So what's the best battery?

[Hornet Pilot]

He said he discharged it completely by leaving a load on it for a week!

 

[ionbeam]

...Opted for the Shorai, battery, and it's NOT the shit...I completely depleted it with my heated gear during the MD2020Gerbings Jacket, Plus gloves....

Shorai's web site is clear that a completely discharged battery (below 12.88 volts) will be FUBARed. If a Shorai battery goes below 12.88 volts the warranty will be VOIDED. In the LXF battery PDF it states that the battery should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO DISCHARGE BELOW 13.0 volts. So, there appears to be some evidence that the battery may not be completely healthy

 

[mdisher]

There were some discussions going on during the winter about the Shorai's bad habits in the cold. Plus this thread shows a basically new Shorai was screwing up, although the OP did say he discharged it fully by leaving a drain on it overnight.

He said he discharged it completely by leaving a load on it for a week!

...Opted for the Shorai, battery, and it's NOT the shit...I completely depleted it with my heated gear during the MD2020Gerbings Jacket, Plus gloves....

Shorai's web site is clear that a completely discharged battery (below 12.88 volts) will be FUBARed. If a Shorai battery goes below 12.88 volts the warranty will be VOIDED. In the LXF battery PDF it states that the battery should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO DISCHARGE BELOW 13.0 volts. So, there appears to be some evidence that the battery may not be completely healthy

All true. My GPS is wired to the battery so that it stays ON in rally mode. I failed to removed it from the mount. It was ~5 days before I noticed. Though a few hours on the battery tender seems to have revived it, but maybe not.

I certainly took it below 12.88 volts with my heated gear though, that is for certain.

I never realized they were that 'fragile'. Shit like that happens, people leave their bikes on, leave their lights on, if that's all it takes to kill/kill it, that's just one more reason to avoid over-paying for a battery IMHO.

 

[Slardy]

Shorai's web site is clear that a completely discharged battery (below 12.88 volts) will be FUBARed. If a Shorai battery goes below 12.88 volts the warranty will be VOIDED. In the LXF battery PDF it states that the battery should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO DISCHARGE BELOW 13.0 volts. So, there appears to be some evidence that the battery may not be completely healthy

Wow! As I stated in an earlier post on this thread, I rode my FJR home last fall after the R/R failed. The voltage on the Datel was down to ~12.0 volts when I got home. I attributed my ability to get home on the strong performance of the Shorai.

Slardy

 

[ionbeam]

Wow! As I stated in an earlier post on this thread, I rode my FJR home last fall after the R/R failed. The voltage on the Datel was down to ~12.0 volts when I got home. I attributed my ability to get home on the strong performance of the Shorai.

When my POS Electroshit stator quit I rode home with my Datel showing 10.1 volts with a Westco battery. At that voltage I was beginning to wonder what the drop-out voltage was for the coils. Anyhoo, the Shorai was helping to keep the voltage from dropping any worse. Batteries are strange animals, where 12.7 volts at rest for a PbSO4 battery is 100% charged and at 11.6 volts it's 10% charged (these numbers will vary slightly). It's easy to forget that a battery is actually a chemical reaction where electricity is a byproduct along with oxygen and hydrogen gas. The charge state of a battery is most accurately measured by checking the specific gravity of the electrolyte which is the real indicator of the state of charge. The chemistry of the LiFePO4 battery is different but it is the same in as much that it's a chemical reaction too where the chemicals may be fully reacted while the battery is still showing >12 volts.

 

[mdisher]

OK, Got my goodies from Jack today. The RR that he sells is a direct replacement, but we knew that. Sadly though it comes with a 3 foot harness, or rather the parts to make a 3 foot harness. I also ordered a spare harness because I can see myself dicking this up (putting the connector together) and I wanted spare bits. Sadly it too is 3 feet long. Well you aint getting from the stock RR location to the battery on the FJR with a 3 foot anything.

So after trading emails he's building me a 6 foot harness. My specs are: Circuit breaker 12 inches from the RR so it will be easy to get to/replace on the side of the bike. I'm gonna run it out the left along where the ECU is above the Air filter, fish it up between the airbox and the seat pan, under the tank and over up to the battery. I ran a wire and that's the length I'll need.

Not having the CB up by the battery does two things for me. One the wire will be much easier to fish, and I won't have to try and stuff the CB up there. I much rather like the fact that somebody who does this all the time is putting the harness together. I know some of you have the tools, I don't for quality 'crimped' connections.

I'll post up when I get it (probably Monday now if he ships it in the AM as promised.

