Question about battery charging

[alorio1]

News...i rode the bike tonight for no more than 10 minutes. Parked it for 2 minutes. Came back to start it. Not enough power and ticking sound, sign of flat battery. I had to jump start it and rode it home. I will measure the voltage and report back.

The tick, tick sound you hear is a sign your battery is so low on voltage the solenoid can not engage. I don't think it's a hot start issue with this symptom.

But is it possible for a battery to be fully charged, then discharged and then charged again? :bang head:

A battery can short out internally, old or new. Have it load tested !!!

 

[Constantinos]

That right there sounds more like the famous "hot start issue" going on.....the one in which your starter is giving grief, rather than the battery at fault. You may need to read up on the "hot start issue", and/or remove your starter for a clean & dust. Then tighten up it's brush plate-to-ground connections before reassembling it. Well documented somewhere on this forum.


Two separate problems plaguing you at the same time can cause a person to run in circles trying, in vain, to make sense of things.

Actually, I am not sure it is a hot start issue at all. I never had any problems with the bike starting when hot. And actually the bike sometimes has difficulty starting when sitting overnight....engine turns slowly and then tik tik tik. :confused2:

 

[Constantinos]

Measured the voltage this morning before I went to work when the bike sat overnight. 12.5v Bike started ok this morning. No issues but I drove my car to work just to be on the safe side. I will take a voltage measurement in 12 hours when I get off from work....yeah I know, I work too much! :biglaugh:

 

[95spfldmax]

You should probably have your battery load tested as suggested. Totally different problem than the static voltage measurement your doing. If it's not the problem at least you can rule it out quick & cheap.

 

[silverado6x6]

I picked up a 1983 honda CX650 some years ago that the owner gave up trying to get started every day, they even made a bigger battery tray for a bigger battery,turned out to be a combination of a dirty stator connection plug and the infamous internal starter ground. Fixed both and bike starts fine, BUT......

If you buy a new lead acid battery off the shelf and install it, start and run bike that battery will never be 100% there, has to have a couple hours trickle charge first. I found that out years ago.

It's easier to replace battery than the starter, I suggest a good name brand like the Odyssey and start over, charge it first though, don't overcharge or cook it, 2 to 5 amps for 2 to 4 hours I believe is good enough.
And yes a battery maintainer charger overnight is best, like the Battery Tender brand name, it's a smart charger, not a trickle charger which will work but the Battery Tender works better.

Btw, I have the same issue with my 85 max I bought two days ago, but it's going into winter storage today, what I said is what I would do to mine anyways.

 

[eggohead]

I would say it is a dead cell in the battery. I saw this problem a lot over the last 22 years in the military. The battery could still read the correct voltage, its the amps. If it has cells you can open to check the water level in it, you can also check the spec gravity of each cell. Also a load test will tell you if the battery is good also. I replaced my battery with a APEX, sealed battery, used 4-brush starter and rebulit my starter clutch this summer and it starts better than a new bike, well almost. Testers for the cells look like a coolant tester or a duo-check is what we used.. Good luck, crappy battery and charging has kicked my ass on a couple of bikes( 750 Virago also)