Battery.. Not MC related.. or maybe?

[Condor]

Today I took the Surburban up to the PO, and didn't have any signs of impending doom. Went inside, took care of biz, and when I got in the car to leave the battery was deader than a door nail. Started fine at the house, and then NADA. Called AAA for a jump. Fired right up and I took it home. I did find the positive side connection on the battery a little loose, and figured that may have caused a loss in charging. Got back to the house and hooked the battery up to a 15amp smart charger. Left it on for a couple of hours and when the wife came out to go to a doctor's appt.... Nada again. Now I put a Multi on it and it read 12.8 vdc. Pretty good. Anyway I removed the battery and took it over to my local Battery dealer. Same thing on his meter. 12.8vdc. Asked to have it load tested. Hooked up the tester and battery read in the green. Cranked up the load and it croaked. Open cell. The batt was only 20 months old, so they gave me a new one. When I installed the new batt the 'burb started a little reluctanly and stalled out a few times before it took hold. Here's the surprising thing. When I took it for a test drive the thing shifted smoother, had more power, and idled as quiet as when we first got it. I'd never seen anything like this before, and the dealer said it was quite rare. But I guess the car had been running on a low voltage for a long time before it died. Where am I going with this?? On our bikes we tend to rely on the volts to indicate charge and battery condition. Next time something doesn't seem right. Ruff running etc. It might be wise to have the battery load tested.

[Eck]

That is a possiblity....... now that you put it that way...

Good thinking there Condor...

[GeorgeS]

Most anything is possible!! That includes 3 new Yuasa's ( sealed, no water needed ) that failed in about 12 months of service.

[friesman]

Today I took the Surburban up to the PO, and didn't have any signs of impending doom. Went inside, took care of biz, and when I got in the car to leave the battery was deader than a door nail. Started fine at the house, and then NADA. Called AAA for a jump. Fired right up and I took it home. I did find the positive side connection on the battery a little loose, and figured that may have caused a loss in charging. Got back to the house and hooked the battery up to a 15amp smart charger. Left it on for a couple of hours and when the wife came out to go to a doctor's appt.... Nada again. Now I put a Multi on it and it read 12.8 vdc. Pretty good. Anyway I removed the battery and took it over to my local Battery dealer. Same thing on his meter. 12.8vdc. Asked to have it load tested. Hooked up the tester and battery read in the green. Cranked up the load and it croaked. Open cell. The batt was only 20 months old, so they gave me a new one. When I installed the new batt the 'burb started a little reluctanly and stalled out a few times before it took hold. Here's the surprising thing. When I took it for a test drive the thing shifted smoother, had more power, and idled as quiet as when we first got it. I'd never seen anything like this before, and the dealer said it was quite rare. But I guess the car had been running on a low voltage for a long time before it died. Where am I going with this?? On our bikes we tend to rely on the volts to indicate charge and battery condition. Next time something doesn't seem right. Ruff running etc. It might be wise to have the battery load tested.

 

Did ya try honking the horn while starting? I hear that works!!!! :rotfl:

Brian

[Condor]

Did ya try honking the horn while starting? I hear that works!!!! :rotfl:

Brian

 

[Rocket]

Did ya try honking the horn while starting? I hear that works!!!! :rotfl:

Brian

 

Talk about LOUD startups, with the Steble air horn installed.........

[Squidley]

Not necessarily with yours, but I know that I have cleaned and tightened ground straps on the engine blocks of frame and that was the culprit on a few of them.

[Condor]

Not necessarily with yours, but I know that I have cleaned and tightened ground straps on the engine blocks of frame and that was the culprit on a few of them.

 

When I got the 12.8 reading I started thinking that way myself. It wouldn't have been the first time a ground strap had loosened up...

[camos]

Not necessarily with yours, but I know that I have cleaned and tightened ground straps on the engine blocks of frame and that was the culprit on a few of them.

Good info. First would have cleaned the battery terminals then checked the ground to the block. Now I have the magical third check.

[Flyinfool]

I have found that on my GMC P/U I have the same issue with the positive battery terminal. It comes loose every 6 months, and had those exact symptoms. Now when I get the dead battery it will usually start just by tightening the terminal. I bought a spare battery wrench just to keep in the glove box. I think it something to do with the way the cables are connected to the battery, with there being 2 cables stacked on there, one of which goes directly to the alternator and is moving with the engine torque.

 

The easiest way to check for a bad battery ground cable or connection, is to turn on all of the lights, and check the voltage from the negative battery terminal (Not the terminal on the end of the neg cable) to a good ground point on the engine or frame (again not the terminal on the end of the ground cable). If you get a reading of anything other than 0 volts you have a bad ground connection or cable.

If you do not have a volt meter you can rig up a tester using some wire and a small flashlight bulb (1.5V or 3V). Connect it as above, if the bulb lights at all then you have a bad ground. If you connect the bulb across the battery or if the ground is really bad the bulb will burn out almost instantly.