Looking forward to putting this behind me

 

[LAF]

OK, Got my goodies from Jack today. The RR that he sells is a direct replacement, but we knew that. Sadly though it comes with a 3 foot harness, or rather the parts to make a 3 foot harness. I also ordered a spare harness because I can see myself dicking this up (putting the connector together) and I wanted spare bits. Sadly it too is 3 feet long. Well you aint getting from the stock RR location to the battery on the FJR with a 3 foot anything.
So after trading emails he's building me a 6 foot harness. My specs are: Circuit breaker 12 inches from the RR so it will be easy to get to/replace on the side of the bike. I'm gonna run it out the left along where the ECU is above the Air filter, fish it up between the airbox and the seat pan, under the tank and over up to the battery. I ran a wire and that's the length I'll need.

Not having the CB up by the battery does two things for me. One the wire will be much easier to fish, and I won't have to try and stuff the CB up there. I much rather like the fact that somebody who does this all the time is putting the harness together. I know some of you have the tools, I don't for quality 'crimped' connections.

I'll post up when I get it (probably Monday now if he ships it in the AM as promised.

Looking forward to putting this behind me

For grins and giggles did you just plug the RR in to see if you saw any differance?

 

[mdisher]

For grins and giggles did you just plug the RR in to see if you saw any differance?

I did not because tests showed I had good voltage from the one I have. But I will test it, and if it performs better will use it.

-MD

 

[JasonB]

You seem in good hands with advice on the stator and R/R so I will stay out of that discussion.

However there is a common fix for that old Fluke MM of yours. Fluke meters commonly suffer from faded LCD displays.

Remove the screws from the back case and open the meter up. There is a strip of bare terminals on the circuit board that connect to the back of the LDC. Using a pencil eraser, rub (or erase) the buildup off of the terminals. Reassemble and all is fixed. About a 5min job.

 

[mdisher]

You seem in good hands with advice on the stator and R/R so I will stay out of that discussion.
However there is a common fix for that old Fluke MM of yours. Fluke meters commonly suffer from faded LCD displays.

Remove the screws from the back case and open the meter up. There is a strip of bare terminals on the circuit board that connect to the back of the LDC. Using a pencil eraser, rub (or erase) the buildup off of the terminals. Reassemble and all is fixed. About a 5min job.

Thanks, I will give that a go. Allthough I just replaced it

 

[LAF]

OK, Got my goodies from Jack today. The RR that he sells is a direct replacement, but we knew that. Sadly though it comes with a 3 foot harness, or rather the parts to make a 3 foot harness. I also ordered a spare harness because I can see myself dicking this up (putting the connector together) and I wanted spare bits. Sadly it too is 3 feet long. Well you aint getting from the stock RR location to the battery on the FJR with a 3 foot anything.
So after trading emails he's building me a 6 foot harness. My specs are: Circuit breaker 12 inches from the RR so it will be easy to get to/replace on the side of the bike. I'm gonna run it out the left along where the ECU is above the Air filter, fish it up between the airbox and the seat pan, under the tank and over up to the battery. I ran a wire and that's the length I'll need.

Not having the CB up by the battery does two things for me. One the wire will be much easier to fish, and I won't have to try and stuff the CB up there. I much rather like the fact that somebody who does this all the time is putting the harness together. I know some of you have the tools, I don't for quality 'crimped' connections.

I'll post up when I get it (probably Monday now if he ships it in the AM as promised.

Looking forward to putting this behind me

Well I also talked to Jack and have to say he is one great guy. He is doing everything he can to get both of us what we want. I had to admonish him to charge me for my extra wire and such. He wants us to be happy and have a product that will work for most of us. I am very fussy with wiring so I am going 9' of wire. I asked for the breaker to be 18" or so so it can be tucked up high into the Tupperware to protect it. I have no idea how I will run it but I want it clear so it does not interfere with any regular maintenance. I learned when I wired the bike the first time you can eat up some wire in a hurry. Going around the motor instead of over it will eat 3 feet of wire it's self.

I can say Jack is one great guy and am anxious to proof out, or not, this mod for low charging voltages. Between the both of us we should be able to show if this is something that others will find of interest and want on their FJR. Like I said if you start a new thread on install I will add what I can and we may get some useful information in one place on the same product.

Again Jack is one super vendor in customer service and if his product helps we will have a great resource for low charging voltages.

 

[mdisher]

Totally agree LAF.

If i didn't already have a wire bundle down the right side that this is going to go into, I would have gone around too.

 

[mdisher]

OK, so reporting back. Very happy camper at the moment.

