R.I.P. - GT14B-4

[radman]

This particular battery, by sealed you mean it is shipped with the acid already in it? [possible dumb question]Just put it in the bike and hit the button?

Yes. Like the original, it's sealed, no acid to add, no way to check specific gravity or need to add water. Has specific charging requirements, however, the old car charger won't get it. You need a charger designed for the AGM battery, with a high (14.4) volt charge rate, and a float charge for final.

AGM: The Absorbed Glass Matt construction allows the electrolyte to be suspended in close proximity with the plate s active material. In theory, this enhances both the discharge and recharge efficiency. Actually, the AGM batteries are a variant of Sealed VRLA batteries. Popular usage high performance engine starting, power sports, deep cycle, solar and storage battery.Typical absorption voltage range 14.4 to 15.0 volts, typical float voltage range 13.2 to 13.8 volts.

I use the Yuasa 1200901 charger, my 05 battery is as old as yours, if not older (early 05), has 29000 miles, and the battery is perfect. I am religous about plugging in the charger when the bike sits, as well as having it charging over winter.

 

[jestal]

This particular battery, by sealed you mean it is shipped with the acid already in it? [possible dumb question]Just put it in the bike and hit the button?

Yes. Like the original, it's sealed, no acid to add, no way to check specific gravity or need to add water. Has specific charging requirements, however, the old car charger won't get it. You need a charger designed for the AGM battery, with a high (14.4) volt charge rate, and a float charge for final.

AGM: The Absorbed Glass Matt construction allows the electrolyte to be suspended in close proximity with the plate s active material. In theory, this enhances both the discharge and recharge efficiency. Actually, the AGM batteries are a variant of Sealed VRLA batteries. Popular usage high performance engine starting, power sports, deep cycle, solar and storage battery.Typical absorption voltage range 14.4 to 15.0 volts, typical float voltage range 13.2 to 13.8 volts.

I use the Yuasa 1200901 charger,

Geez.....Rad.....I feel sort of funny.....I use that exact same charger. Have three of them attached to various batteries here and there around my house. Just had my bud drop another one off at my house the other night so as to set up my wife's girlfriend's car for storage for her while she is in the hospital. Nice chargers and decent price.

I have always heard that about the AGM batteries but I have charged several different AGM batteries with normal battery chargers and they seem to charge fine.... Just luck or the particular charger I was using was high enough voltage or...??? Is it that "some" conventional chargers might not charge AGM batteries so the story is to not use them?

 

[FJRottie]

When charging a dead battery, you need a charger where the maximum current in amps is less than 20% of the Ah rating.

The rating of the FJR stock battery is 12.0 Ah. The maximum amps of your charger should be 2.4 for the FJR if the battery is dead. More than that can fry it. 1.5 amps works well for a dead FJR battery.

For storage of the FJR battery you need ~ 13.8 volts (float voltage) from the tender for good storage.

Most tenders have published float rates of 13.2 to 13.6, depending on the model. Those work.

 

[BudoshinFJR]

Yamaha batteries are really ****! I replaced the battery on my 05 FJR last June and it's now dead, had to replace the battery on my 04 Warrior in 18 months. I keep a Battery Tender on both year round. The thing that pisses me off is the Battery Tender green light is on as if the battery is fully charged, you get geared up for a ride or to go to work and the battery doesn't have enough *** to start the engine. I had both batteries load tested and they were toast even though the Battery Tender showed they were fully charged. Just ordered a Westco from Sportbikeeffects hope this cures my battery problems. Rant over!

 

[SkooterG]

Yamaha batteries are really ****! I replaced the battery on my 05 FJR last June and it's now dead, had to replace the battery on my 04 Warrior in 18 months. I keep a Battery Tender on both year round. The thing that pisses me off is the Battery Tender green light is on as if the battery is fully charged, you get geared up for a ride or to go to work and the battery doesn't have enough *** to start the engine. I had both batteries load tested and they were toast even though the Battery Tender showed they were fully charged. Just ordered a Westco from Sportbikeeffects hope this cures my battery problems. Rant over!

Perhaps your battery tender is toast?

I still have my original battery in my 04. 3 years 8 months and 95,000 miles old. Still good. And I keep mine on a battery tender also. (Yuasa or BatteryMinder).

 

[snikr]

The battery in my 04 died this spring as well. I wanted to get it running as the weather here in Vermont FINALLY came around. It was in the 70's and sunny all weekend. If I'd had more time I would have ordered a Westco battery if I'd known mine old one was JUNK. Next time for sure (if I still have my 04 that is. Love the color of the 07's).

Tom

 

[BudoshinFJR]

Could be a bad battery tender but I have 2 and they both showed the battery to be fully charged. The load test showed both batteries to be fully charged but both failed under load. I don't know how to check the battery tender but was wondering if it is possible for a faulty battery tender to discharge or drain the battery. Any thoughts?

 

[Toecutter]

I use the Yuasa 1200901 charger, my 05 battery is as old as yours, if not older (early 05), has 29000 miles, and the battery is perfect. I am religious about plugging in the charger when the bike sits, as well as having it charging over winter.

