DEG5Y]

If battery voltage looks ok..but amps are down then resistance inside the battery must be higher.......V=IR.....at least i think that is what my that's what my old physics teacher would tell me...??????

To read the amps then you must have a circuit, so that high resistance could actually be the resistance of the circuit.

Obviously, I don't know how your starter is wired but a trick that can help is to run a separate large cable straight back to the battery.
This then bypasses any bad joints in the frame or internal wiring and also, the bigger the cable the less resistance to current flow.

 

[Squag1]

Brought car to the tyre guy who does batteries, great character, he put this big electric heater on to the battery
It heated up no problem, therefore battery ok Crude but effective.

 

[Squag1]

https://www.google.com/search?safe=...QQ1LjEwmAEAoAEBsAEP&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp

 

[DEG5Y]

There is an ammeter that you can buy that you plug into the fuse box after removing the fuse for the circuit you are testing.
The circuit is still protected as you then put your fuse into the tester.

Here's one example;
https://www.bikerstoolbox.co.uk/acatalog/info-G77069.html

 

[DEG5Y]

Brought car to the tyre guy who does batteries, great character, he put this big electric heater on to the battery
It heated up no problem, therefore battery ok Crude but effective.

There's a tester called a drop tester, which does basically the same but has an ammeter built in but I wouldn't advise its use on a bike battery as I know of one fooked car battery exploding.
Don't know what the guy did wrong!

https://www.tooled-up.com/sealey-bt91-3-battery-drop-tester/prod/26751/