Crappy batteries

[Two Checks]

Sonneschein has been an Exide company since 1996.

[Muzz]

I understand the owner doing bonehead things with the electrics.  I don't understand when the factory designs in a weakness like that.  It's just too easy to figure out an aux power source for the techno-trinkets.

Not quite sure what causes it but the Baby B. has a parasitic drain that will flatten the battery in a month.

I tend to actually use this to keep the battery fresh; every 3 weeks when the bike is not being used I will put on my 3amp smart charger and remove it when it reaches 'float". As I understand it, this actually lessens the chances of sulphonation. I got 7 years out of the first Guzzi branded Yuasa wet cell, and 5 years and counting out of this one.

Works for me. <shrug>

[oldbike54]

 Having had two RT beemers with the clock in question , no , they aren't causing the problem .

 Dusty

[gnorts]

Sonneschein has been an Exide company since 1996.

Ah.  I dinna know that.  My problems with their product were in '94 and '95.

My condolences to Sonnenschein. 

[redrider]

Many years ago I worked for a battery service company-forklift and such. Exide closed the local factory and moved to Mehico. Quality went south as well. And do NOT get me started on the beer distilleries down there.

[Muzz]

Exide closed the local factory and moved to Mehico. Quality went south as well. And do NOT get me started on the beer distilleries down there.

Are you saying that the beer tastes like battery acid?

[OldBMWMaster]

My BMW R1100RT  ate two batteries before I figured out the problem was my GPS.  Its battery was bad and it was acting a a huge drain on the battery.  Hope this helps,

[drlapo]

I still suspect a batch of bad batteries. All three came from the same manufacturer and may be from the same lot.
The clock drain never killed the Wal-Mart battery and it gets a boost via a tender if it sits more than a week.
I ordered an AGM battery

[twowings]

Are you saying that the beer tastes like battery acid?

Why not? Anheuser-Busch created an entire empire out of the stuff...

[krglorioso]

I use a Battery Tender on 4 of my 5 vehicles; the ones that do not get regular use.  As stephenm correctly notes, above, a Battery Tender monitors a battery's state of charge and only adds charge if battery falls below a certain voltage.  My Odyssey battery was a few years old in 2011, when I got the 03 Stone Touring it was in, and it still is working fine.  I load test it every six months, just to be sure. 

Ralph

[steven c]

"I've been using the $7 Harbor Freight trickle charger, which feeds 14.2 volts at .5 amp. It's not really a float charger and if you leave it connected for days at a time it can cook a battery. Best to hook it up for a few hours each month, or put it on a timer that gooses the battery for a few minutes a day. "
 Be careful eith the HB chargers, my nephew had one melt down and I had one boil off the acid in a battery I had forgotten was on the HB charger one winter.