So what's the best battery?

mdisher · Jun 1, 2013

I used up the factory battery, replaced with a Westco, got 3 years out of that. Opted for the Shorai, battery, and it's NOT the ****.

I completely depleted it with my heated gear during the MD2020

Gerbings Jacket, Plus gloves. Only other things sucking power: Glenda Lights (minimal), Radar detector, GPS and iPhone charging in the tank bag.

3 hours of cold ass riding, dead battery. Fortunately, I was able to bump start it. Rode for the next 3 hours with heated gear off and it recovered. About to head out west in July, and think I don't want to do that with the Shorai.

I know there is an Odyssey battery that you can allegedly trim the fins off of to get it to fit. Anyone actually done that?

-MD

TomInPA · Jun 1, 2013

If you exceeded the capacity of your electrical system during a ride, it wasn't the battery. The Shorai sucks for sure. I installed one, and when it truely died, I replaced it with the OEM I took out and left on a battery Tender. My last trip was from CA to PA on that battery, so I guess I should have left well enough alone cause I'm still using it. The Shorai is a door stop, but it's not your problem. You depleted the battery while riding in warm weather. If anything the Shorai excels at recovering charge under these conditons.

If you depleted the electrical system while riding, the problem is likely the really crappy small wire between the regulator/rectifier on your bike and the battery. Take a look at the wiring diagram, and you will see it does not have a direct path to keep the battery charged. Fred went through this last year and really improved the charging system by bypassing all the conections between the R/R and battery.

mdisher · Jun 1, 2013

This wire situation is new to me... Is there a thread here that shows me exactly what to replace?

My understanding (and it could be flawed) is that the Gen II puts out 560 watts, the bike needs 300 to run (stock), giving me 260 to play with.

By my math:

Gerbings Gloves 30 Watts
Gerbings Liner 77 Watts
Glenda's 12Wx2 24 Watts
Zumo 665 30 Watts (that's a guess and probably high)
iPhone Charger? 30 Watts (that's a guess and probably high)

Total 191 Watts

I should have had 69 Watts of buffer at least no?

Now the last time I rode for "hours" with heated gear on, the only differences were: I had Motolights instead of Glendas, they were 35 watts each which is why I no longer have them. Simlar requirements/GPS/phone charger. And I'd cut the Motolights, but used gloves (or heated grips) with the liner, and never depleted a battery and I did this many times.

Now I've depleted the battery by leaving the GPS on, direct wired to the battery, or leaving the key on, but never 'while riding'. I have a daytel, and watch it. It's almost always hovering at 13.8 volts (currently only at 13.4 - 13.6)

Maybe my stator is going bad? Which would suck.

I'm not opposed to upgrading some factory wiring if it will help.

Patriot · Jun 1, 2013

motobatt

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GN4ZG2/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

some have found it cheaper elsewhere

TomInPA · Jun 1, 2013

I run a 90 watt Warm&Safe, 35 watt Clearwater Kristas, and still have over head for radar detector, Autocom w/ bike to bike, GPS, satillite and a few more goodies...on a Gen I bike. I use a volt meter to see when consumption is dropping charge voltage belwo 13.4 which is about the breatk even level. Gen II has more charging capacity in theory than my bike, but the wiring connection make it less capable than a gen I. Somewhere along the line this was fixed.

Here is the thread. Save yourself a lot of grief and start at the end. https://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=146331 https://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=146331

blrfjr · Jun 2, 2013

No matter what battery you buy, it is possible to get a "bad one". I also have replaced a 6 month old shorai and a 3 month old Motobat. The shorai didn't like the cold and the motobat had a bad cell in it. Since your a Midwesterner like me I would not recommend any Lithium batteries. The motobat has a good reputation but I just got a bad one. I was stranded at the SE ohio ramble and bought a lower quality battery because that's all that was available. (one you have to pour the electrolyte and charge before you can use it) It seems to be working for now.

HotRodZilla · Jun 2, 2013

Sounds like your stator let you down. I'd watch that thing.

Fred W · Jun 2, 2013

+1 to this not being a battery problem. The battery getting discharged while you ride is a charging system problem, not battery.

By my math:

Gerbings Gloves 30 Watts
Gerbings Liner 77 Watts
Glenda's 12Wx2 24 Watts
Zumo 665 30 Watts (that's a guess and probably high)
iPhone Charger? 30 Watts (that's a guess and probably high)

Total 191 Watts

The last two are definitely high estimates. You should have plenty of juice to run those devices from a good 2nd Gen alternator. It could be a weak stator, Regulator/Rectifier on the way out, or poor connections in the system. You'll need to do some troubleshooting to find out which.

