New Battery woes?

[bnschroder]

I purchased a new Yuasa YTZ14S on July 5 on Amazon to be on the safe side for a MABDR round-trip since my original 2014 12S had already needed a little jump start twice on last year's Colorado trip.
The battery has a print on it that I interpreted as manufacturing date which dates it to late 2018, which made me slightly unhappy, but I guess they sit a little in every warehouse.
I had to top of the charge for a few hours and then installed it for the trip that started July 12.
During the trip the battery caused no problems and provided ~3500 trouble free miles during 10 days of riding, though I never felt it was any better than with my 12S. After my return I did one short trip to a restaurant and back to, which also was uneventful, but then last weekend, when I wanted to head out Friday night for a weekend of riding and camping: No start.
The engine barely turned over and didn't fire up. And I had actually put it on the trickle charger an hour earlier and it showed green when I unplugged it to fire up the bike.
So I pulled out my little Li-Ion jumper battery and the bike fired right up and I went off, hoping this was a fluke.
I have an Orange TPMS that also has a volt-meter setting so I checked the Voltage and it was charging at around 14.2V during the ride up to Suches, GA. I kept it on that setting and when I got gas after 60 minutes it started again without dropping significantly in voltage, but the engine was nice and hot.
The next morning, not so easy. It started, but laboriously, and the voltage dropped into the single digits. Once it was warm, it started every single time during the rest of Saturday, though never as smoothly as you would expect from the 14S based on what I have read here.
When I returned Saturday night, i measured the battery voltage at it showed 12.7V. I then checked it every night and every day the voltage would drop around 0.05V, which is probably already more than it should, considering the old 12S on my bench still reads 12.8V.
This morning, the battery read 12.4V and I tried to fire it up, and again, no go. The voltmeter showed that the battery dropped to around 5V while attempting to start it.
So - can I assume I got a bad battery or could this be anything else? I get no error code.

 

[WJBertrand]

Sure sounds like it. I replaced my OEM battery with a LiFePO4 Scorpion battery back in January. The bike starts quite vigorously now. 387CCA!


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[Cycledude]

First thing check to make sure both battery terminals are properly clean and tight.
Load test the battery that will tell you very quickly if there is anything wrong with the battery.
I put one of those 14s batteries in my previous 2013 Tenere, yes it cranked a little better but not a lot, my new 2018 so far has always started much better than the 2013 ever did.

 

[dannyv]

Anyone try one of these? A bit pricey, but they sound great. https://earthxbatteries.com/shop/ETX18F

 

[WJBertrand]

Anyone try one of these? A bit pricey, but they sound great. https://earthxbatteries.com/shop/ETX18F

I’d go for more juice than that. 230 CCA is only 20 CCA above OEM and I think the same as the YTZ14S upgrade. Most folks seem to use the 24 or 36 EarthX models. They get even more pricy though. I’ve heard they’re great batteries, but I went with the Scorpion due to previous good experience and better value (~$169.00)


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[EricV]

Any auto parts store should be able to charge and load test the battery for you. They will always want to charge it first to ensure it has a complete charge for the test.

You mention the Orange TPMS. Is that wired as switched power or un-switched power? It kind of sounds like you wired it with un-switched power and you now have a higher dark current draw because of it. It takes very little extra load on this bike to kill a battery in short order.

A powered tank bag ring I had, even with nothing on, drew enough dark current to kill a battery in short order. Never mind that the manufacturer's directions showed wiring it direct to the battery and that was how the harness came. I had to change it to switched power to avoid dead batteries.

 

[bnschroder]

The TPMS is switched, it only comes on with the key.
I didn't add anything to the electrical system since I got the battery so it shouldn't a new user.

 

[EricV]

The TPMS is switched, it only comes on with the key.
I didn't add anything to the electrical system since I got the battery so it shouldn't a new user.

W/o a smoking gun, that does sort of leave you with a bad battery situation then. I'd consider testing the dark current/parasitic draw anyway, just to see what it was. Sometimes weird things happen. LINK

 

[bnschroder]

Thanks for the link - I will try that and double check the connections are tight. Just strikes me that they probably would have loosened on the MABDR and not on the saddle sore heading back to Georgia.

