Update from my earlier post. Thank you wscott for your reply and info. Just to add that my starter is near new All ***** and all cables are in good condition etc. Oil is synthetic 20-50 so that isn't the problem. All top end parts are very recent, Scottsman head job from Shortblock Charlie, SE Flattop pistons, Andrews cams, all new HD/SE hybrid cam drive components, etc Charge rate is good as I have checked it a few times. My in dash volt meter reads near 15 but test with digital voltmeter shows 14.5. Anyway, I got the Yuasa and will put it in if time allows this weekend. Temps here right now are not too far below freezing mid day but the days I had a problem the nights were much colder and it would have taken a while for the engine to raise temps in my ice box of a garage. I am going to crank bike over with the Deka and check volt drop while cranking at battery (and I also have an inductive ammeter), then install the Yuasa and see if anything is different. Will post my findings in case it helps anyone else out.

 

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Thanks for the update/info & will watch for your post on how the new battery worked out.

Make sure it's up to full/100% charge prior to installing it.

Good luck.

Scott

 

etx30l

 

high tech battery solutions is where I bought my switchback battery a couple months back, ultra fast shipping and there are 10% off codes floating around the web so you can knock even more off the price

 

What department at Lowes? Lawn tractors, emergency generators, fencing, plumbing etc?

 

first, go to lowes.com and select your local store to see if they even carry it. if they do carry it, then it'll be in the outdoor section with all the other lawn mower batteries.

 

Follow up on checking starting problem on my '04 Electra when cold. Temp here this morning was 8 above zero. At 1 pm (and 32 degrees) I decided to remove the seat and see what's up. The Deka is 2 years old and charging system is working fine. The standing voltage was low at 12.02 volts and voltage should normally be right near 12.5 volts. Bike has sat for 2 weeks since last full day of riding. Anyway, I cranked the bike over and voltage at the battery dropped to nearly 6 volts and of course the engine turned over real slow and engine did not start or even pop. So, I checked the new Yuasa battery and the voltage was 12.2 volts in the box. I decided to try it before charging just to see what would happen and it cranked the engine over pretty fast and engine started within 2 seconds of cranking. So, my conclusion is that the Deka has failed internally somehow and that it has been giving me the slow cranking problems when engine is cold and sometimes even when engine is warmed up for the past 4 months. A side note: I wish the Deka had not had a problem cuz it's U.S. made and I want to support U.S. products when I can. Other than that, I do not like having to use a spacer between the battery lead terminal and the battery post like the Deka battery requires. Harley batteries and Yuasa 500 cca batteries have posts that extend out flush to the side of the battery and a spacer is not needed. Less spacing means better connections. I hope this info helps someone having a similar issue and/or just adds to our shared information base here on HD Forums. Ride hard/ride safe.....Nevada rider

 

Yuasa parent company is from Japan, but they have producing their batteries in Laureldale, PA since 1979. Deka seems to have lessened the quality of their batteries in recent years, there have been a lot of reports their batteries lasting 2-3 years rather than the 4-5+ years in the past. I plan on spending the extra $30-40 for a Yuasa even though Deka has a facility in Iowa.

 

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100% correct on Yuasa's newer gen GYZ32HL being mfg in USA/PA.,state's it right on the box & battery too.

On the Deka batteries possibly slipping a bit quality wise,i think whats happening there is its a very popular replacement battery that likely sells @ a 2 to 1 or 3 to1 ratio over hD's $80 more expensive repl battery so point is ,when your selling 2x 3x more of a product the failure rate " statistically " increases right along with it.

So you will see more Deka failures along the way along with other issues we aren't aware of when guys post they had a premature battery failure.

Things like issues with poor charging system performance & or tired starter along with also possibly having an issue with over doing with a maint /float charger that may be holding battery at 13.4 - 13.5v's 24/7 or close to it when i lower rate float mode that over time in somce cases (NOT ALL!) lead to overcharging/drying out plates in battery leading to reduced srv'c life/premature battery failure.

So with that in mind i have yet to be convinced Deka AGM bike batteries have slipped in quality because i srv'c bikes for people @ times and have installed quite a few Deka AGM's over the past yrs and have yet to have 1 prematurely fail.

For example,i just srv'd a friends bike i installed a new Deka maint free fact act AGM battery in on 11/2009 that's still going strong starting the 1700cc v-twin in his bike just fine 7+ yrs later following my maint rec to never leave it on the battery 24/7 or close to it.

