dead battery.

[rathi]

Been kick starting my bike because of a dead battery.
I took some voltage readings but not sure what it all means.

After riding 10 Km the battery measured 12.4V
Then started the bike and it went up to 12.5v
Then revved up the motor and voltage went to 12.9-13v
Left the motor running for about 20 sec then turned the bike off and tried to start it again. It would not start. Took a reading again and it read 8v.
It has been about 25 degree in the morning.

It seems that it is getting some charge but but not a full charge. Sometimes it will start but not a good hard crank. Bike runs great other than this problem.
Does any of this matter or tell me anything?
thanks

[jmkjr72]

well from what i see your chargeing system should be ok normaly i like to see 13.5 volts but if you have a bad battery it may not be able to read the full voltage

so i would pull the battery and have it tested

[rathi]

I pulled the battery and had the auto shop check it.
They said it was fully charged and at the right volts but still tested bad.
I put it back in my bike and we will see how long it will last.

I did notice that the top part were the acid it added had poped up a little.
Thinking that maybe a little acid had go out.
I have only had this battery for about 4 mounts.

[jmkjr72]

what battery is this
if it is an agm or dry cell type battery it may apear dry


was the bike ever dumped
how was the new battery charged if you used something more then a 1 amp charger you could ahve cooked the battery

[skuttadawg]

A bad voltage regulator can over charge the battery and make it swell up . So will a car battery charger . When it is cold batteries loose charge and that is why car batteries are measured in CCA cold cranking amps . Scooter batteries are 10 amps or less so any loss is bad as it does not have extra power like a car battery can . I would get a trickle charger around 1/2 amp to plug into to keep it fully charged and they are from 20 and up . If it is a wet cell did you check the water level ? Only use distilled water not tap .
Idling does not charge the battery that much compared to riding at cruising speeds . When a scooter sits up without running or hooked to a trickle charger the battery can lose power and even die . After its so far gone you will need a new one .

Does the new battery have the same amount of amps as the factory one ?

[nitroman666]

I gave up on most batteries, and converted mine over to Northstar NSB-13. They are bigger, and you may have to re-mount them elsewhere, but if your charging system is working, you will have a 10+ year battery. Here they are on ebay.

www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-NorthStar-NSB-13-Top-Post-Battery-Nonspillable-semi-stable-mains-NSB13-/261002784206?pt=US_Uninterruptible_Power_Supplies&hash=item3cc4fa6dce