 

[bnschroder]

W/o a smoking gun, that does sort of leave you with a bad battery situation then. I'd consider testing the dark current/parasitic draw anyway, just to see what it was. Sometimes weird things happen. LINK

My digital multimeter reads 0.9-1 mA of current with the key off between the negative lead and the ground wire., so 0.012 Watts. I am assuming that is "noise" and not really a parasitic draw.

 

[ballisticexchris]

I have a feeling you just got a bad battery. But yes a load test is in order for sure.

Anyone try one of these? A bit pricey, but they sound great. https://earthxbatteries.com/shop/ETX18F

I’d go for more juice than that. 230 CCA is only 20 CCA above OEM and I think the same as the YTZ14S upgrade. Most folks seem to use the 24 or 36 EarthX models. They get even more pricy though. I’ve heard they’re great batteries, but I went with the Scorpion due to previous good experience and better value (~$169.00)


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I got the 36 model. And heck yes it's expensive!!

 

[EricV]

My digital multimeter reads 0.9-1 mA of current with the key off between the negative lead and the ground wire., so 0.012 Watts. I am assuming that is "noise" and not really a parasitic draw.

There is always some draw for the clock, ECU, etc. But I agree, I don't think you have enough draw to indicate a problem.

Any chance you have access to a maintenance charger that has a de-sulfate option/program? My Optimate 3 units have this feature. It's kept my AGM batteries alive and working well for 7-9 years on average. Perhaps one of your riding friends has one? Might be worth a try before replacing the battery. As would contacting Yuasa customer service with what you are experiencing and if they have suggestions, (rather than starting out with a replacement request).

 

[WJBertrand]

Seems like the OEM Yuasa batteries last much longer than the Yuasa brand name equivalent replacements. Wonder what's different?

 

[bnschroder]

So the end of the story is that I probably got a bad Yuasa battery. Took it to Autozone today after having fully charged it and the less-than-2-months-old battery only cranks out 70 CCA.
But while Amazon's online interface would no longer allow a return, I ultimately got to talk to a real person who immediately processed a refund.
So the old battery is back in the bike and I am contemplating next steps. Should I buy another battery online and just take it to Autozone before the regular return period expires for a load test, or spend a lot more to drive miles to a store and hope their batteries are fresher?
What do people do when they buy batteries online? Do a proper load test right away or does that not even guarantee that the battery dies a few months later from some manufacturing defect?

 

[ballisticexchris]

Hi there, Don't mean to get this thread off track. I too have found the Amazon interface has changed. I had a solar bird bath pump that broke and I ended up not hassling with it. I found the link after the fact to talk to a live person LOL.

 

[Kyle_E]

I put one of these in about a month ago. That is of course not enough time to make a recommendation as "buy this" but I can say it has improved my crank times going from a 12 to a 14. Its also $40 so I'm not going to be upset if it only lasts 2 years.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YVLI1X2

 

[treybrad]

I’d go for more juice than that. 230 CCA is only 20 CCA above OEM and I think the same as the YTZ14S upgrade. Most folks seem to use the 24 or 36 EarthX models. They get even more pricy though. I’ve heard they’re great batteries, but I went with the Scorpion due to previous good experience and better value (~$169.00)

FWIW, I found an ETX18F on Amazon a while back for just a little more than the price of a Yuasa, around $120 and bought it. So far so good, bike definitely turns over quicker. We'll see how it holds up, I've only had it installed for about a month or so.

trey

 

[RonH]

Any new battery can go bad just like any old battery. Somewhere I read where you can't really load test a new battery with any degree of acuracy. Something I read through many Yuasa readings somewhere. I have my own load tester, and probably many good ones out there, but I enjoy load testing my own batteries. I've had battery failure in a 12 mile lifespan on a 1993 Ford van, and 11yr old still working just fine on my 2008 Goldwing. Battery life is not predictable.

 

[bnschroder]

I put one of these in about a month ago. That is of course not enough time to make a recommendation as "buy this" but I can say it has improved my crank times going from a 12 to a 14. Its also $40 so I'm not going to be upset if it only lasts 2 years.

It looks like this one is only sealed, not AGM, and only 200 CCA. Good luck!

 

[Sierra1]

It does SAY that it's AGM; as we know, not a guarantee. I'm with Kyle....$40.00....use my Tender....definitely worth a try.