I've received my first warning

Fred W · Aug 5, 2008

I played hooky yesterday afternoon and went for a nice little ride through the hills of western NH. It was the first time in a long time when I was glad to have my mesh jacket liner in the saddlebag. The weather was cool for a change and there were some scattered clouds making it even cooler. At one point I though I might get rained on a little, so I donned the liner

Later, after getting clear of the clouds I pulled over to remove the liner and when I restarted the bike she gave me a gentle warning that I should start shopping for a new battery. The bike started just fine but when I cranked the engine over the trip odometer and clock both reset. :glare:

While riding, everything was OK, and I can see that the charging voltage is fine and dandy on my Datel voltmeter (directly off the battery) at 14.3V. This morning I checked the battery voltage and it's way low with the key on and engine off at 11.8V so it's time to go shopping before she gets really pissed and strands me somewhere.

Just thought I'd post this as the resetting clock and trip odometer are some good indicators of a battery on the way out. Kind of a built in early warning system.

Murph · Aug 5, 2008

Just interested ... and I know this is not going to be the same for everyone ... but how many months and how many miles did you get out of the battery?

Geezer · Aug 5, 2008

I got exactly 36 months out of my original battery. The bike had a little over 55k miles on it. On my way to NAFO I let the bike sit for a few days while I was visiting relatives and when I went to start it the battery was completely dead. Luckily, I was able to buy an AGM battery on Sunday afternoon in Kalamazoo, MI from Batteries Plus.

At home I always park in the garage with a Battery Tender plugged in.

wheatonFJR · Aug 5, 2008

Good post...

...btw it's no big deal to be warned by Iggy. If you haven't been warned...you haven't really posted yet. :lol:

j/k there Iggy...really.

...Waiting for the lightning bolt.

Fred W · Aug 5, 2008

Murph said:
Just interested ... and I know this is not going to be the same for everyone ... but how many months and how many miles did you get out of the battery?

That was a great question. My bike is an '05 and it is the OE battery. I have ~20k miles on her. I generally only hook up a battery tender during the winter layup as it gets enough riding to stay charged during the no-snow time.

PS - The difference between a good question and great question? A great question is one that I know the answer to.

ionbeam · Aug 5, 2008

Fred, if you do a search using the terms +push +start

you will find a way to delay the need to replace your battery. The resetting dash is a good early warning of impending amp and volt shortages.

This has been a strange weather year here in New England. I have been shutting my bike off with the fan running more frequently than normal and sometimes when I first turn the key back on the fan turns on if I've parked for only a short time. My battery would like to complain about this treatment because the fan is a major power drain just before I push the starter button. I dunno how this fan operation affects you guys with the true hot weather bikes.

radman · Aug 5, 2008

Frank went 4 years, 42,000 miles. Battery didn't die, but cranking had slowed and parasitic losses showed faster. Also Yuasa Tendered it's entire life. On removal, after fully charging, voltmeter showed 12.1.

Murph · Aug 5, 2008

Good info. My '05 has 20k miles with the original battery and, although I have not had any symptoms of a weak battery, I was starting to get paranoid ... especially since I'm about to embark on a 3k+ mile trip in 2 weeks.

JHMZ71 · Aug 5, 2008

I live in Texas where we ride year round. What's a Battery tender?

radman · Aug 5, 2008

JHMZ71 said:
I live in Texas where we ride year round. What's a Battery tender?

A device that also works between rides. Pardner.

SkooterG · Aug 5, 2008

I recently replaced my original battery. That POS only lasted 4 years 11 months and 148,000 miles. You just can't get quality **** anymore.

The thing is, I am not even sure the battery was bad. I have been experiencing some starting anomalies recently and since the original battery was so old it was the first thing I replaced. Well, Batteries+ load tested the old one and said it was good, and with the new battery I still get the starting anomalies. Maybe my starter is getting worn out.

Even though I ride almost daily, I too used a Yuasa or BatteryMinder type battery tender whenever the FJR sat for more than a day or so.

03HiYoSilver · Aug 5, 2008

JHMZ71 said:
I live in Texas where we ride year round. What's a Battery tender?

This is a trickle charger that keeps the battery up to the best condition at all times:

https://www.derbycycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/i...d=8247079.97001

Vermonta · Aug 5, 2008

Glad this topic came up. I was on a ride in June down in WV and my 05 did the same thing with the trip set and gauges flipping out when I started it. I have 30k and the original battery but now I know I'm headed for a new battery. Kinda pissed me off because I was trying to get a total milage reading for the entire trip. I use a tened during the winter mnths but thats all.

JHMZ71 · Aug 5, 2008

03HiYoSilver said:
JHMZ71 said:

I live in Texas where we ride year round. What's a Battery tender?

Click to expand...

This is a trickle charger that keeps the battery up to the best condition at all times:

https://www.derbycycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/i...d=8247079.97001

Just pulling yer leg.

Grumpy · Aug 5, 2008

I replaced the battery in '03 last year....so it went about 5 years. It was still working when I took it out, but I figured enough was enough and it'd leave me stranded somewhere for sure.

JimLor · Aug 5, 2008

My 05 is at 38 months and 33k miles and I ride all year. Battery tender"ed" since Lorie got me one this past Christmas. No problems so far, but now I have an idea of what to look for to forsee impending doom. Thanks!

05fjrBluedevil · Aug 5, 2008

05-purchased 03/05 battery-killed by me more times than i would like to admit and still working good enough to finish the year out... 35 thousand miles+

sin_loki · Aug 5, 2008

ionbeam said:
Fred, if you do a search using the terms +push +start you will find a way to delay the need to replace your battery. The resetting dash is a good early warning of impending amp and volt shortages.

is that even possible with an ae?

Bluestreek · Aug 6, 2008

My bike is 4 years this month and has almost 50000 miles. Battery is working fine even after leaving the ignition switch on over night on two different occasions.

One time I was having problems and it turned out the battery connections had loosened up. No problems since.

I've received my first warning

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