I have 2012 Gear Up and now that is getting cold in my garage the battery doesn't seem to hold a charge. After 2 weeks of sitting the battery won't turn the motor over. I can kick it and it starts right up or keep it on a trickle charger. Is this normal or should I ask about a new battery from the dealer? None of my other bike have this problem. Thanks, Mark
My thought would be, to try to determine if the battery is somehow loosing it's charge or is the bike sucking it down from some electronic parasite or something that is continuing to draw power over time. Here is one way to learn this. Charge the battery. A battery "maintainer" sometimes will not bring a dead-ish battery back up to peak, so if you have an appropriate "charger" vs. a "maintainer", use the "charger". Also verify you cells are all "wet" and not low. So, now you have a charged battery that is verified "wet" and not low in any cells. See if it starts the bike. Ok, let's say it in fact does. Now, disconnect the battery. Let the bike and battery "sit" as long as you normally would when you would typically find it later "dead". Now just re-connect the battery, does it start the bike with gusto, just fine? If "yes", your battery is fine but your bike has a connection or circuit that is continuing to slurp volts off your battery when the bike is parked. You should have someone try to find the source of the draw. If it will not start the bike, you certainly need a new battery, but still may have a connection that is sucking down your battery that may have "weakened" your battery in the first place. Understand that each time your battery "went totally down" to nothing and you perhaps re-charged it, that you could loose up to 25% of the battery's lifespan in that situation. Over time, repeatedly having to charge it back from the dead eventually just kills it. Lastly, don't put a conventional "wet" battery back in your rig. Get a sealed no-maint. glass-mat technology battery and never look back. As an example, you can get a DEKA for $79.00 delivered. A very rough, tough battery that your bike will thank you for. Just my opinion. The link below gets you close, it's actually a link I saved for the battery for KLR's, but you get the idea and can contact them to order the right one. I will also say that a Harley guy gave me the word on the DEKA's and I learned they love em too. Deka: http://www.etx15l.com/
We have seen a few of the batteries be defective from the supplier. Since you have a 2012, a new battery would be covered under your warranty. Simply go to the dealer and have them switch it out.
Try the connection from the from the battery post & the one on alternator. I do have a trickle charger plug in connection but so far I ride nearly everyday.
Thanks for the replys. Battery seems to hold 12.71 volts for a few days. Draw on battery with everything off is .00036ma. seems pretty low. So I took the battery out and am having it tested at the dealer today. Thanks, Mark
I have a 2012, my battery strong like bull. Unless you are leaving something plugged in, you have a problem, and you have a good warranty.
Thanks for all the replys. The dealer replaced the battery. With any luck this one will last a little longer.
Regardless, put a Deltran on it. I am running the original battery on my 2007 and it is still "strong like bull!"
you need a known to be correct VOM like say a Fluke 87 and a load tester. 1. charge battery to full with correct charger. then measure resting volts after battery sits overnight. 12.85v (resting) is fully charged for a Lead acid battery. 2. battery can give a normal volt reading and not pass a load test. do a load test. follow instructions of that particular load tester. 3. hook VOM in series with battery to test for parasitic drain. bikes have different acceptable drain currents. find out what's normal for your bike. 4. with bike running at mid range rpm. take a volt reading directly at battery. a working charging system will read 13.8v-14.2v range. note a charging system can work intermittently. follow LiFePO4 link in sig for details why....
Glad to know you got a new battery. For some overall battery info... 12.8V is considered fully charged, and I believe it is 12.2V (or possibly 12.4V) that is considered 50% charged. It is not true that setting a battery on concrete will discharge it in any kind of electrical way, but it is true that concrete is a great conductor of heat and can thereby cause a battery to lose its charge more quickly than normal (like when a battery is sitting in any cold environment). In the lead-acid category, there is no such thing as a maintenance-free battery. Some batteries cases can do better than others at retaining moisture, and that is where some are called "maintenance-free"...but the fact remains that any lead-acid battery will eventually dry out if its fluid level is not checked periodically and then maintained with clean (distilled) water. The typical charging system puts out 13.8V or so, but it takes more than that to keep a lead-acid battery well-conditioned. So, it is a good thing to occasionally (anually) "condition" a lead-acid battery by taking it all the way to 15.4V at a low amperage...and then the well-treated and properly-maintained lead-acid battery can easily last 20 years. However, motorcycles are lousy places to try to make that happen since our batteries are typically buried behind multi-cylindered sources of great heat!
I too have a 07' Ural Patrol and I have the original battery and have never "trickled" charged it. It still works great. Stating the obvious - don't screw with it, have the dealer fix or replace. Tom
AGM type batteries won't always respond to a float/trickle charger. Try using a 40 amp charger periodically (especially if the battery has been run down for whatever reason) to bring them back to life. Or buy a tiny Li battery and forget about ever charging it again