Battery question

[my98xplorer]

I bought a new battery about 4 months ago. About 3 months ago it started going dead pretty often and i had to charge it every 3 or 4 days. I took it back and got them to give me a new one, and now its doing the same thing. Today the bike started fine when i left the house. I went inside Wal Mart for 10 minutes then came back out to leave and the battery was too dead to turn the engine over fast enough to get it started. I got was stranded and had to get my wife to come give me a jump. Any ideas whats going on with my batterys or is is something on the bike? I have also refilled the battery with acid because i noticed it was a bit low then recharged it.

[earlfor]

Re: Battery question

First off, you should never top off a battery with acid. Water boils away or evaporates. Acid does neither. So when you added acid, you increased the concentration. In short, you caused the battery to self destruct.

How often do you check the battery water level? Do you need to add water frequently? Thats an indication of overcharging. What is the voltage at your battery terminals when the engine is running at 5k rpm with the headlight on high beam? If its over 14.8, the system is overcharging.

Earl

I bought a new battery about 4 months ago. About 3 months ago it started going dead pretty often and i had to charge it every 3 or 4 days. I took it back and got them to give me a new one, and now its doing the same thing. Today the bike started fine when i left the house. I went inside Wal Mart for 10 minutes then came back out to leave and the battery was too dead to turn the engine over fast enough to get it started. I got was stranded and had to get my wife to come give me a jump. Any ideas whats going on with my batterys or is is something on the bike? I have also refilled the battery with acid because i noticed it was a bit low then recharged it.

[my98xplorer]

When i bought the battery from Sears, it was totally dry. It said to pour in the acid until its at the full line, let it sit for about a half hour, then refill it to the line. I did this exactly, but there was never a mention about putting water into the battery. I didnt have any extra acid for the old battery so i just would refill it with water and eventually it wouldnt hold a charge at all.

[Anonymous]

My battery's a maintenance free sealed unit. Worth every penny.

[ptm]

When i bought the battery from Sears, it was totally dry. It said to pour in the acid until its at the full line, let it sit for about a half hour, then refill it to the line. I did this exactly, but there was never a mention about putting water into the battery. I didnt have any extra acid for the old battery so i just would refill it with water and eventually it wouldnt hold a charge at all.

Yes, when you first buy the battery it often comes dry and they include a bottle of acid which is used to fill it. After that, you should never add more acid, since, as earl says, all that is ever lost through evaporation or from boiling is the water. If the cells are low, add water.

That said, and again back to what earl said, if you are going through batteries that often then there is probably something wrong with your charging system. It's either charging them too little or too much. Check the voltage across the battery terminal, if it's below 13.5v at 2500 rpm or above 14.8v at 5000 rpm there's a problem. Look at the stator papers in the garage section of this site for full, step by step troubleshooting .

[my98xplorer]

When the bike is at 5,000rpm my voltage is only 12.4, and at idle its right at 12. It doesnt do lower and it doesnt go higher. I have another stator that i can use but i dont wanna replace it if thats not the problem. Any ideas?

[SqDancerLynn1]

You have to go to the stator pages in the garage section & check the charging system It could be the stator, the regulator or even both..........

[bwringer]

...or the wiring, or the connectors...

The first thing to check is the connectors where the stator plugs into the wiring harness. These normally show rather frightening evidence of corrosion and overheating. Most people solder these connections, but do the no-load stator test first to verify your stator is still healthy.

[Jethro]

My battery's a maintenance free sealed unit. Worth every penny.

Yeah man. I pay $54 for a sealed unit and it lasts for years upon years.