Wife's DCT will not turn over...baffled and concerned.

[silverhound]

I've not had the problem you have had, however on the other forums I'm on, when everything checks out, the wise sages always tell the poster to have the battery load tested. 99% of the time it's the battery even though it looks like it is holding a charge. glad it was something simple!

See that's just it...I did have it load tested at my local Advance Auto store right off the bat but they told me it tested fine. It seems this was the perfect storm of over confidence and bad info. I used their test results as the basis for the battery not being the problem. Again though I will assume the blame for listening to the chuckleheads that work there.

 

[drdubb]

I've been there. I've had sudden battery failure and swore the battery was good. I dismantled the electrical system of my old nighthawk looking for the problem that ended up being the battery.

 

[670cc]

There have been reports of sudden battery failure on some NC700 units. Seems your wife was the latest victim. There are past threads in this subject, probably locatable by search. Anyway, I'm glad she's back on the road, and it's a good thing it happened at home and not out and about.

Also, another happy MoTow story. It's the best deal out there.

 

[ST13Fred]

Until a battery is actually load tested, all other measurements are meaningless, I guess.

I have an Argus Battery Bug installed on top of my battery that has what they call Crank Check technology, for load checking,
that gives a percentage from 100% to zero, each time it is cranked. When the number gets to 10%, an icon comes up on the
display and an audible alarm begins. $45.

http://wingstuff.com/system/attachments/1334/original/BB-SBM12-PS.PDF?1326401217

 

[hojo]

Not understanding this battery short thing, and I know you tested the bike with another battery. What do you think would have happened if you hooked up a car battery to the bike (car NOT turned on) to provide more juice for a jump start?

 

[Fuzzy]

Bottom line good news that it was just the battery.

 

[silverhound]

Not understanding this battery short thing, and I know you tested the bike with another battery. What do you think would have happened if you hooked up a car battery to the bike (car NOT turned on) to provide more juice for a jump start?

It would probably have either been ugly or nothing would have happened. My understanding is that in some cases (like mine) when a battery has an internal short while under load (i.e. trying to start the bike), increasing the juice through the battery will not change that. I did try to jump the battery with the extra battery and they did the same thing at the shop and both times it didn't change the symptoms. I never tried to only use my extra battery to start the bike normally, only to connect directly to the starter which didn't work either. This leads me to believe that my extra battery is hosed as well. The only reason I assumed it was still good was that I pulled it out of my old FJR after six years of trouble free service because "I felt" it was probably reaching its end of life and didn't want to end up stranded somewhere. It did sit all winter in my garage without a charge and I threw a charger on it only to perform the test on the NCX. Perhaps it was already closer to death than I thought or maybe developed a bad cell over winter but like the NCX battery it took and held a charge.

The "ugly" could have been that if I used a car battery to try and jump start through a battery with an internal short, I believe conceivably the battery could explode. Unless I was in dire circumstances with no other choices I would never try to start any of my motorcycles with a car battery. I know others who have done it with no ill effects but I also know of quite a few (from other forums) that have totally hosed their electrical systems, blown main fuses etc. by using a car battery. It's usually just too many cranking amps for a bike IMO.

Bottom line good news that it was just the battery.

That is indeed the best news!

 

[kjang]

glad it was a simple fix. Seems like honda had a bad batch of batteries.

 

[lootzyan]

Stick with a your gut feeling for a while. Be alert. It could be a poor connectivity of high current contacts of starter solenoid. It might be a oxidation of contacts' surface after prolonged inactivity. Two bad batteries? Very suspicious....

 

[kharli]

Anyone know if the half price Chinese copy batteries are as good as the Japanese original one ?

 

[Deleted member 1183]

Anyone know if the half price Chinese copy batteries are as good as the Japanese original one ?

The only other batteries I have used apart from Yuasa are Motobatt. I had one in my KTM SM just before I sold it. Seemed to have plenty of juice, and seemed to hold charge well. That bike was a real battery eater and previously I had rarely gotten more than 2 years out of a Yuasa on it.

My Tech tells me that they "don't make batteries like they used to". Something to do with the quality of the lead, or so he says. My Wife's 07 Rav only had its battery replaced a few months ago from new. That was good value. However the best of all for me are the Gates batteries in my old Mountain Bike lamp pack. They are still holding a charge after 25 years. They don't last as long as they used to but they still are serviceable.

 

[DirtFlier]

1300 miles per year is almost nothing. Do you keep it on a good charger/maintainer all the time? If my bike isn't being ridden, it's on the charger.

 

[kharli]

My battery is still good after 3 1/2 years and 41000 miles ..I thought it was failing when I had a flat battery after a couple of weeks non use but now I think salt spray caused a slow short in my power outlet as I cant reproduce the failure and after using my other bike for three weeks the NC started instantly

 

[silverhound]

1300 miles per year is almost nothing. Do you keep it on a good charger/maintainer all the time? If my bike isn't being ridden, it's on the charger.