But I have to ask, since you mentioned that you have a Datel voltmeter. When you were having the problem what voltage reading were you seeing on the Datel? The main point of having a panel voltmeter is so that you can adjust your electrical loads so that you won't deplete the battery charge. But it is also somewhat diagnostic of a weak charging system.

FWIW, I like Yuasa brand batteries and have had good luck with them over the years. I have a Westco that's about 3 years old in my bike now, with one of those really cheap AC Delco batteries that they were selling for $28 on Amazon sitting dry on the shelf as a backup.

mdisher · Jun 2, 2013

Fred W said:
But I have to ask, since you mentioned that you have a Datel voltmeter. When you were having the problem what voltage reading were you seeing on the Datel? The main point of having a panel voltmeter is so that you can adjust your electrical loads so that you won't deplete the battery charge. But it is also somewhat diagnostic of a weak charging system.

Well for a baseline, I have never, since new, though I didn't put the Daytel on it until 2007, have I ever seen 14volts while riding, ever. Datel is tapped into my Battery Tender lead at the battery where it connects.

On the highway with next to nothing on, (GPS/Daytel/Glenda's), I see 13.8 generally speaking.

Yesterday while out and about, the low (at idle was 13.2-13.4), while riding about the same, but it would bounce up to 13.6-13.8 in that range which I feel is a little lower than normal.

During the rally with all my **** on, It was dipping down to the 13.2 range with gear on HIGH, all the way up, backing it off to where it was pulsing it bounced around between 13.2-13.4

I've certainly paid less attention since I switched to the Glenda's and honestly haven't really ridden where I've needed electric gear much in the last two years. Last year was hot, and I just didn't ride much in the cold weather.

I do think my Shorai is fubar though, I put it on the tender and when I pulled it off it was reading 16.something then settled back down to 13.8.

During the stretch when I 'depleted it'. It was O-dark thirty, and I was more focused on the road, than the Daytel, my mistake, It may have dropped as low as 12.8... We stopped nabbed the bonus, when I got back, and I hit the button, it was in the 8.x volt range.

Bump-started it and rode w/o any accessories to bring it back. It was certainly well under 13v for an hour, we stopped for fuel and I didn't shut it off for a couple of hours because I didn't want to be 'stuck'.

This doesn't bode well for my west coast trip next month I'm afraid.

Where do these connections that I need to check/fix live? I tried to follow DCarver's thread and got confused. Are they on the left side of the bike by the ECU/Airbox?

-MD

mdisher · Jun 2, 2013

So which parts are most suspect:

Rectifier & Regulator Assy 1D7-81960-01-00 $152.93
Stator Assy 3P6-81410-00-00 $286.85

There's an 07 Stator on ebay, but I'm a tad skeptical of used electrical parts...

Or I guess what should my troubleshooting steps be?

-MD

ionbeam · Jun 2, 2013

mdisher said:
Rectifier & Regulator...$152.93

Stator...$286.85...Or I guess what should my troubleshooting steps be?

Before you use your credit card for troubleshooting you need to go to the connector right on the R/R and back probe the red and black wires in the connector with a meter that you trust to be accurate. With the engine warmed up and running at idle speed measure the voltage at the R/R connector with all accessories off and only low beam on.

At 1k to1.1k rpm you should read 14.2 to 14.5 volts. If you measure lower than this, say 13.8 - 14.1 volts charge your battery with a wall charger and try again. If the voltage remains in this lower range your battery is probably bad.

If your stator or R/R is bad you will read 12.8 volts or less, or greater than 15.0 volts.

If the voltage is good right at the R/R but low at the battery your FJR has voltage drops through the wiring and fuses between the R/R and the battery. One suspect location is right on the starter switch, the R/R 14 gauge wires go to terminal studs on the starter, then the big heavy battery cables attach to these studs and go from the starter to the battery.

someguy · Jun 2, 2013

ION: this is very helpful. Thank you

bramfrank · Jun 2, 2013

NOT MOTOBATT!!!

I bought Motobatt after reading online reviews and shootouts. I installed it and my problems persisted. I blamed the battery and they shipped me a replacement.

The problems STILL persisted and I started looking elsewhere . . . but all my testing showed the charging circuits were good and that quiescent draw was less than 0.5 milliamps, so I contacted them a second time and they shipped me another battery (my third).

Guess what? The machine would still fail to crank (with slow fuel pump) after sitting for a couple of days - I don't have a load tester, but when charged on my Optimate 3, all 3 batteries showed good and the batteries would start the bike.

My dealer suggested I needed a starter . . . I disagreed, but bought a starter from eBay for $130 (it is for sale in the classified section), but subsequent testing revealed that the starter was just fine.

So I got a private label Yuasa from Saskbattery for about $90 shipped and all my problems went away.

