Anybody had trouble with a DEKKA battery?

[oldandcrotchety]

I bought a Dekka battery last September after hearing some good things about them. I didn't see where anyone had had any trouble, so I'm a bit perplexed. The Last couple of times that I have gone out to the garage to take off on my bike, the battery has been near dead. It was about 6 weeks between those 2 times, but I've never had a battery go down in that about of time before. Do these need to have a tender on them all the time if sitting more than a short period? I usually rotate my tender between bikes during the dead of winter, but even so, it doesn't get very cold here, and my lawnmower battery will kick off the mower after sitting all winter long. This is my first AGM type battery, so I don't know anything about them. Maybe I did wrong by not having the tender on it all the time? Sure don't seem to want to hold a charge.

[Flyinfool]

Did you check to see if something on the bike is drawing power and running the battery down?

[Snaggletooth]

Mine has been in the bike for going on 5 years. It rarely sits more than day without riding unless there is snow on the ground.

 

Never been on a Tender for any reason until recently. Had to dig mine out after all these years. I've had DEKAs sit on the shelf all winter with no charge to them and they don't drop more that 1/10th of a volt or two over several months.

 

This winter, after sitting for quite a while the volts had dropped less than the usual 12.8 or 23.4 at the worst. It still cranked like new and was charging fine but it did take long to bring it back to the top.

 

When I load tested it, it still showed 12.8 and rated "Good" on the test unit but the battey "Health" only showed 25%.

 

Well it took a few years, lot of miles and a whole lot to starts to get it to 25%.

 

If a DEKA, or any AGM is draining that fast I'd look for a parasitic drain from some connection on the bike.

 

Check the volts at the battey posts and see what you get both static and at 2,000 RPMs.

 

If there is a problem with the battey itself I belive they will stand behind the 1 Year replacement policy.

 

Mike

[oldandcrotchety]

I guess it's possible that it has a short. The only thing that I can think of that would be drawing any power at all, would be the radio preset, but I know it's not drawing enough for that. I've had the bike about 7 or 8 years and never had the battery go down completely, even if I didn't put a tender on it at all. Winters here are pretty mild and about 6 weeks between rides is about the max. Most of the times I can ride at least a time or two each month, all winter long. The battery on the bike when I bought was a lead-acid type and I replaced it with another lead-acid, but this last fall I thought I would get a Dekka, so I wouldn't have to bother with topping off the cells periodically. This battery really impressed me with the power it had to crank over the motor. No more slow cranks when hot. But really....9 months and now it won't stay up? Well, I guess before I blame the battery I will take your suggestion and see if I can find a short.

[oldandcrotchety]

Is that 1 year warranty pro-rated? If so, It wouldn't do me much good at 9 months. After return shipping I would likely be right about the cost of just buying another.

[Snaggletooth]

I don't have an answer for that. Never had a reason to find out. I'd contact the provider you brought from and see how they handle that.

 

If you can to a charger at 2 amps at about 14.5 volts over night and then pull all the fuses and any added connections that should tell you what's happening.

 

Let us know what you find out.

 

Mike

[oldandcrotchety]

I went down and jump started the bike and let it run for awhile with a meter on the battery. At first it would show about 13.45 with the bike idling and when I revved it up to 2000 rpm it would drop to 12.45 and pop right back to 13.45 when I let off the gas, but after a bit it wouldn't change much regardless of the rpm. So, after I let it run for awhile I killed it and watched the meter drop immediately to 12.85 and then slowly drop until it got to 12.00 even. It seemed like it wasn't going to drop anymore so I put the tender on it for the night. I'll see what I have in the morning. Like I said in the original post, I have had zero experience with these AGM batteries, and I'm a total idiot when it comes to electrics. Maybe the AGM type pulls down faster with the radio preset than what I'm used to. Once it is topped off, I will check the voltage regularly for a few days and see what it shows just sitting. I know the radio preset will use a little bit, but if it falls very much, then maybe I have leak in the electrics, but so far at least, it seems to have settled down at 12.00v and didn't drop anymore for about 20 minutes, and that was when I put the tender on it for the night. Maybe if the electrics are an issue I can use it as excuse to buy a new Honda CB1100.

[Snaggletooth]

Based on my voltmeter readings the "at idle" is going to be about right. With the DEKA being discharged quite a bit it does take a bit longer for the reading levels to come back up.

 

The DEKA is basically a 12.8 volt battery right out of the box and from my experience with them that is pretty much where they will settle back to at rest every time.

