Phaedrus
New Member
Hi,
I read a lot of the threads here, but seldom write. I'd been a happy owner of two NC750x for the past 5 years and never had a problem. I'm very happy with the bike. Currently I have a small concern.
I had to change the battery last week as it started to have problems cranking the starter. It never left me stranded, but it was a close call. In any event I charged the battery with one of those "intelligent chargers, an Optima 4. Tried again after an overnight charge and it worked well for a week or so, until the problem resurfaced. This time I tested the unit with a Solar BA7 battery tester, which I understand works by measuring the conductance of the battery and compares it to standard based on the type of unit you input. The original battery (YTZ12S) has a capacity of 210 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). After being charged it indicated 170 CCA. So, I decided it was not good enough and purchased a new one. Just for good measure I used dielectric grease in the contact to avoid problems or corrosion.
The new battery (BTZ12S) has similar capacity (215CCA) and after charging it overnight and let it rest for an hour, it read 330CCA. So I installed it and so far no problems. But the BA7 tester also test the charging system and it indicated that it was over charging. And here is my doubt/question. The voltage with the switch on, engine off is ~12.7-12.9 after a day without use. During cranking the voltage drops to 10.1-10.3 and then it remain within 14.1 to 14.5 ALL the time. It never drops below that even after a couple hours of riding, regardless of rpm. My theory is that voltage level is ok during the initial period of charge, but after a while it should drop to ~13 v. This leads me to believe that the battery was "cooked" prematurely as I had this motorbike for only 20 months brand new. That's way too short for a battery life. I'd a VStrom 650 for 6 years and sold it with the original one. One clarification. I don't use the bike much, only 12,000km in those 20 months. And unfortunately I can not keep a charger connected 100% of the time as the bike is garaged in a public parking. I do connect the charger every now and then and when I have not ridden the girl for over a month. So, I guess that's one reason for the low service life of the battery. But the issue of the voltage bothers me as the problem may resurface somewhere down the line.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
I read a lot of the threads here, but seldom write. I'd been a happy owner of two NC750x for the past 5 years and never had a problem. I'm very happy with the bike. Currently I have a small concern.
I had to change the battery last week as it started to have problems cranking the starter. It never left me stranded, but it was a close call. In any event I charged the battery with one of those "intelligent chargers, an Optima 4. Tried again after an overnight charge and it worked well for a week or so, until the problem resurfaced. This time I tested the unit with a Solar BA7 battery tester, which I understand works by measuring the conductance of the battery and compares it to standard based on the type of unit you input. The original battery (YTZ12S) has a capacity of 210 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). After being charged it indicated 170 CCA. So, I decided it was not good enough and purchased a new one. Just for good measure I used dielectric grease in the contact to avoid problems or corrosion.
The new battery (BTZ12S) has similar capacity (215CCA) and after charging it overnight and let it rest for an hour, it read 330CCA. So I installed it and so far no problems. But the BA7 tester also test the charging system and it indicated that it was over charging. And here is my doubt/question. The voltage with the switch on, engine off is ~12.7-12.9 after a day without use. During cranking the voltage drops to 10.1-10.3 and then it remain within 14.1 to 14.5 ALL the time. It never drops below that even after a couple hours of riding, regardless of rpm. My theory is that voltage level is ok during the initial period of charge, but after a while it should drop to ~13 v. This leads me to believe that the battery was "cooked" prematurely as I had this motorbike for only 20 months brand new. That's way too short for a battery life. I'd a VStrom 650 for 6 years and sold it with the original one. One clarification. I don't use the bike much, only 12,000km in those 20 months. And unfortunately I can not keep a charger connected 100% of the time as the bike is garaged in a public parking. I do connect the charger every now and then and when I have not ridden the girl for over a month. So, I guess that's one reason for the low service life of the battery. But the issue of the voltage bothers me as the problem may resurface somewhere down the line.
Any thoughts? Thanks.