Battery exploded after a 2 hour highway ride.

[motorcyclebaby]

Hi! I have an 83 GS550E. When I got the bike the previous owner said she had a battery problem in the past. After a weekend trip and 300 miles of riding, the battery exploded.

In manuals it says to use a 12 amp-hour battery. The one in the bike was 11ah. Anyone know what's up?

thanks!

motorcyclebaby

[Redman]

mcb,

Welcome to GSR.

Battery Exploded....? As in blew apart?

Batterys do make expllosive gasses, but usally not eneough to be a problem. And isnt usally sparks around,
Do make explovive gasses while being charged.

WOnder if the charging system is overcharging.
You have a volt meter?


.

[motorcyclebaby]

hi, Redman,
I'm looking for an agm battery online right now. Haven't had power to start the engine to test charging (yes I have a volt meter). Anyway, the battery did burst at its sides and sprayed acid all over. The regulator might be bad, but I'm wondering why does the manual say 12 Ah, yet all the batteries listed for this bike are 11 Ah? Can i use one for the 650 at 14 Ah?

I also haven't opened her up yet to make sure the overcharge line is good.

She rode for 300 miles at 6000 rpm without a problem. I could smell the sulfur from the battery about 20 miles from home. Anyway, I just got the bike a few weeks ago. Only worked on the carbs so far.

So...what's up with the rating discrepancy?

[salty_monk]

http://www.batterystuff.com/batterySearch.php?theType=Motorcycle&theMake=Suzuki&theModel=750cc+GS750,+Katana&theYear=1983&m=1#result

[tom203]

She rode for 300 miles at 6000 rpm without a problem. I could smell the sulfur from the battery about 20 miles from home. Anyway, I just got the bike a few weeks ago. Only worked on the carbs so far.

So...what's up with the rating discrepancy?

Time to work on charging system! Some 650s used 14 ah and some used 12 ah. If it fits in slot AND post positions are correct, use either. I've never seen a 11 ah, but this has nothing to do with battery exploding.What do you mean by "overcharge line" ?

[Planecrazy]

What do you mean by "overcharge line" ?

I think she's referring to the "vent tube" coming off a typical wet cell battery. If it was plugged up it could cause pressure to build and, eventually, an explosion.

The amp hour discrepancy has nothing to do with why your battery burst. You could put a 5ah in, a 50 ah in ... all the amp hour rating has to do with is how much "grunt" the battery has. A higher number is like higher horsepower in an engine - the battery is more powerful with a higher rating, and has greater capacity to continuously crank the motor.

As already stated, your problem is most likely a failed charging system, that is putting out too much voltage and "cooking" the battery. Go through "The Stator Papers," which you can find off the homepage of the GSResources. If you take it one step at a time you'll find the problem.

DON'T put another battery on the bike and try and ride it (especially a sealed battery like an AGM) until you correct the problem ... otherwise you could wind up with serious injury from a much more violent explosion. Good luck, and welcome to the GSR!

Regards,

[motorcyclebaby]

Thanks PC!
The overcharge line I was talking about comes from the negative terminal. It takes the current when the battery is fully charged and sends it to ground. According to the schematic, there's a fuse on that line.

Anyway, the vent tube was indeed blocked, melted actually, at the end. I think maybe the end bounced out somewhere along the highway and melted against the exhaust.

I haven't had a chance to check the charging voltage. But thanks for the info on the amp-hours. It's exactly the information I was looking for.

MB

I think he's referring to the "vent tube" coming off a typical wet cell battery. If it was plugged up it could cause pressure to build and, eventually, an explosion.

The amp hour discrepancy has nothing to do with why your battery burst. You could put a 5ah in, a 50 ah in ... all the amp hour rating has to do with is how much "grunt" the battery has. A higher number is like higher horsepower in an engine - the battery is more powerful with a higher rating, and has greater capacity to continuously crank the motor.

As already stated, your problem is most likely a failed charging system, that is putting out too much voltage and "cooking" the battery. Go through "The Stator Papers," which you can find off the homepage of the GSResources. If you take it one step at a time you'll find the problem.

DON'T put another battery on the bike and try and ride it (especially a sealed battery like an AGM) until you correct the problem ... otherwise you could wind up with serious injury from a much more violent explosion. Good luck, and welcome to the GSR!

Regards,

[chef1366]

http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfault.htm

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Ms. motorcyclebaby,

Sounds like the r/r went bad and overcharged your battery. Start with a known good battery, clean connections, and go through the Stator Papers. It's all in your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[ChicagoBob]

At least you know your stator works! Sounds like a regulator problem.

[tom203]

Thanks PC!
The overcharge line I was talking about comes from the negative terminal. It takes the current when the battery is fully charged and sends it to ground. According to the schematic, there's a fuse on that line.

On most bikes the fuses are on "positive" side of things! It's up to the r/r to decide if the battery is full- and then the r/r dumps it to ground courtesy of the stator. You probably have a bad r/r. Get new battery and go thru stator papers carefully- do not hope that the problem will just go away.

[Planecrazy]

Thanks PC!I haven't had a chance to check the charging voltage. But thanks for the info on the amp-hours. It's exactly the information I was looking for.

MB

Ooops! Sorry about the gender mix-up ... I've corrected my prior post to reflect your "not a guy" status, hehe! Sounds like it won't take too long to isolate the problem and correct it!

Regards,
Steve

[duaneage]

The Shaft drives used a 14 aH battery, the chains used a 12. No idea why but I suspect the chain drive used a smaller battery since it shared the battery box and airbox with the earlier 550 bikes and the chassis was closely related to the 750 2V bikes,

It could also be the babbit bearing motor was more work to spin than the roller bearing motor so they gave it a stouter battery.

[JEEPRUSTY]

STOCK batt is Yuasa yb 10 lb

i wonder what the 10HR in the manual references.

The Tests for the Electrics are available in the manual on BAss Cliffs website,

[motorcyclebaby]

Was thinking stator...

Hey, Guys,
Thanks for all your great responses. I'm in the middle of rewinding a stator on a CX500, so wondering if the stator on the GS also has issues. Anyway, still haven't gotten around to checking it, but hopefully today (first day off from work in weeks). Really want to ride this weekend!