Shorai Battery - not good in cold

[gumba]

Last Sunday morning I got 49.31 mpg. Speed was 70-80 mph, saw 21F in places. and with a 12 mph head wind for first half. Had the beautiful cold start and several restarts. My last 6 tank fills all have been within .30 mpg. That $69 Motobatt has been the best tune-up I have ever had. My drive-ability has been superb. Talked to a filling station owner-operator friend about this. He said that he had seen several drive-ability issues on late model cars that they had traced back to a sub-par battery.

 

[wheatonFJR]

So...is the Shorai Battery NOT GOOD in the cold weather like the title of this thread states?

Or is it good?

We've been through some of the deepest part of the winter...so there should be some good indicators out there already. :assassin:

 

[Rider_FJR]

I have the 18AMP and there was NOT a time where the bike did not start.

THe lowest temps was low 20's.

With the 12AMP, I had issues with starting.

So...is the Shorai Battery NOT GOOD in the cold weather like the title of this thread states?

Or is it good?

We've been through some of the deepest part of the winter...so there should be some good indicators out there already. :assassin:

 

[ionbeam]

Last Sunday morning I got 49.31 mpg...My last 6 tank fills all have been within .30 mpg. That $69 Motobatt has been the best tune-up I have ever had. My drive-ability has been superb. Talked to a filling station owner-operator friend about this. He said that he had seen several drive-ability issues on late model cars that they had traced back to a sub-par battery.

Holy ****, really glad to read that a new battery raised your gas mileage, made gas consumption stabilize to a 2-3 tenths a mpg and resolved your drive-ability issues. I just checked, it's not April 1 yet. I'm pretty sure that if you were to take the fall air out of your tires and replace it with winter air your handling will seriously improve too.

 

[gumba]

HOLY ****! Yes. I'm not pulling these numbers out of my anal orifice. Thought long and hard before that post. Went through that 07 ECU disaster. I'm pretty sensitive to a Gen2 ECU that is in a bad place. My theory is that on a cold start, a sub-par battery is not meeting a threshold voltage required by the ECU. I think the system will correct later if you crack the throttle. But, who wants to go through that ****.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Last Sunday morning I got 49.31 mpg...My last 6 tank fills all have been within .30 mpg. That $69 Motobatt has been the best tune-up I have ever had. My drive-ability has been superb. Talked to a filling station owner-operator friend about this. He said that he had seen several drive-ability issues on late model cars that they had traced back to a sub-par battery.

Holy ****, really glad to read that a new battery raised your gas mileage, made gas consumption stabilize to a 2-3 tenths a mpg and resolved your drive-ability issues. I just checked, it's not April 1 yet. I'm pretty sure that if you were to take the fall air out of your tires and replace it with winter air your handling will seriously improve too.

:lol: That's funny Alan.

Yeah, I'd like to see the logic/troubleshooting diagram that led to those statements. Not saying it didn't happen...I am just by nature a curious/skeptical engineer...and love to see seeing logic/troubleshooting diagrams. (PROOF)

So...Can the title of this thread be revised...or is the Shorai STILL "NOT GOOD" in the cold?

 

[beemerdons]

Last Sunday morning I got 49.31 mpg...My last 6 tank fills all have been within .30 mpg. That $69 Motobatt has been the best tune-up I have ever had. My drive-ability has been superb. Talked to a filling station owner-operator friend about this. He said that he had seen several drive-ability issues on late model cars that they had traced back to a sub-par battery.

Holy ****, really glad to read that a new battery raised your gas mileage, made gas consumption stabilize to a 2-3 tenths a mpg and resolved your drive-ability issues. I just checked, it's not April 1 yet. I'm pretty sure that if you were to take the fall air out of your tires and replace it with winter air your handling will seriously improve too.

:lol: That's funny Alan.

Yeah, I'd like to see the logic/troubleshooting diagram that led to those statements. Not saying it didn't happen...I am just by nature a curious/skeptical engineer...and love to see seeing logic/troubleshooting diagrams. (PROOF)

So...Can the title of this thread be revised...or is the Shorai STILL "NOT GOOD" in the cold?

So Alan and Mark, was there any confirming positive feedback on ***** enlargement in this analysis? Inquiring Minds Want To Know! jes' sayin' and nuff' said! Might be helpful for you non-Irish!!!

