72 Degrees out, Sunny and a DEAD Battery...UGH!

[YellowJacket!]

OK, so its December 27th in the Smoky Mountains and it is an uncharacteristically warm 72 degrees and sunny.  Just a perfect day to take YJ out for a ride as I still have a full tank of gas that I need to burn off.  So, in preparation last night I hooked up my battery tender...yep, forgot to do that a couple months ago.
This morning, went out into the garage and the red trouble light was on on the tender.  Checked the fluid levels in the battery and they were still within specs. Hmmmm.  Hooked the tender back up and the yellow charging light came on so I left it for a couple more hours but when I came back the red light was on again.  So, I check the date of purchase on my crappy little Advanced Autoparts battery and it was......December 2007!.  Lasted one year.  Same problem I had with the last two.  Gonna get the next one from WallyWorld.  So, in the mean time, its a beautiful day outside, starting to get dark out and YJ is up on her centerstand waiting until the next time.

Bummer.....   :'( :'( :'( :( :( >:( >:(

David

[h2olawyer]

Power failures suck - especially on rare warm winter days.

I had breakfast with the Christian Motorcycle Association this morning.  It was 9 degrees (F) when I left the house @ 7:15AM.  Out of the dozen folks who came to the breakfast / meeting, three actually rode their bikes!  Amazingly, two of those were Harleys.  Both of them said they never could run without the choke nearly full on.  Those two were a father / daughter pair.  I told the daughter I was impressed with her fortitude to ride on such a cool morning.  Her dad told me it was her idea!  That's dedication.  The third rider was on a 2008 Gold Wing - so that doesn't really count, except he was wearing his leather vest over a thermal t-shirt.  No other torso insulation.  He did have some nice, heavy gloves & heated chaps, though.

H₂O

[Cdnlouie]

I hear your pain David!  :( That would ruin my Christmas if we were so fortunate to have 72 degrees and My V did not start.  You know, you have to change the way you live  ;), like set that charger up so it is plugged in when you park and then you don't have to remember it.  Two months without charging is enough to kill a battery, and this second one may be the proof.

I especially start plugging mine in the fall because it gets drained from cold starts and short rides, even 20 minutes is not enough to bring it back to full charge.  Do this a few times in the fall then forget about it and guess what happens...you know it...toast!  The moral of the story is to keep the battery maintained and about the best invention of these modern days is the float charger.  They are little wonders and save a few bucks over the long haul and guarantee a mid-winter start when God blesses you with a gift of warm weather.

Hint: I installed an accessory plug just over my stator cover on the engine mount bracket and added a cigarette lighter plug to my charger to make an easy plug in when I park my "V".  You can put one anywhere but I like the lower location for my electric gloves in the fall.  They make the plug-in feature really slick.  Then you don't have take off your side cover.  Most chargers also have a little pigtail you can install which works real fine too.  Of course, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

In the meantime, I just want to wish you both a happy New Year and hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas day.  We are getting your warm blast now and snow (about 2 feet) is melting like crazy but probably not enought to get the roads dried up  :(.

Here's looking to 2009  :),

[Kenny]

 David hope you get out soon for a ride,  I remember hearing of a few guys who rigged up their chargers to the Garage door opener (overhead) that way they get a short charge once a day/week. I prefer the small solar chargers - they are a plug & forget item in the winter. I use the two pin SAE fused plugs for the charger & for other accessories. 
    I also have one on the Kubota tractor & have never needed a jump start yet, so I'm sold on them.
        Cheers Ken(on the road again- Koln)   :) 

[Tiger]

 :o 72 degrees, if only!!!

The last two (or Three??) Visions that now have new homes, went out of here with new batteries, float chargers and a full cover...

"The Mistress", when not in use, is hooked up to float charger ($20.00 at U S Walmarts!!). The battery came from the same supplier, yes, Walmart...and she sleeps under a full cover. Never let me down yet... 8)

                                8).......TIGER....... 8)

[Night Vision]

I take my batteries out and store them in the cellar @65deg or so.

I have a float charger, but only use it once every three or four weeks while in storage.

for some reason, I don't like the idea of a constant charge or a constantly fully charged battery all the time.

I have had enough experience with rechargable batteries for tools and deep cycle trolling batteries to know that they tend to develope a "memory".... they need to discharge and recharge to utilize their full potential and extend their life.

Batteries also build up sulfer on the plates.... my big boy charger automatically goes into "desulfation mode" (when it needs to) charging the large batteries....

these little 2 amp trickle/float chargers probably won't desulfate a battery and the 14 volts the charging system puts in might to some extent.. 12v car batteries are charging at like 16v when the car is running...

I'm not saying that you should treat your Vision's battery like a deep cycle.... just saying that I think they need some exercise.

[h2olawyer]

They get plenty of 'exercise' when the stator dies every 1000 miles and you have 50+ miles to get back home!   :D

Mine lives on the trickle charger.  My last battery - an Interstate Cycletron - lasted 5 years, even with the stator problems.  It stopped taking a charge late last summer.  Before I started using a Tender Jr., I bought a battery every spring.  Since I'm now using a cheapie from Batteries Plus, and I'll need one for Tractor when i get it going later this winter, I'll be getting an AGM battery.  Have one in my pickup and its been fantastic.  An Optima - it looks like a 6-pack.  Its been drained at least a dozen times and still tests as new.  I bought it in 2000.  (knocking heavily on wood)

H₂O

[reardeac]

Sorry about your luck. We had the same weather. Left home at noon and didn't get home til around 6. beautiful riding day. I have the wal-mart battery as bad as I hate to admit due to my deep seated hatred for the devil. It seems to have lasted better than any battery so far (1.5 years)