I ordered one of these and received it yesterday. What a sweet little unit! It already has an SAE connector in-line, and will hook up to either the battery clamp pigtail or a permanently mounted & fused battery lead, both supplied! Since I already have one of those installed on the bike for the tankbag power, it was plug & play!

I'll probably bolt the other leads onto the Cruiser battery, and get a 1.5A version so anything left at home while I'm away on those 48 hour shifts, and/or not driven while I'm home, will be on a maintenance charger.

Thanks, yet again, Rad!

 

[dbvolfan]

Wish I had used a battery tender this past winter and I might have got a little more mileage out of my FJR battery....course, it wasnt easy for it to keep a charge when it sat outside all day at work and it was 5 degrees.

I noticed that my other motorcycle battery has a 2nd wind now that I regularly keep it on the charger...the lights dont dim when I brake and it has more umph when I start it up.

I also put one on my car because I am now lucky if I put 50 miles a month on my car...thinking about either selling it. I put just over 2k miles on it LY and that was a family vacation. This year, I dont think I have more than 250 miles on it, and those came from trips around the neighborhood, ect just to run it for a while.

 

[snikr]

Could be a bad battery tender but I have 2 and they both showed the battery to be fully charged. The load test showed both batteries to be fully charged but both failed under load. I don't know how to check the battery tender but was wondering if it is possible for a faulty battery tender to discharge or drain the battery. Any thoughts?

I was wondering the same thing as I think that's what killed my battery. Any way to test a charger to see if it's doing what it should be doing?

Tom

 

[JerseyEd]

My bike was in storage this year(no heat). But I did start it and ride many times. One day the battery was dead after riding two days before. I did leave the autocom on and that may have drained the battery. After charging on battery tenter for a day, then days,I then used low amp car charger,nothing. I pickedup an aftermarket at my dealer and was asking how that can be possible not to hold a charge. He told me it isn't the charging proscess, the gen inside freezes separating plates or connectors. The tempperature had dropped down to around 13 the night before it died. I was tempted to cut the mounting plate and put a bigger non-sealed battery in. If I'm on the ground that long that I have to worry about all the acid leaking out,I do not think I will be driving home anyway.

 

[teerex51]

<snip>I still have my original battery in my 04. 3 years 8 months and 95,000 miles old. Still good. And I keep mine on a battery tender also. (Yuasa or BatteryMinder).

4 years and one month old OEM battery B) . Piece of crap my rear end (Battery tender in regular use since day 1).

Stef

PS: Having just bragged about it, it'll obviously be dead as a dodo tomorrow morning :huh:

 

[JerseyEd]

<snip>I still have my original battery in my 04. 3 years 8 months and 95,000 miles old. Still good. And I keep mine on a battery tender also. (Yuasa or BatteryMinder).

4 years and one month old OEM battery B) . Piece of crap my rear end (Battery tender in regular use since day 1).

Stef

PS: Having just bragged about it, it'll obviously be dead as a dodo tomorrow morning :huh:

 

[JerseyEd]

I agree that a battery can and should last a very long time. It will be limited to its life of recycles, what ever that battery holds. What I wanted to show is the OEM may have a freezing proplem. Maybe the case is to small for the gel to expand within the housing.The battery is now totally useless. I have a 72 tiger in the shed, I have not started it in one year, the battery is 25 years old. I know if I charge that battery today and put gas in it ,it will start and be charged up for ??? days.

 

[teerex51]

... What I wanted to show is the OEM may have a freezing proplem. Maybe the case is to small for the gel to expand within the housing...

Ed,

You're onto something there. My garage is heated and that battery's never slept out at temps below 40F. Oh, and I run no heavy-duty lights or heaters.

You could say my battery's had a good life so far... B)

Stef

 

[Rogue]

This thread has lasted longer than some batterys!

 

[SkooterG]

I agree that a battery can and should last a very long time. It will be limited to its life of recycles, what ever that battery holds. What I wanted to show is the OEM may have a freezing proplem. Maybe the case is to small for the gel to expand within the housing.The battery is now totally useless. I have a 72 tiger in the shed, I have not started it in one year, the battery is 25 years old. I know if I charge that battery today and put gas in it ,it will start and be charged up for ??? days.

All batteries CAN have freezing problems. I doubt the FJR battery is any more prone to problems as yours is the first case I have heard of it.

I am pretty sure that one of the major factors that can lead to freezing is a not fully charged, or discharged battery. Which, from your above post, sounds like was the case. So perhaps it was more operator error vs. equipment?

Regardless, not all batteries are created equal. Some will last a long time, and some will fail pre-maturely despite the best of care.

 

[Shuey]

Anyone using or had experience with the Ballistic Lithium batteries? I looked for other threads . . . didn't turn any up yet.

Shuey

 

[ionbeam]

Anyone using or had experience with the Ballistic Lithium batteries? I looked for other threads . . . didn't turn any up yet...

I haven't used a Ballistic battery so I have no empirical knowledge but I won't let that stop me from having an opinion

But, I have done some homework. The internal cell connections in the Ballistic battery inhibit it from being a daily driver battery. If you want to start a race bike, off road bike or ATV a Ballistic would get the job done. Regardless of chemistry the cell structure instead of plate structure will create issues, especially with CCA delivery.

 

[SkooterG]

Zombie alert!