 

If you're seeing the battey drop that quickly to 12.0 volts at rest there is a problem. Either you have developed a major drain or the battery is faulty,

 

I don't know what you are taking your test reads with so there is always the question of how accurate the readings are. If you have an opition for another voltmeter try that also and compare.

 

When I have used the Tender Jr, on AGM's it shows it is charging at 14.5 volts until it hits full charge then steps down to about 13.0 volts.

 

And I'm going to ask. You mentioned jumping the bike. Did you have the jump vehicle running when you did that?

[oldandcrotchety]

I didn't jump it from another vehicle, I have a Snap-On Charger that has a Booster option. I suspect that the varying voltage readings were a result of the battery not being fully charged at the time. The voltage drop (from 12.85 down to 12.00 took about 20 minutes, but then it stopped dropping and stayed steady at 12.00.) What really surprised me was that while the bike was running, the voltage would drop from about 13.45 down to about 12.85 whenever I raised the rpms up to 2000-2500. I would have thought that the voltage would have stayed the same or even went up as the rpms went up. When I dropped back down to idle the volts went back up. I have another meter (a good Simpson) that I will compare with tomorrow when the battery should be topped off and see what I have.

[Snaggletooth]

Yep they should have. As a general rule these bikes charge pretty low at idle speeds. Just barely at the battey static level (12.6) or even lower.

 

Once you get past 1,500 or 2,000 RPMs the charge jumps up. Book say in the 14.5 range but most show lower than that. Depends a lot on the battery condition, the stator being used and the preformance of the R/R. I'll asume you still have the OEM stator and R/R. Never outstanding from the git go, but functional. As long as the battery is charging it should keep the battery fully topped off.

 

But any normal draw with the bike key turned off, like the presets, should not cause an AGM to drop that low.

 

I've ridden home at night with all the lights fired up and shut the bike down with the battery showing a bit low. The next morning the volts meter was reading higher than it was when I shut it down.

 

The AGM's are a different animal as far as batteries go. Yours is not behaving well.

 

There are so many things that could have effected your battery at the end of last season and caused issues now. But if I go into the things on that train of thought you'll be riding a Honda before the thread dies out. We'd rather see you get past this problem.

 

Keep us posted on what you find.

Mike

Edited May 7, 2013 by Snaggletooth

[abusive throttle cranker]

Disconnect one of the clamps from the battery (either one). Then close the door, do this at night, or otherwise provide darkness. Then touch the clamp to the battery post while looking closely. You should not see anything. If there is a spark you have some kind of a drain, a short, etc.

[Flyinfool]

pull one of the battery cables an connect your volt meter from the battery terminal to the removed cable. It should read zero if there is no draw.

The presets will show up as a draw, pull that fuse first. then go thru and pull the fuses one by one till the meter goes to zero. That will tell you which circuit is drawing power.

[Condor]

Charge battery to full, disconect it, and let it sit for a couple of weeks. If it still discharges the battery is bad. You can send it back to the place you bought it, as they come with a 1 year warantee. It'll ship back for a little over $10 bucks USPS Flat Rate. If it doesn't discharge it's the bike. One thing you might check. Do you have a washer under the anode connector?? This can mess up a battery's ability to take a charge.

[dfitzbiz]

I had issues with 2 Deka batteries back to back. Neither would hold a charge more than 4 or 5 days. Did all of the checks for draw and charging, everything checked out OK. Had the first one checked, bad cell replaced after 2 months. Battery #2 would stay charged with the battery tender. Take it off for 4-5 days and it would go completely dead. Didn't bother to have it checked. Switched brands problem solved.

[oldandcrotchety]

Still not completely topped off this morning. as the tender still shows red light instead of green. But it's getting there. 13.98v right now. When it does make it, I think I will trying Flyinfool's draw test and as a last resort maybe do the disconnect for a week or two. (Last resort because it will be hard to let the bike sit in such beautiful weather. 75° today) Anode connector? You must have missed the part about me being an electrical idiot.

[Snaggletooth]

I got to say I'd think the Tender, being on all night should be at least in the Green by now and showing a higher reading.

 

If it don't go Green or into flashing Green by the end of 24 hours I'd say pull it and have it load tested for condition. The results of that testing would help you decide on your nest step and get you rolling again.

 

As far as the anode, think battery post. The best connection is the flat lug from the battery cable attached directly to the surface of the post. More contact between the two the better flow of current. Anything between the two effects the flow.