battery probs after 2 weeks?

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spiderwheels · #16 Post by **spiderwheels** » Tue May 19, 2015 8:56 am

D-Rider wrote: When they have charged the battery, they drop into a trickle mode. If you disconnect the battery charger and go for a ride (or leave it disconnected from the charger for a while) and then come and plug it back in to the charger, if you haven't turned the charger off and then on again, it will be stuck in this trickle mode. If the battery had become low, it won't charge it properly.

Are you sure? I have a CTek and if that detects a drop in the voltage it will pop itself back into charging mode.

D-Rider · #17 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue May 19, 2015 9:45 am

Don't know which ones do and which ones don't but this is what I've heard and from distant memory seem to remember others trying it and corroborating this "feature"

EDIT:

It looks as though it's the older Optimates - from the Optimate FAQ page:

OptiMate has “red-lighted” my battery but it seems fully charged – surely my OptiMate has a problem?

Your OptiMate is fine. OptiMate charges your battery and then tests it to see if it will hold its charge OK. If OptiMate senses that the battery Voltage drops, it will “red-light” your battery to warn you that the battery may have a problem. Even while the red LED is showing your battery is still being charged, so for a while, your battery may still seem OK because of the benefit of this ongoing supporting charge. However the underlying battery problem is sure to reveal itself more clearly when you disconnect the OptiMate! The red LED will also indicate if OptiMate is connected to a battery on the vehicle and it detects a current load, like an alarm siren or the lights being turned on. If this happens, reset OptiMate by turning the power off and restart it (only OptiMates 1-3 – see notes above). OptiMate will also detect any persistent drain in the vehicle’s wiring (above that of an alarm) – to check this, disconnect your battery from the vehicle, restart OptiMate and see if it still goes to red. If it doesn’t, then your battery is fine but there may be a problem with the vehicle’s electrics - you should ask your dealer to check the wiring.

ReggieGasket · #18 Post by **ReggieGasket** » Wed May 27, 2015 9:09 pm

Starting has still been a bit weird. I still think the problem may be the charger, as all seems fine if the battery is well charged. I've bought an Optimate 4 to make sure the battery is properly charged up.

DavShill · #19 Post by **DavShill** » Thu May 28, 2015 7:30 am

Giles - I'll bring my Optimate round and another standard charger. I'm just off to Londontown today but I'll come round over the weekend and you can try them over a few days.

DavShill · #20 Post by **DavShill** » Thu May 28, 2015 7:32 am

.......... doh!

Just noticed you've said you've already just bought an Optimate. let me know how you get on anyway and if you need another charger just shout.

ReggieGasket · #21 Post by **ReggieGasket** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:53 pm

Things have continued to be challenging

The bike was working well with well charged batteries, but now that has changed.

Now, even with well charged batteries (I tried a car battery too), the solenoid is buzzing. I've by-passed the solenoid and the buzzing stops, but the bike acts like it's attached to a low power battery - i.e. won't crank quickly.

I've checked earths and leads and all appear ok.

Theories?

Could be: Datatool, lazy starter motor, bad connection?

What's frustrating is originally improving the battery worked well - i.e. buzzing stops and bike starts well and now that solution doesn't work. It's like something has been getting worse and worse rather than something always not working. What could get worse in the starting circuit?

fatboy · #22 Post by **fatboy** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 7:19 pm

Sounds like the starter may well be spanked.
Any chance you can borrow a known 'worker' and rule it out that way ?

ReggieGasket · #23 Post by **ReggieGasket** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 7:36 pm

Not sure; does it come out easily? Just those 2 little bolts?

fatboy · #24 Post by **fatboy** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:31 pm

Its not complicated to remove but fiddly, don't be shy with the penetrating oil on all the lower front stuff. DONT to forget to disconnect the battery first.
Any auto electricians near you that can test it?
I recently got a Landrover one tested and rebuilt with 1 year warranty for £60.

ReggieGasket · #25 Post by **ReggieGasket** » Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:57 pm

OK, thanks for that.

ReggieGasket · #26 Post by **ReggieGasket** » Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:34 pm

The answer to the mystery:

Regulator was buggered. Hence, the alternator was not able to charge the battery.

So, why did charging up the battery with Optimate not work? Reason: the battery was damaged by the situation, so although the Optimate though it was ok, it wasn't delivering enough amps.

fatboy · #27 Post by **fatboy** » Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:38 pm

Well done that man !
When mine fucked up it fried two ECU,s one after another along with Gabro and Carbon SL eproms.
Glad you found the culprit.