I do most of the time. Battery Tender through the winter and if I know it will be sitting for any length of time greater than a week. Have never had a battery die so quickly and suddenly before on any of my bikes. Battery on my old FJR lasted 6+ years. I think there might be a correlation though between how often one rides vs. life of battery with "more riding" = "longer battery life". Just a theory though.

 

[showkey]

Q

Anyone know if the half price Chinese copy batteries are as good as the Japanese original one ?

Quality is all over the charts. Look at the weight ? ( assuming they tell the truth on the actual weight) If the no name battery is 1/2 the weight is likely to be low on capacity and also likely to have suspect durability ?

Stick with a your gut feeling for a while. Be alert. It could be a poor connectivity of high current contacts of starter solenoid. It might be a oxidation of contacts' surface after prolonged inactivity. Two bad batteries? Very suspicious....

Coincidence Vs suspicious .........history tells us to suspect the battery as there has been dozens of battery issues and no starter issues. Battery connection loose or dirty of course are more common than the actual battery failure.

The "ugly" could have been that if I used a car battery to try and jump start through a battery with an internal short, I believe conceivably the battery could explode. Unless I was in dire circumstances with no other choices I would never try to start any of my motorcycles with a car battery. I know others who have done it with no ill effects but I also know of quite a few (from other forums) that have totally hosed their electrical systems, blown main fuses etc. by using a car battery. It's usually just too many cranking amps for a bike IMO.

That is indeed the best news!

We rehash checking the oil on a regular schedule..........battery jumping as been fun in the past........we had several 100 posts.

There are several choices in battery jumping or work arounds and or tests:

Actually measuring the voltage at the battery with a DVOM during the cracking process would have confirmed the failed battery ( voltage would have gone from 12.6 to 6 or less volts)

many of us have the lithium jump packs, ( they have their own safety precautions) but they work great with all vehicles. When done correctly with all the precautions. A perfect lithium battery pack will still yield a "click" no crank if the connections are not good. Same as with any jump setup.

Removing the suspect battery and use jump cables to sub in the other battery, ( large battery has no more risks than the small battery)

Then there is always the standard jumping the battery with cables with all the proper sequence and precautions. The risks are polarity errors, direct shorts and poor results most likely due to poor connections . ( Explosions.very remote yes ....and yes caused by polarity issues, over charging gassing and sparks,

Don't like any of those choices........purchase your own battery, charging and starting system tester. two connection input the data and push a button.


"Solar" and other testers are available on Amazon for $20 to $150 depending on features and vendor.

Again not fool proof as connection quality and limits of the tester and the operator come into play as OP had a suspect battery test ?

Example........this is my go to "around the shop" battery. It had a sudden unknown recent failure. ( jumped an ATV and click) On the initial test it shows 12.6 to 12.8 volts. During the actual test the tester shuts off......due to low voltage. Actual voltage drops to less than 3.0 volts during the test. The tester errors out. A manual test with a volt meter shows extremely low voltage with the slightest load. The 'around the shop battery" GEL battery from a wheel chair is over 20 years old.



A test light load drops the voltage to 9.88 v

 

[silverhound]

Epilogue - Rode my wife 2 up on my FJR to the dealer today to pick up the bike. It had been quite some time when she last rode on the back of my bike and it was a nice ride but we were both happy for her to get back on her own bike. NCX is all fixed and I think the dealer was pretty fair all in all. Other than paying full retail for the new Yuasa battery they didn't ding me too badly. They did offer me an alternate replacement battery at about half the cost of the OEM replacement and I know there's been a lot of discussion about the quality of Yuasa batteries but other than this one which only lasted 2 years I've always had good luck with them so I decided to spring for the extra $$.

Lessons learned and hopefully there will be no repeat performance anytime soon. At least now we can be more confident of avoiding a battery issue on our Maine trip in a couple weeks. Balance in the universe has now been restored.

 

[kharli]

I found when jump starting from another `poor ` car battery ( I had to `borrow` a electric fence battery and bodge some domestic wiring for jump lead...as was in rural sw Ireland with a ferry to catch and over three hundred miles to get there and 7hrs..5 after charging battery ...was a fast ride !)..it started but ran in safe mode with the clocks all over the place ..wasn't until I removed the battery and charged it for a couple hours did the bike start normally again ...I think the car battery had the oooomph but not sufficient voltage for the bikes cpu to run properly ?
With a cheep voltmeter (2 quid ) my battery shows at rest 12,6v which I think is ok for a near 4 yr old battery. and starts instantly.
I am putting the flat battery down to atrocious salt spray causing voltage leakages in my power outlets (direct connection to battery one for sat nav one for heated vest and gloves) as I cant replicate the flat even after leaving the bike for three weeks. It could also be I had all heated gear on on the way down so maybe the battery wasn't at its best to leave outside in an Irish winter near the sea for a near month..to windy to put a cover on

 

[DirtFlier]

My 2010 NT700V still has the original Yuasa battery from Dec 2009 when I bought it. If and when I have to buy another battery, it'll sure be a Yuasa since I feel it's money well spent.

You can save money by buying tools from Harbor Freight instead of Snap-On!