Battery acid

[KNKMaxx]

I bought a stock replacement yusa battery about 2 years ago. The other day bike was turning over slow and died. Hooked up battery tender like 20 minutes started fine. Did this Shit a couple times over . Turns out no acid in the battery at all. Just wondering if this has ever happened to anyone else. And no I never checked the acid level in those 2 years.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Perfectly normal. These things require frequent maintenance under the best of circumstances. A lead acid battery requires water (not acid) to be added occasionally.
And if you take real good care of them they still go tits up in two years or less it seems.

Considering how hard these are to access on this bike your best bet is to replace it with a sealed AGM type battery like the odyssey PC680.
I've been running the same ones for 4 years now with no issues.

If you think you may have some other electrical problem don't waste your time trying to troubleshoot it with the bad battery still in place. Test results will not mean anything.

 

[DMAN999]

^ I agree, the OEM batteries, even when kept full, only last 2-3 years.
Check out these SLA/AGM batteries:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showpost.php?p=305864&postcount=146
I've had mine for over 6 years now and it is still going strong.
IMO, both of these batteries are as good as the PC680 at about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I agree there are probably batteries equal to the Odyssey. I just have never had one. Got the Odyssey first time and so have never had to buy another one. Will check those others out next time if it ever comes up.

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Make sure to use distilled water when topping it off. Same thing happened to me after battery was 4 years old....dry as a bone, and I know better being a mechanic for a living! They are a pain in the butt to access for maintenance, so going to a gel or glass mat style makes better sense.

 

[sdt354]

Yep, the lead/acid battery has gone the route of the kick start and points magneto. They need a lot more maintenance, and are messy. Get an AGM and ditch the overflow tube. You'll have more starting power and capacity with almost any sealed unit.
Steve

 

[jfeagins]

I've had the OEM sized Yuasa batteries go over 5 years before. I'm getting even better luck with the oversized acid type battery mod in place. But I check the water level at least twice per year, and top off accordingly.

+1 on using only distilled water to top one off.

 

[sdt354]

I've had the OEM sized Yuasa batteries go over 5 years before. I'm getting even better luck with the oversized acid type battery mod in place. But I check the water level at least twice per year, and top off accordingly.

+1 on using only distilled water to top one off.

Anyone else go 5 years on a lead acid? In anything? I must have thrown mine
away much to early!

 

[DMAN999]

Anyone else go 5 years on a lead acid? In anything? I must have thrown mine
away much to early!

I wish, I got 2.5 years out of one and 3 years out of another in my Max before I bought the SLA/AGM.
As I've said before I will Never buy another wet-cell battery for my Vmax or anything else.

 

[jfeagins]

Anyone else go 5 years on a lead acid? In anything? I must have thrown mine
away much too early!

If yours shot craps, I'd say you weren't throwing it away early. Mine didn't. Perhaps the trick is keeping a sharp eye on the levels. Once a single cell gets down to below the tops of it's plates, the party is over, just a matter of how soon. I check mine regularly, and tend to keep a trickle charger on it.

I've had many (aka many) lead acid batteries in my automobiles go at least 5 years. They are made for it. Don't know about now, but not too far back, a 50 month battery warrantee was common, and some batteries were sold with up to 84 month warrantees.

Maybe the colder avg temps up North shorten battery life for you guys? :confused2:

 

[sdt354]

I think you may be right. AGM batteries do better sitting through the off season
than the lead acids. I never trickle the AGM, but start my bike at least once every two weeks in winter. And if there's a decent day I'll ride and charge it up.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I think you may be right. AGM batteries do better sitting through the off season
than the lead acids. I never trickle the AGM, but start my bike at least once every two weeks in winter. And if there's a decent day I'll ride and charge it up.

My several years old AGM PC 680 sat "untrickled" on the shelf in a hot ass Texas garage for over a year and was still primo when I asked for it to fire up a new 13:1 compression 1539cc motor!

It was still holding about 12.9 volts if I remember correctly.

I'm sold!!

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Speaking of lead acids, here's a curious thing.

My wifes '04 Nissan Z, and later an '08 Infinity FX35, both had 100% completely conventional lead acid "pop top" batteries requiring full maintenance.

I found that out the hard way, they were not hard to get to but are mounted under a cover such that you can't see them and don't think about them.

I had thought until then everyone was using AGM's or at least the "maintenace proof" lead acid type similiar to what GM had been using since the 80's ....boy was I wrong.

 

[KNKMaxx]

Thanks for the feedback guys, bought some acid put on the tender couple days ago. Gonna put back in tomorrow see what happens. I just wanna be able to start it during the winter months . Defintly gunna try an agm maintnsnce free one in the future.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

What's gonna happen is your still gonna have dead or dying battery, acid is never to be added to a battery except at beginning of life.

Your acid didn't evaporate or convert to gas. The water evaporated or converted to gas.

Add water.

Still gonna be dead or dying though if as you said the thing was bone dry.

 

[KNKMaxx]

Update:Acid seems to have worked great.Put it on the tender for 2 days amonth ago put back in the bike and been starting great. Been cold as hell here in nortwest Indiana lately and still no problems.Never put it back on tender either.Starts right up. That's all I was hoping for the winter months. I've actually riden it quite abit and everything seems great.Defintly gunna go with maintence free next summer cause as stated total bitch to change battery or deal with it.:clapping: