New Battery preparation

[tris]

I suspect that battery in my 2017 V9 is the original so likely on its last legs

1) does anyone what brand Guzzi fitted from new to confirm
2) if I get a new battery what preparation do I need to do with it.
Do I just need to charge it overnight night or does anything else need doing?
(We're not allowed to buy dry batteries and add the acid these days, Apparently we as a society tend to take the acid and throw it over each other  )

[Huzo]

Roper has given his take on this issue.
Fundamentally, the go is to add the acid and allow time for it to impregnate into the mat, before charging.
If you want to know what he reckons Tris, e mail him.

[Scout63]

I trickle charge until complete and add a pigtail, then install.  Maybe I install then add pigtail...

[chuck peterson]

I’ve noticed my charger, Battery Tender, wants to recharge my 1 yr battery even after a long ride so i plug them in when I get home. Gooses it to 13v from a measured 12.7-8 after riding

After a full charge, I’ll unplug it. 2-3 days later it’ll be 12.7-8. Plug it in again and it will cycle to 13v again.

And yet, when you leave it on the charger all the time, it’ll settle to 12.7-8 and leave it there with out cycling up to 13v

I wonder if the frequent charges topping off to 13 prolong battery life, while the plugged in all the time approach leaves it a little undercooked under exercised

My local bike shop guy has given up on understanding why batteries go dead… very little rhyme or reason

[tris]

Roper has given his take on this issue.
Fundamentally, the go is to add the acid and allow time for it to impregnate into the mat, before charging.
If you want to know what he reckons Tris, e mail him.

Key thing is that we're not trusted with the acid, so that bit is out of my control.
I assume that it'll come with the acid in it already so seems reasonable to let it sit for a day before charging it.
Does that make sense?

[RinkRat II]

 
  I've purchased them both filled and empty, on the filled ones, they're usually 95% charged so I'll put them on a trickle charger for at least 4 hours and install them and go for a ride. I'll double check the volts when i get home and go from there. My$.02

      Paul B

[Huzo]

Key thing is that we're not trusted with the acid, so that bit is out of my control.
I assume that it'll come with the acid in it already so seems reasonable to let it sit for a day before charging it.
Does that make sense?

Yep.
Absolute sense.

[Wayne Orwig]

I’ve noticed my charger, Battery Tender, wants to recharge my 1 yr battery even after a long ride so i plug them in when I get home. Gooses it to 13v from a measured 12.7-8 after riding

After a full charge, I’ll unplug it. 2-3 days later it’ll be 12.7-8. Plug it in again and it will cycle to 13v again.

And yet, when you leave it on the charger all the time, it’ll settle to 12.7-8 and leave it there with out cycling up to 13v

I wonder if the frequent charges topping off to 13 prolong battery life, while the plugged in all the time approach leaves it a little undercooked under exercised

My local bike shop guy has given up on understanding why batteries go dead… very little rhyme or reason

If it is 12.7-8 after a LONG rest, then it is fully charged.
Repeatedly plugging in a smart charger might (or might not) cause the battery to vent often and dry it out.

I was playing with programming a small PWM solar panel controller. Every day when the sun hit it, it would run the battery through the bulk/ saturation then standby charge. Just as Odyssey said to do. The Odyssey battery dried out after about a year of that. I pried off the top and the valves, and put water in each cell and let it sit a week. When my EV Yuasa battery gave up for no reason, I put that Odyssey battery in there. It is still doing fine a year after being 'dead'. I modified my charger to skip the bulk and saturation phase of charge, if the battery starts off above 12.4V.

[guzziart]

I'm a non-conformist, I do whatever the battery manufacturer recommends for activation.  On the average, my Odysseys last 10+ years, Yuasas 8+ years and all maintained with Battery Tender Jr's. For lay up, all batteries (except Wing & Wee but still maintained) are disconnected from the bike but still periodically have the Jr on them.
I've got a Motobat in the '72 CL350 that is 4 years old now, curious to see how long that'll live.

[Tom H]

If the "14" is the correct size. Maybe where you are you can get one of these Mighty Max, they also make other sizes:

https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Max-Battery-YTX14-BS-Fourtrax/dp/B01N37GIQY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=IWJPPBLJ1DCU&keywords=mighty+max+YTX14&qid=1668293998&sprefix=mighty+max+ytx14%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-2&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

I have these in my EVT and R75 in the correct sizes. Been happy with them so far. Install and start bike, done! Or put it on the charger for a short while and when the charger says done, start bike!

Tom

[krglorioso]

Rather than guessing the health of your OEM battery, have you considered having it load tested? Voltage testing alone is not sufficient to determine a battery's condition.

Ralph

[tris]

I have and a battery tester seems to be quite cheap these days.

However,  at 5 years old it's likely be on its last legs, so might as well put the money for the tester into the battery it seems to me

[guzziart]

I have and a battery tester seems to be quite cheap these days.

However,  at 5 years old it's likely be on its last legs, so might as well put the money for the tester into the battery it seems to me

Agreed!  I have an inexpensive (less than $35) digital multifunction "battery analyzer" I got off of ebay, works good.  While they still have the old Milton toast your bread/dead short your battery type, I opted for the more modern LCD readout fancy shmancy thing.  And, I think getting 5 years out of a battery is not bad although I've been fortunate in that mine live longer than that.

[Zenermaniac]

The Yuasa in my Yamaha lasted 14 years. Last year I had to replace the Yuasa in my ‘17 Guzzi (4 years). I replaced it with a cheap generic brand from Menards. It’s sold dry. I’m not convinced it will last as long - we’ll see. There is some current draw from the ECU when parked and it doesn’t seem as tolerant as the old battery.

[n3303j]

If I get a battery filled with acid I throw it in the vehicle and go for a ride.
Done.
Odyssey comes prefilled & charged enough to start the vehicle.
Install it and go for a ride.
Done.
If your charging system can't bring a battery that will start the vehicle up to full charge then you have a more serious problem then worrying about pre-conditioning a battery with an external device.

[MMRanch]

https://www.repairsmith.com/blog/agm-vs-lead-acid/

I've gone to AGM .    Back when I had a Roamer , I replaced the stock battery with a "Add the Acid" battery and the computer flagged something.   So off to the dealer I went ???   In the end it cost me $100.00 for the dealer to tell me : "The VOLTAGE is low" , and I needed a new battery  ! 

[coast range rider]

If I get a battery filled with acid I throw it in the vehicle and go for a ride.
Done...

This is slightly misleading. There is a required waiting period after filling new battery before it should be charged.

[n3303j]

This is slightly misleading. There is a required waiting period after filling new battery before it should be charged.

Agreed; But if I buy a battery off the rack at Costco or Auto Zone (etc) good chance it's been sitting filled with acid well over the 30 minutes minimum required, by the time I get home. Actually battery gets an initial fill, rest 30 minutes then top up the cells. So by the time I get the box of lead home it is ready to go.

That being said, after seeing and repairing enough acid spill damage on various vehicles I'd never install any battery that's not completely sealed on any vehicle that could tip over. I'm a fan of the Odyssey product and have had only excellent service from their batteries. And they do not spill, or need trickling in storage, or water replenishment. And I like that orange case too.