failing battery after a months ownership???

[Eoghan]

Hi all,

my bikes an 09 GS with less than 1200 miles on the clock. i have only had the bike a month.

started it this morning to run into work and although it started fine, the red general warning light and the battery symbol appeared. as soon as the bike fired into life, the warning lights went, and the run to work was fine. same thing happened as i was leaving work.

this warning has only started to appear, so i am wondering if the battery is running down.

had a search on the forums, and couldn't find much... apart for a post suggesting when ever the bike is parked up then the steering lock should be engaged to help conserve the battery.

I'm not mechanically minded, but surely to God the battery shouldn't be going flat after a months riding? its ridden during the week to and from work - 40miles. its not been left in the garage for more than two days at a time.

any advice or info offered would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Eoghan

 

[Slowdown]

apart for a post suggesting when ever the bike is parked up then the steering lock should be engaged to help conserve the battery.

There's some on here with a fantastically wicked sense of humour.




Anyroads, why not accept the fact your battery needs charging, go out and buy a charger, and charge the battery?

Or, if you're passing, why not pop back into the dealer you bought the bike from and ask them what they think?


BTW - don't leave the bike on the sidestand - all the battery acid runs to one end, seriously reducing the amount of power the battery can provide.

 

[Schtum]

BTW - don't leave the bike on the sidestand - all the battery acid runs to one end, seriously reducing the amount of power the battery can provide.

Yes, indeed - I do believe that AGM batteries are particularly prone to this malaise.....

 

[Eoghan]

thanks for the reply...

when i got my XJR in 2001, i don't think i charged the battery for at least two years. so for the battery to be potentially showing signs of needing charging after only a month it seems pretty poor to me.

the bike is very infrequently parked on the side stand. at home and at work its stored on the centre stand.

regarding the post about the steering lock... i was a bit sceptical but i checked the manual and although it doesn't suggest it conserves the battery it does say that ignition, lights and all function circuits are switched off.


if it is a case of having to charge the battery, i'm gonna have a word with my dealer....

Eog

 

[Schtum]

the bike is very infrequently parked on the side stand. at home and at work its stored on the centre stand.

UKGSer.com sense of humour for the use of.....

 

[Eoghan]

UKGSer.com sense of humour for the use of.....

i'm new to this game so wtf?

 

[Beemerman59]

I would at least check the battery connections to see if they are loose. Long way to go to a dealer to have them spend 5 seconds fixing the problem. If you have a multimeter you could check the voltage across the battery with the engine running to see if its getting charged. Mines runs at 14.2 volts engine running, is the oem Exide battery (AGM so will still work upside down) and still fine.

 

[RideTheWind]

Maybe wise to invest in an optimate or similar. I have a GSA thats a week old and have tonight fitted the wire adapter direct to battery and connected her up. I have an alarm which will no doubt drain the battery(even though it "sleeps after 15 mins) . Its piece of mind and keeps the battery optimized. Always used one on all of my bikes, never a problem. Hope this helps Note: If you do use one, make sure you wire direct to battery & not spliced into a loom, as the bikes electrical management system may go into spasm and get damaged.

 

[E. Buygum]

i'm new to this game so wtf?

It appears that giving completely spurious advice is what sometimes passes for sense of humour round here so I assume the steering lock malarkey (and of course the battery side stand story) are red herrings. I get the odd warning light on start up and have never worried about it as it goes out quickly enough but checking voltages, battery conections can't be a bad idea.

 

[wilbjr21]

Just because your battery warning light comes on after start-up doesn't mean that your battery is useless. This often happens and it then goes out after a second or two.

It's no good comparing it to a completely dissimilar bike like your Yam; the 1200 uses the battery to feed the electronics - even when switched off.

I see your from Armadale it's been cold at night this week and more juice is required to turn the engine.

 

[alimey4u2]

I have been lauding the benefits of the Wesco battery on the 1200GS over all comers, it having survived unflinchingly on my other bike for 7 years. After one year on the GS the fcuker is dead. Gel & AGM batteries don't recover as well from total discharge like lead acid batteries & that is the reason for their rapid failure. Sure, lead acid suffer from sulphation but that seems to be more gradual. Computor/ bike alarm combined with long term storage are the main contributors to this failure.

Having read the advice on this forum, I will humbly purchase a smart trickle charger & I will put it to good use in the future...

 

[theop]

Hi all,


started it this morning to run into work and although it started fine, the red general warning light and the battery symbol appeared. as soon as the bike fired into life, the warning lights went, and the run to work was fine. same thing happened as i was leaving work.

this warning has only started to appear, so i am wondering if the battery is running down.



Eoghan

They all do that Sir! I don't think you have a battery issue yet. The winter will show and wou ll know within a week of temps below 5C.

Generally GS12s are really heavy on their batteries. Its yet one of many issues you will face with GS ownership. Don't want to spoil your honeymoon with your new bike, but as you are coming from a Honda, just prepare for loads more aggro and tears as a BMW owner. It hopefully won't be as bad as the proverbial Dushatty ownership, but BMs are a lot closer to that than you think and most definitely not even remotely as good quality products as Honda. Just a warning... You ll still love it though, as they are great bikes to actually ride and do long trips on them...