battery tender question/problem?
Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 954
Likes: 4
From: CA
my original battery lasted less than a year. I luckily, have a brother who works for a battery company. As soon as my bike wouldnt retain a charge, or the tender would immediately state it was all good, I took it to him. Battery had less than 50% charge to it at all times and failed load tests. Usually meaning the dealer had the battery sitting on the shelf charged up, and not maintaining it.
I get all my batteries through my brother, because they do not charge them up off the shelf, until purchased, giving the battery longer life. If they are charged up, then sit on the shelf for a year, basically used up a year of its lifespan.
www.eastpenn-deka.com/ makes the Harley Battery, I went with their non HD branded battery instead.
FYI.
Went to my dealer to complain. They told me its normal. Some of their customers come back in a few months stating the battery is bad, they give them a pro-rated discount, and I told them what I know from an actually Deka battery distributor, and they just blew me off. They should give you a brand new battery, not one that was laying around charged up. They offered me discount, lol.
I get all my batteries through my brother, because they do not charge them up off the shelf, until purchased, giving the battery longer life. If they are charged up, then sit on the shelf for a year, basically used up a year of its lifespan.
www.eastpenn-deka.com/ makes the Harley Battery, I went with their non HD branded battery instead.
FYI.
Went to my dealer to complain. They told me its normal. Some of their customers come back in a few months stating the battery is bad, they give them a pro-rated discount, and I told them what I know from an actually Deka battery distributor, and they just blew me off. They should give you a brand new battery, not one that was laying around charged up. They offered me discount, lol.
Last edited by jknowlton; Mar 8, 2010 at 10:10 AM.
Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 954
Likes: 4
From: CA
If its going down that much, I would suspect that the battery was sitting around for awhile before they put it in your bike.
New ones, no matter how much I ride, after I get back, put the tender on, usually within a few minutes goes green.
What is the voltage reading on the battery before tender? 12.7 volts is good. When bike is running, should be 12.8 or higher like 13.2 volts, meaning it is being charged by the alternator, and similar reading with the tender on the bike.
VOLTAGE (OCV) STATE OF CHARGE
12.7 100%
12.6 75%
12.3 50%
12.0 25%
11.8 0%
New ones, no matter how much I ride, after I get back, put the tender on, usually within a few minutes goes green.
What is the voltage reading on the battery before tender? 12.7 volts is good. When bike is running, should be 12.8 or higher like 13.2 volts, meaning it is being charged by the alternator, and similar reading with the tender on the bike.
VOLTAGE (OCV) STATE OF CHARGE
12.7 100%
12.6 75%
12.3 50%
12.0 25%
11.8 0%
I keep both my bikes on a Battery Tender. One thing I have noticed and I have wondered if this is normal. When I get back from a ride, I hook my bike back up to the Battery Tender before I even leave the garage. I expected the Tender to indicate that I have a full charge, or at least above 80%. But, the Tenders show only a red charge light indicating that my battery is below the 80% charge. About an hour later, the Tender indicates an 80% charge and after a while, it indicates a full charge. My Deluxe battery is less than 3 months old and the V-Rods is about 9 months old. Is it nomal for a new battery to be less than 80% charged after a ride? It doesn't seem to matter if the ride is 300 miles long or 60 miles.
TIA
TIA
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 180
Likes: 0
From: South Alabama
I was afraid that might be the problem. When I bought the latest battery at the dealer, (3 months ago) it wasn't in a box and the bottom of the battery was scuffed. I even asked if this was a used battery because it wasn't in a box and was dirty. The parts guy that brought me the battery started making coments about I had to have a clean battery and people started looking at me funny and I just took it and left. Now I wish I had insisted on one in the box. I will try and take it back and see what they say. Thanks for the help.
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