This took place over a 7 month period last season, so the batteries weren't all from the same batch. I could understand if one battery was bad - perhaps two, if they were from the same batch. But THREE IN A ROW?

The good news is that they supplied replacement batteries when asked (I paid the shipping), but that's cold comfort when your bike won't start after a lunch stop. I wasted my money.

STAY AWAY FROM MOTOBATT!!

snikr · Jun 2, 2013

I've had the best luck with the Yuasa YT14B-BS battery. Best Cold Cranking Amps to be had. They can be bought for $100 TO $120.

Powerman · Jun 2, 2013

I like the Yuasa. I changed my mind on Batteries plus, no more Yuasa, the Extreme they carry aint all that.

Hornet Pilot · Jun 2, 2013

I installed a Shorai battery installed in my '05 since Jan. and I love it! I have HID headlights and HID ('eyes of god') driving lights, heated grips, heated seats, radar detector, GPS, Starcom system, tire pressure monitor, etc etc etc and have NEVER had a problem. When riding with the heated grips and heated seats turned off and every thing else turned on I always see 13.9-14.0 volts on the Daytel. During the Winter when it's a bit 'chilly' I always keep the battery (installed in the bike) on the Shorai batt. tender. but when it's warmer (this time of the year) it just sits there and seems just fine for weeks with no riding. BTW, besides the normal constant drain from the bike's systems I also have a theft alarm wired directly to the battery. I guess the bottem line is that I think the Shorai is just fine and with a good charging system it will not cause you to have problems with the loads you mentioned.

RossKean · Jun 2, 2013

The battery isn't the issue when riding with all kinds of accessory gear. ANY battery will eventually puke if you are taking more out than you are putting back in. A higher capacity (amp-hr) battery will run longer in a deficit condition but won't succeed forever while a lesser battery fails.

If the battery isn't keeping up it might be toasted so it is not accepting a charge (sulfated, shorted cell etc.). As mentioned, the RR, stator or connections may be less than perfect and Mr. Beam has provided a good troubleshooting guide. It doesn't sound like the gear you are running should be enough to exceed the capacity of a healthy charging system.

These problems can be elusive; I hope you find the solution!

Slardy · Jun 2, 2013

I replaced my OEM battery at the beginning of last summer with the larger Shorai and it saved my bacon when the R/R went South when I was headed North. I was about 200 miles from home when I noticed at a gas fill-up that my Datel voltage was ~ 13.2 and not responding to revving the engine. I removed my GPS which was the only load that I could remove, and when I got home the Datel was indicating 12.0 volts.

I replaced the R/R with the SHINDENGEN MOSFET FH020AA, which was recommended on this forum and things have been normal since then.

I have not installed the BRODIE Grounding Harness that I purchased a few years ago, because when I checked the 2 most problematic connectors, I found no indication of corrosion. I did use dielectric grease when I assemble the connectors. My Datel is connected directly to the battery and is on at all times.

I just went out and fired up the FJR just to be certain that the voltages that I am quoting are correct. With the engine warm, I have 14.0 volts at idle. Again, at idle, with the heated grips at max. (40 watts) and Tourmaster Synergy 2 heated jacket at the max. setting (65 watts), the idle voltage drops to 13.5 volts. The voltage does not rise when I rev the engine, so I am getting max output from the FJR charging system at idle. When I am on the road, no extra load, my Datel normally reads 14.1 to 14.2 volts.

My 2007 now has 54800 miles on it and it is running great with a little help from a PC-V, Leo Vance mufflers, Bridgestone BT-023GTs, Corbin Canyon seat, FZ-1 OEM mirrors, a headlight modulator and, of course, my Shorai battery.

mdisher · Jun 3, 2013

OK, so this morning I'm at 13.2v on the daytel at idle, the best I saw on the commute in was 13.5-13.6, but mostly 13.5 with my V1 as my only farkle running, no Clearwater lights no nothing.

So is the consensus that my wiring to/from the RR is fubar, or should I just replace the damn thing. Knowing there's really only two peices involved I don't mind troubleshooting wtih my wallet if replacing one or both pieces is going to fix my issue rather than spending Time=(Money) trying to pinpoint it exactly.

The Shindengen RR referenced above is only $130.

The other question is I ellected not to do the wireing harness recall. I fixed my burnt up S6 spider and installed the Brodie harness. I probalby could get the harness replaced (though bike is no longer under warranty). If it's a wiring issue, will that solve it? It feels to me like this is more than wiring, but that's just my gut, I don't have any data to back that up.

I don't have a competent Yami dealer nearby so that's my dillema and why I chose to NOT have any of them do the harness.

-MD

So what's the best battery?

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