How to tell when it is time to replace your battery

[JimH]

To avoid being stranded someplace, how can one tell when it is time to replace a battery? Thanks in advance.
Jim

 

[Navydad]

Unfortunately we don't always get a warning. I rode my RT three weeks ago and it started and ran just fine. I have a digital volt gauge and all was well according to the gauge. A week later I wanted to move it out of the garage for more work room and it was dead. I mean DEAD. No lights, no dash, no nothing. A new battery did the trick. That being said, sometimes you may notice the bike seems to crank over a bit slower or hesitate a bit before cranking. My battery was four years old, some get more years, some get less, but I start thinking about replacement at the four year mark in all my bikes. With all of the electronics on todays bikes and cars batteries just don't seem to give much warning like they used to.

 

[PMK]

If that is a concern, replace the battery based on calendar months and aligned with when your ride season begins. Depending on where your trips take you, replacing the battery every two years would seem reasonable. Install it correctly and ensure non loosening of the terminals.

Would also recommend purchasing a spare or two of the relays within the fuse boxes. Easy to replace and those can fail randomly from use, but are quite reliable. Downside being, when you need one, they might be difficult to find locally.

 

[billybovine]

Load test it. Not a voltage check. It will show a fail long before it leaves you stranded. Most of the time that is. There is always a small chance of a failure without warning. But that is rare. The average battery, as long as the battery has been treated properly, will last 7 or 8 years. But run it dead a couple times and it is junk.

 

[JayBros]

IMO, the best protection against getting stranded by a dead battery is to purchase a portable jump starter like a Rugged Geek or something of that ilk. They are small, getting smaller, and easily incorporated into one's on-road tool kit. Not only has it bailed me out on my Spyder but also my wife and her Toyota highlander. Wouldn't leave home without it.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

IMO, the best protection against getting stranded by a dead battery is to purchase a portable jump starter like a Rugged Geek or something of that ilk. They are small, getting smaller, and easily incorporated into one's on-road tool kit. Not only has it bailed me out on my Spyder but also my wife and her Toyota highlander. Wouldn't leave home without it.

:agree: ..... This makes the most economical sense ..... You get the most life out of your battery this way .... If you have to jump it ( twice ) then get a load test to be sure. .... Many folks buy batteries after 3 years even tho they haven't had any indication of battery issues .... Lithium battery chargers are now a very low cost option .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Peter Aawen]

Just considering the battery, if your Spyder/Ryker shows ANY sign of slowing how quickly it spins the engine while starting, then it's at least time to load test the battery! The bad news is that the slowing bit can be very gradual & easy to miss cos you just get used to it; and also, while it's a good idea to keep your battery in a good stat of charge, always running a battery tender can hide this, cos it leaves your battery with a surface charge for the 'first start' at home, then it might leave you in the lurch if you stop for anything more than a few minutes once you're out & ryding!!

Apart from using a 'proper' Load Tester, you can use a simple & inexpensive multi-meter to read the voltage in your battery to get some idea of how healthy it is, but to do this you really should make sure to take a reading on the battery after it's been sitting (resting ) for a while - at least a few hours since it was last run or even overnight (without any external charging ) A fully charged 12V battery in good condition should show a resting voltage (a few hours after removing any charging device) of 12.9 volts or a little better (anything much over 14 volts or so is suspect for a whole 'nuther set of reasons! :sour: ) and a dead flat battery will likely read 12.0 volts or less :shocked: . That said, if your Spyder's AGM battery's resting voltage gets any lower than about 12.6 volts (or about 75% of it's 'full charge' ) then it's starting to get a bit tired, and if it hits 12.4 volts at rest then I reckon you are really pushing the limits of reliability, even if it 'seems' to start OK most of the time! :yikes:

As other's have mentioned, carrying a portable jump starter is a good idea, but one of them or even a jump start from another (big??) vehicle with a known good battery & a healthy charging system won't help if one or more of your battery's cell's dies completely - and that's more likely to happen on a tired battery than it is on a new &/or otherwise healthy battery. So even with a jump start/starter, you could end up stuck! :gaah:

Help any?? :dontknow:

 

[Mikey]

:agree: ..... This makes the most economical sense ..... You get the most life out of your battery this way .... If you have to jump it ( twice ) then get a load test to be sure. .... Many folks buy batteries after 3 years even tho they haven't had any indication of battery issues .... Lithium battery chargers are now a very low cost option .... Mike :thumbup:

But remember you have to charge them up every now and then!!

 

[trikermutha]

But remember you have to charge them up every now and then!!

I have a harbor freight jump pack. I needed to use it last year for my car. It sat in my trunk for over a year and when I needed it it was still charged and started my car. Those jump packs hold there charge a long time. In fact I still have not charged it. But probably will now that this came up.