 

[ionbeam]

I'm pretty sensitive to a Gen2 ECU that is in a bad place. My theory is that on a cold start, a sub-par battery is not meeting a threshold voltage required by the ECU. I think the system will correct later if you crack the throttle. But, who wants to go through that ****.

The ECU is a low voltage device typically running between 3.3 and 5 VDC and isn't sensitive to low battery voltage. The ECU is susceptible to electrical noise such as would be caused by loose battery connections. The meter assembly where the mileage information is stored is sensitive to low voltage but has nothing to do with engine operation. The coils will fire hot enough to start a cold engine down to 8.5-9.0 volts. The ECU doesn't run slower or start to make mistakes because of a weak battery (which smilie to insert here?) The engine sensors are driven from a 5 VDC reference voltage outputted from the ECU.

If you try to start the engine <30° the Shorai voltage *may* drop low enough to cause the meter assembly to reset the clock and trip odometers. There is a minimum speed the engine must spin in order to start and that won't be met if the voltage drops low enough to reset the meter assembly. The internal self-heating of the Shorai will allow the chemical reaction that produces current to increase with the heat. On the next try the engine may or may not be spun hard enough to start, but the meter assembly probably won't reset this time. On each subsequent try the Shorai will produce more and more CCA letting the engine spin faster and the coils to fire stronger. The ECU will not correct or reset later because it does not need resetting. The meter assembly will work normally but you will have to go through the work of resetting the clock and you will lose the odometers elapsed mileage.

 

[gumba]

Mid-winter 010 I cold started, went to the coffee shop (10 mi), had a cup (10 min). Came out and restarted and that SOB ran just like my 07 did when the ECU was in a funk. This was on new 09. And it continued to run that way for the 25 mi. ride home. Would not come out of it. Scared the **** out of me. The next day it ran fine, but I was careful not to do any cold restarts. Now fast forward to this winter (OEM battery) each and every cold start has been getting more and more precarious. On a cold start, I would get a hesitation and then it would hit. It would last until I cranked on it hard and then it would clear up. (I don't warm up in the garage. I ride off at a moderate pace.) Now fast forward one more time; 1500 mi. back, I put a Motobatt in and that **** has all cleared up. I get a more consistent fast idle, it lasts longer and no hesitation. It wasn't dirty or loose conections. It wasn't TBS or dirty injecters. I don' have any faults showing. It was a battery that would crank but!!!!! Oh! and by the way my mpg has improved. I had 55.6k on that OEM battery.

 

[Phugedaboudet]

my 07 did that twice and not on a particularly cold morning. It started and ran on what seemed like three cylinders. Sounded like @ss and would not rev-sounding frighteningly like "there's a broken rod somewhere"-rattly sounding. Scared the crap out of me.

after a minute of near panic I shut it off with the kill switch, turned the key to off, waited a moment and restarted. Came up just fine. Just needed a "reboot".

Happened again one morning a while later, just killed it immediately and restarted. Haven't seen that again in years. Had all the recalls done since then though, so who knows what the problem was. Having grown up with crappy, third-hand, beater used cars all my life, I almost *expect* problems still. When things run perfectly, i worry I'm now the target of a major karmic realignment...

what I still get, is when the engine is warm, and the parking lot is hot (high 80's and up) and the bike hasn't been sitting for more than an hour, it requires a little throttle to start, and stumbles a bit for a second when it catches. Does that often thruout the summer. Even after the whole "raise the idle setting" recall thing.

Mid-winter 010 I cold started, went to the coffee shop (10 mi), had a cup (10 min). Came out and restarted and that SOB ran just like my 07 did when the ECU was in a funk. This was on new 09. And it continued to run that way for the 25 mi. ride home. Would not come out of it. Scared the **** out of me. The next day it ran fine, but I was careful not to do any cold restarts. Now fast forward to this winter (OEM battery) each and every cold start has been getting more and more precarious. On a cold start, I would get a hesitation and then it would hit. It would last until I cranked on it hard and then it would clear up. (I don't warm up in the garage. I ride off at a moderate pace.) Now fast forward one more time; 1500 mi. back, I put a Motobatt in and that **** has all cleared up. I get a more consistent fast idle, it lasts longer and no hesitation. It wasn't dirty or loose conections. It wasn't TBS or dirty injecters. I don' have any faults showing. It was a battery that would crank but!!!!! Oh! and by the way my mpg has improved. I had 55.6k on that OEM battery.