My situation is fixed with:

YABPH (Yet Another ByPass Harness).

Plus a new non-Shorai battery. Though I think the Shorai I have is still good.

I now have 14.0-14.1 at idle with 4 bars.

13.7~8 with most farkles on, actually all lights including my big ass Soltek wannabee's.

With the Gerbings on HIGH, I think I'll be fine at highway speeds with all of that on, but at idle, well I need to chop the lights, or cut back on the heat.

Let's call this a huge success.

I did use the NEW RR prior to doing the harness it was .1v higher than the factory one. Probably no real difference.

So if anyone needs a Stock RR, I have one, If anyone needs a good Stator off an 07, I have one of those too. Plan to keep them, but if someone needs one short notice, they are here.

Jack's harness was perfect. Actually at 6' *maybe* 3 inches too long but better than than 3 inches too short. I went up the side through the tool tray and up the right side straight to the battery with my other connections.

You'll need every bit of 9 feet to go around through the nose if that's the way you want to go.

Thanks for all the help (Fred W, Ion, bwv, and others). Find me at the next get together and remind me I owe you a frosty beverage.

-MD

 

[wheatonFJR]

Always like a happy ending...

 

[dcarver]

I just now see this thread.

..and I'm happy to report that my bypass is still working GREAT more than 1 year and 30k miles later.

JamesK did the same mod and I believe he's still charging strong too.

..and yes, I cleaned and lubed every connector on the entire bike and it made little difference; only the bypass provided the cure.

Congrats mdisher and welcome to the club.

...perhaps we should start a 'ByPass' club, complete with numbers and colors, and a logo and....?

(NOT!)

 

[mdisher]

The YANBPC (Yet Another Bypass Club)

- Ignition Switch Bypass

- Brodie Ground Bypass

- Charging Bypass

What's next?

Frickin FJR is making all those BMW's I ride with look attractive from a maintenance standpoint, at least electrically.

 

[FJR Flyer]

Okay, I'm trying to play catch up. Read this thread, and the links to the other thread, and the links in that thread. Still need to watch dcarvers troubleshooting videos. Then digest it all.

Not to hijack, but I'm dealing with a similar issue. Looking to start the diagnostics. I've got a Shorai and the Clearwater CVS. CVS shows solid green, sometimes flashing, on my morning commutes (i.e., good). On the ride home, with Motolights (50W) and high beams added, it shows no higher than amber, sometimes dropping into red at idle in traffic. And everyday, the CVS light goes out for a period, on the ride home. Never on the morning ride, only on the ride home. Motolights seem to be the key factor.

Picked up a datel knockoff and temp wired it thru the tender lead. I'm seeing 13.1V with the key on, and at idle. On the ride into work, it maxed out at 13.5V. On the ride home (with Motolights) it maxed out at about 13.1/13.2V and dropped down to 12.9V or so idling in traffic. At one point it started jumping all over, 12.7 then 13.5 then 14.0 for a second. This was also when the CVS went out. Have to check the readings with the multimeter.

And, stupid question, where the hell is the R/R? FSM doesn't have it in the back in the electrical components section. At least, I didn't see it.

 

[mdisher]

The RR is under the seat, in front of the shock. If you have the factory Hard/Soft Rear shock thingy it's right behind that above the swing arm.

It's held on with 2 10mm nuts in the middle of it, it's a hassle, I have a Penske shock so my slider was removed. Drop dead easy if you take the rear wheel off though, right behind the small mud flap.

Your voltages sound about like mine. I think the Shorai complicates the values as clearly it's charging characteristics are different.

bottom line, test your Stator output voltages (24v AC at idle across any 2 of the 3 wires) while connected and running.

Also check it's resistance .1-.2 ohms.

Rule it out.

Then check voltages while running at the +/- side of the RR and compare to what's at the battery. If significantly less and the RR is good, contact Jack and get a harness. Install and be happy.

Edit: P.S. to check these connections you'll need to 'back-probe' the connectors. Paperclips worked well for this. Don't let them touch and let the smoke out though.

-MD

 

[ionbeam]

You absolutely do need to use a known accurate meter to check what is really going on. Anything below 13.0 with a Shorai is alarming.

Your Gen II R/R is on the lower back of the engine down by the swing arm pivot. The R/R is under an EZ Bake Oven® metal cover that you will have to take off.

Edit to note that 'Dish posted while I was typing making most of what I typed obsolete.

 

[mdisher]

Ion, My RR was under a 'cover' but didn't have a cover under it.

If that makes sense.