 

[Hoginedgewood]

I like the idea of a jump pack, but wait. Do they last forever? So now every 4 year a person can buy a bike battery and a jumpbox?
4 years has been a short battery life for me, some last 6. I don't recommend overthinking it. Most insurance covers roadside assistance which would get you started and to a store to buy a battery. Do what makes you feel better.

 

[JayBros]

But remember you have to charge them up every now and then!!

And that's where a battery tender earns its keep.

"Those jump packs hold there charge a long time."

I check the charge on my Rugged Geek periodically and it routinely reads 100%. Even after jumping my wife's car whose battery was overdone toast it was still 100% and the car had fired up immediately.

 

[trikermutha]

I must be one of the somewhat lucky ones . I still have my original battery in my Spyder and its a 2014.ray:

 

[BajaRon]

When it dies!

 

[K80Shooter]

Also extreme heat and cold plays havoc on batteries. I ran a repair shop and sold more on both the hottest and coldest days of the year.

 

[Adventurer]

I have Antigravity brand micro start jump pack and their instructions say to partially discharge the battery pack once every 3 months and recharge to better maintain the life of the jump pack. That’s what I try to do and it always has plenty of charge when I need it. I’ve started more autos with it than I have bikes.

 

[larryd]

I automatically replace mine after 3 years of use...Do it at the beginning of the riding season...This is the year for me to replace my 2014 RTS battery....It will be my 3rd one...I've had good luck with Deka's...Most of my GW riding buddies wait till they die...Many times while we are out riding and stop for breaks larryd

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

To avoid being stranded someplace, how can one tell when it is time to replace a battery? Thanks in advance.
Jim

First, either install a voltmeter or connect a voltmeter to the battery. Then hold the throttle wide open and push the starter button. Holding the throttle wide open keeps the engine from starting. Watch to see how fast the voltage drops down close to 10.5. If it's within a very few seconds then you're due for a new battery. If it takes like maybe 10 seconds or more to drop to 10.5 your battery is still pretty strong. After doing this either put a charger/maintainer on it for awhile, or let go of the throttle so the engine will start before the battery drops all the way to 10.5. At 10.5 volts the cluster goes wacky and the bike won't start. The days of starting an engine with a sluggish battery are long gone!

Caution: don't crank the starter for more than about 15 seconds (my best guess) at a time or you run the risk of it overheating and burning out. End of life of the battery is characterized by a rapid drop in voltage when you put a load on it. This procedure does the same thing as a battery load tester.

This procedure isn't absolutely definitive but it will be a good indicator.

Edit: I just did it with my RT with a year old battery. The voltage started at 12.2 and was holding steady at just over 11 after about 5 to 10 seconds of cranking.

Another edit: I just checked again. After the test the battery shows 12.5 with key off and 12.2 with key on. My starter test did not noticeably draw the battery down.

 

[Bfromla]

I have Antigravity brand micro start jump pack and their instructions say to partially discharge the battery pack once every 3 months and recharge to better maintain the life of the jump pack. That’s what I try to do and it always has plenty of charge when I need it. I’ve started more autos with it than I have bikes.

:2thumbs::clap: Good practice for all rechargeable type batteries, yes they last good time, however when not regularly used can act up. Oem battery might give few hints, maybe a random code or warning light for something not actually having a fault. Unfortunately so can loose connections & need to determine actual faults if any. Easy enough to remove battery & have load tested & solid charge. :thumbup: Also good time to install star washers on battery connections

 

[VStarRider]

On my first bike, a 1982 Suzuki 650, I had a weak battery. However, it would crank and crank and crank the motor over at the same rate. Yet it did not start...though it almost did in the split second after I let off the starter button, and a few times it did start. With some help from a mechanic, we discovered that the battery had the voltage to crank the starter till the cows came home, but not enough to fire the spark plugs sufficiently to get a hot enough spark to fire when cold. The split second after I let go of the starter button immediately sent more voltage to the plugs while momentum kept the engine turning another half-revolution or so. It would catch and occasionally start up. New battery --> started immediately and ran great.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

On my first bike, a 1982 Suzuki 650, I had a weak battery. However, it would crank and crank and crank the motor over at the same rate. Yet it did not start...though it almost did in the split second after I let off the starter button, and a few times it did start. With some help from a mechanic, we discovered that the battery had the voltage to crank the starter till the cows came home, but not enough to fire the spark plugs sufficiently to get a hot enough spark to fire when cold. The split second after I let go of the starter button immediately sent more voltage to the plugs while momentum kept the engine turning another half-revolution or so. It would catch and occasionally start up. New battery --> started immediately and ran great.

Yep, big difference between then and now. No computer control back then. Even my 2005 Goldwing had no real computer control. One time the battery ran down from leaving the key on and it didn't have enough oomph to start. So I pulled the headlight fuse and bingo!, it took right off. Halogen headlights load a battery quite a bit and because of the relatively high 10.5 volt requirement to run the Spyder computers, BRP incorporated the load shedding relay to keep the headlights off until the engine is running.