Is my battery buggered or revivable?

[Orinoco]

First lovely day for ages, I take the bike off the optimate, all togged up for off and it refuses to start

I've taken the battery out to have a loo (though no idea what or how to check) and found the acid level is about 1/3rd to 1/2 what it should be...worth topping up and charging or a new battery?

No idea how old the battery is, I've only had the bike since June, though looks recent enough though

Received wisdom please

 

[Old Codger]

Top it up

Give it a go. Until you try you wont know.

Hang on I will consult my Crystal Ball

Yup possibly Shagged

 

[stever1]

If its been on an optimate for a long time the heat generated may have boiled the distilled water away. try topping it up before you go buying a new battery, it might be saved.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Buggered.

 

[warmshed]

top iyt up and give it a refresh charge, bet it works.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Bet it does too, but it'll be reduced capacity and it'll let you down at the worst possible time.

 

[Orinoco]

Seems to be charging ok, but have just spoken with my elderly neighbour who used to work for Oldham batteries, he reckons it's buggered if the plates have been out of the acid for some time, ho hum, a new battery then.

 

[Black Rooster]

you could try granvills battery aid tablets

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_216725_langId_-1_categoryId_255205

£4.29

should remove some of the sulphate on the plates

 

[MattW]

Buggered.
As AberdeenAngus says above, it'll have reduced capacity that it'll never get back. You won't be able to trust it - bin it and chalk it up to experience...

 

[Smug]

New battery time. Make sure that the system is not overcharging or you could ruin the new battery.

 

[STUBBS]

mines been knackered for about 3 years then, hasn't let me down yet

 

[Packer]

The best advice is not to use an Optimate or similar on a permanent basis. If the bike is being left for an extended period put the battery on charge for a few hours every couple of months. That's all it needs.

 

[harry]

The best advice is not to use an Optimate or similar on a permanent basis. If the bike is being left for an extended period put the battery on charge for a few hours every couple of months. That's all it needs.

Who says?

 

[Packer]

Who says?

Just trawl through the threads which are listed on a site search for "Optimate". Numerous threads with batteries that let the owner down on the first run after a lay up. Plenty of people leave the battery untouched for months on end and the bike starts without an issue. Obviously if you have immobilisers and alarms connected you'll need to top it up a bit more frequently. Apply common sense

My bike was off the road for six months. The battery was disconnected. I put on a trickle charge once for a few hours after about five months. No problem. A couple of years later it died, 9½ years old and getting on for 90,000 miles. It may have been alright for longer still but I got the bike rather too high off the ground on a hump backed bridge. The landing fractured the rear lower shock mounting and the next day the battery wouldn't start the bike. I thought that was possibly connected

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Who says?

I do

and so does Kevan

I never leave my bike's on the Optimate, all the time

Last week I did all 3, between 9am to about 8pm - each had a couple of hours each and they last saw the Optimate sometime in Dec

 

[Lord Snooty]

I let the acid level on my K75S battery drop down to a similar level and of course the battery wasn't able to hold a decent charge; I topped it up and recharged it and it lasted for at least another couple of years, I replaced it last year, so they can be recovered.

 

[Bendy toy]

My Optimate recovered a totally dead flat discharged lead acid gel battery that had been driving a caravan tracker.

The battery lasted a year as a mower starter battery before vibration shook it to bits.

So if an Optimate won't recover the battery you can say it's a scrapper.