 

[SkooterG]

what I still get, is when the engine is warm, and the parking lot is hot (high 80's and up) and the bike hasn't been sitting for more than an hour, it requires a little throttle to start, and stumbles a bit for a second when it catches. Does that often thruout the summer. Even after the whole "raise the idle setting" recall thing.

Since we have gone completely off-topic.....

That's because you have a 'special' Kali FJR with the evaporative control emissions ****. It's a well documented issue with Kali FJRs here on the forum. Yank that stuff out to cure it.

 

[Zorlac]

HOLY ****! Yes. I'm not pulling these numbers out of my anal orifice.

Whoa pal, you've got to pay me royalties to mention bung holes in this thread buddy!!!

 

[FJRBluesman]

I am with SkooterG, I went with a traditional battery two months ago. However I had looked long and hard at the Shorai battery, but all that I read here make me so glad that I stayed with the tried and true FJR battery standard!

Gunny. No regrets, cranking well thank you.

 

[BentAero]

I put a 14ah Shorai in last August. After a 3300 mile trip, it was still acting iffy, so the Shorai folks upgraded it to an 18ah.

I had one of those "wake the battery up" incidents back in early December, where it cranks slow, then progressively gets better until it started. Though it seems 'weird', it started and ran fine.

Fast forward to today. Battery/bike has been untouched for more than 6 weeks in a sort-of on purpose test. No warm up, no nothing, just hit the starter button and it cranked almost full speed for about two seconds and started and ran just fine.

Since it was running, I couldn't just shut it off... "Honey I need to be sure the battery is charged up, I'll be back in a few hours."

 

[Graham Downunder]

Well my 2005 fjr and my 2005 Vstrom 650 are on their original batteries I think when they need replacing I will go with original type battery particularly as they are cheep on line from part dealer at around $110.

 

[bikemiser]

If the fuel injectors do not get enough volts, they will not fire.

Jim

 

[BikerGeek99]

The weather this morning was in the low 40's so I decided to ride the FJR to work. It has been sitting since before Thanksgiving (yeah yeah yeah ... gimme a break) but on the battery tender.

Unplugged 'er from the tender, key on, gauges cycle, hit the starter and .. slow crank, no start, gauges reset.

DAMN it all.

Turned on the FF50's for a few minutes while I aired up the tires and, eventually, it started.

I am officially off the Shorai bandwagon. I just ordered a Westco from Bike Effects.

 

[HotRodZilla]

The weather this morning was in the low 40's so I decided to ride the FJR to work. It has been sitting since before Thanksgiving (yeah yeah yeah ... gimme a break) but on the battery tender.

Unplugged 'er from the tender, key on, gauges cycle, hit the starter and .. slow crank, no start, gauges reset.

DAMN it all.

Turned on the FF50's for a few minutes while I aired up the tires and, eventually, it started.

I am officially off the Shorai bandwagon. I just ordered a Westco from Bike Effects.

Why would it run low if it was on the Tender? I thought the Tender would keep it at least slightly warm. I've been on the fence about this battery for a while now, because I know that eventually my OEM battery is gonna die. With all the issues, real and suspected, I think I may just spend less money and get a more traditional battery...At least until this new technology gets more sorted out.

 

[FJR Flyer]

I installed the 'improved' chemistry battery a few weeks back. Weather around here hasn't gotten below the high 20s. Garage is usually 5 or so degrees warmer. Not much of a test, but I will report that the new battery has started the bike on the first try each time. The real test is when (if?) it drops down into the teens. Given the overall global warming forecasts, lately, it may be a while.

 

[Rider_FJR]

Get the 18AMP and you wont have any issues.

The weather this morning was in the low 40's so I decided to ride the FJR to work. It has been sitting since before Thanksgiving (yeah yeah yeah ... gimme a break) but on the battery tender.

Unplugged 'er from the tender, key on, gauges cycle, hit the starter and .. slow crank, no start, gauges reset.

DAMN it all.

Turned on the FF50's for a few minutes while I aired up the tires and, eventually, it started.

I am officially off the Shorai bandwagon. I just ordered a Westco from Bike Effects.

Why would it run low if it was on the Tender? I thought the Tender would keep it at least slightly warm. I've been on the fence about this battery for a while now, because I know that eventually my OEM battery is gonna die. With all the issues, real and suspected, I think I may just spend less money and get a more traditional battery...At least until this new technology gets more sorted out.