But i tell every person i install a new battery in their bike that uses a maint/float charger to not over do it leaving it on the battery 24/7 (or close to it) for reason
s i stated above.

The Deka AGM i installed in a prior bike i had lasted 8yrs before giving up following my maint charger rec.

Following my battery maint/charging rec's on batteries in the classic car (69 Chevelle SS396) i have owned since 1978/approx 39yr's lasted as follows:

* SEARS DIEHARD-13YRS (STD/FLOODED LEAD ACID)

* SEARS DIEHARD-12YRS (STD/FLOODED LEAD ACID)

* REPOP#-1 DELCO R59-8YRS (STD/FLOODED LEAD ACID)

* REPOP#-2 DELCO R59-APPROX 6YRS & STILL GOING STRONG. (AGM/SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ACID BY DESIGN)

NOTE: THE REPOP DELCO R59 SERIES BATTERY IS DESIGNED TO BE A LIGHT WT REPOP DELCO R59 SERIES BATTERY SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR " FAST SERIES " STOCK APPEARING MUSCLE CAR DRAG RACING .

IT HAS A MUCH SMALLER/LIGHTER (BY APPROX 25LBS) MAINT FREE FACT ACT AGM MOTORCYCLE BATTERY INSIDE AN EMPTY DELCO R59 BATTERY CASE WHICH IS LIKE THE AGM BATTERY HD USES IN TOURING BIKES. (ETX30L DEKA OR YUASA'S GYZ32HL).

AND 6+ YRS LATER IT'S STILL STARTING THE NOW 402CID DISP BIG BLOCK CHEVY WITH FAIRLY HIGH COMPRESSION (9.8) JUST FINE COLD OR HOT FOLLOWING MY CHARGING REC.

Yes,i may have been lucky on 1, 2 or maybe 3 batteries, but i am consistently getting longer then avg srv'c life out of all the batteries in all the bikes i have owned & ridden on the street since 1971 along with great srv'c life out of all the batteries (4) in my classic muscle car over the past 39yrs too backing up what i rec doing maint/charge wise does in fact work.

And that battery maint/charge rec is also coming from 1st hand exp owning & riding many street bikes over the past 46yrs many of which i had to buy a new battery for when i bought them along with the 1st hand exp of many bikes i srvc'd for other people i installed new batteries for too that got good srv'c life when they followed my battery maint rec's weather they were older gen std fully flooded lead acid design or newer gen AGM batteries that use considerably less acid they got good srv'c life when following my maint/charging rec's.

Happy motoring.

Scott

 

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BAD BOY!/LOL!

YOU DIDNT FULLY CHARGE THE NEW BATTERY LIKE I REC YOU DO PRIOR TO INSTALL & OR 1ST USE.

But none the less i am glad to see Yuasa's new GYZ32HL/500cca battery worked out well starting your bike coming from a wee bit chilly 8deg f to 32deg f then firing it up NP which is great to hear esp if it still had 20w-50 oil in the motor too.

BTW,remember to not over do it with a maint/float charger,only leave it on the battery for a max of 24hrs or so after the battery has reached full charge & charger has gone into the maint/float charge mode to avoid possibly overcharging the battery (some cases/not all!) with a maint charger on it 24/7 or close to it.

BTW,your volt meter may be out of wack because it showed the new yuasa battery @ a fairly ow 12.2v's (full charge for that agm should be approx 12.7 + -1v) & still started a lrg disp v-twin in 32deg f temps doesn't seem right.

After being off the maint charger for 6-7 days the yuasa gyz32hl in my hd (no security/alarm) still shows 12.85-12.9v's in 38-40 deg f garage.

But a new gen AGM yuasa only showing 12.2v's is normally considered a 25% charge/75% discharged battery and you would think a 75% discharged battery would not normally start a lrg disp hd v-twin that
was stored in temp that went from 8deg f to 32 deg f with NP.

But if your voltmeter was accurate when it showed your new Yuasa battery @ only 12.2v's/@approx 25% charge voltage when it fired up your hD in 32g f temp it shows just how much umph/reserve cranking power that battery has in pretty cold cond.

The Yuasa GYZ32HL i bought new from Phat perf showed approx 12.7v's when i got it,i then fully charged it & checked full charge fresh off the maint/float charger (1.5a) which showed 14.05-14.1v's.

Then i let the battery sit over night (with no load) & it still showed approx 12.95-13v's 12+ hrs later.

Scott