Battery Problem?

Sorted thank you

Sounds like a charging problem. The battery may not be getting the right voltage and that's why the heated grips aren't staying on, and why the battery's gone flat.

Get a multimeter and test the voltage output at the battery, it should be 13.5-15.5V at 5000rpm w/the lights on full beam. If its outside this range, suspect the voltage reg/rect.

[dizzyblonde]

sounds like your battery could be on its way out Lilly. How longs have you had it on the bike( I know you haven't had it too long) but to quote XXBadgerXX in another thread

''That`s more likely to be a supply issue with the grips , have you measured the voltage from the battery when the bike is running , if it drops below a certain amount the grips turn themselves off ''

but hey waddda I know, I don't have any, I'm hard as nails me either that or I just don't want to admit my hands are like icicles, and would really like to have hotgrips..lol

I hope the forum won't mind me making a few comments.

Here's a few pointers.

1. If you have a multimeter check the battery voltage before you start the bike.
Should read about 12.00-12.7v approx. less than 12v then the battery is probably on the way out.

2. Check the voltage immediately after a 20 minute ride, with the engine off, if the voltage is up to around 13.3-13.8v then the charging circuits are probably OK.

3. If you can measure the voltage with the engine running at 3000rpm you should be seeing the battery voltage rising above 13.0v, maybe as high as 13.8ish, if you see 15v or more then you have a charging / regulator / battery problem.

3. Motorcycle Batteries hate
Extreme cold weather less than 10c they start to fail especially if old.
Going flat, especially the more modern sealed types, don't leave your bike in the garage all winter with the alarm on, it will kill your battery. (we sell me more batteries in the spring than any other time). a battery that has been allowed to run flat with a constant load like a light or alarm will never be 100% OK afterwards. It may however be only slightly reduced in performance and you may get away with it. The longer it has been left drained the more chance of permanant damage.

4. Some hotgrips type products will only work with the engine on as they want to power from the engine and not drain the battery.

5. If you are going to store your bike for the whole winter and like me would rather drive in the rain than ride my precious SV then disconnect the battery and charge it for 24 hours every 30 days using an optimate or similar over the winter. Don't charge it in very cold conditions eg less than than 10 degrees C as the battery won't like it.

6. There are a number of devices on the market to test a battery, I recommend the Testmate as it gives pretty consistant results. Unfortunately it costs about £35.00. However a proper full test with the right equipment can take several hours and frankly you don't want to spend several thousands buying one of them either. Impedance testers are also a bit of a mixed lot as you have to have the actual data for that particular brand and model of battery for it to work properly, as different manufacturers have differing internal impedance, but it can give an indication. If your battery is really dead, then any of the testers will tell you this, but you probably already knew that anyway.

Proper battery testing is more of an artform than a science, temperature, time from last charge, time left standing from charge to test, and charging regime all play a part, even electrolite temperature and barometric pressure can make a tiny difference.

Please pm me if you really want to get bored about battery testing. I'm starting to sound like a bloody anarok! I'll get me coat.


Hope this helps.

Many tanks for these much valuable details Batteryman. I don't mind riding in rain. However, under icy conditions, what is the bare minimum to keep a battery alive? Is giving it a spin around the block once a week a good idea? Or even every two weeks if that is enough? I disarm the alarm as I keep the SV in the shed so that shouldn't drain it. Won't be able to do much about below 10c unfortunately as I have no garage. I know if it's an old battery even 3-4 days standing still may be a problem but let's assume the battery is ok. When I bought my SV650 the dealer had to top it up and recharge it, so it's not brand new.
Cheers

[TEC]

Originally Posted by Batteryman

I hope the forum won't mind me making a few comments.

All good tips etc but I have a slight issue with one ...

3. .... if you see 15v or more then you have a charging / regulator / battery problem.

You should really have said depending on the bike. One of mine puts out 15v+ when no lights etc switched on, as standard, if it started putting out less than that I would start to suspect something was amiss. Its not an SV btw

Originally Posted by lily

Sorted thank you

Your welcome, glad I could help.

Originally Posted by TEC

All good tips etc but I have a slight issue with one ...


You should really have said depending on the bike. One of mine puts out 15v+ when no lights etc switched on, as standard, if it started putting out less than that I would start to suspect something was amiss. Its not an SV btw

Your quite right, I was trying to give a general view.

Many of the points I raised also come with certain conditions, but 15v is a pretty good place to start, normally above this there is something amiss with the charging circuit or the battery. Yes I have seen more, particularly on older bikes.

Originally Posted by Haluk

Many tanks for these much valuable details Batteryman. I don't mind riding in rain. However, under icy conditions, what is the bare minimum to keep a battery alive? Is giving it a spin around the block once a week a good idea? Or even every two weeks if that is enough? I disarm the alarm as I keep the SV in the shed so that shouldn't drain it. Won't be able to do much about below 10c unfortunately as I have no garage. I know if it's an old battery even 3-4 days standing still may be a problem but let's assume the battery is ok. When I bought my SV650 the dealer had to top it up and recharge it, so it's not brand new.
Cheers

A half hour ride once a fortnight is a good starting point for the winter. Disconnecting the alarm if you are happy to do so will certainly help.

I'm only slightly concerned that you said the dealer topped the battery up. Most SV's use a sealed for life battery. I would not recommend topping them up as their is no markings to show where to fill to, and they were not designed for this.

Overfilling a battery is just as bad as underfilling it, as it decreases its' life expectancy and will increase the self-discharge rate.

Much apreciated