Battery question for you acidic experts

[Guest]

Well, I did it again. I have that crappy automatic petcock on my bike which requires a tool to set it to prime. Well, I knew better but..... after I got back from vacation I decided it was time for a night ride. I knew the carbs would probably be dry since the bike was sitting in the heat for about 10 days. Instead of getting my screwdriver out and setting it to prime I figured I'd just crank her over and suck enough gas into the carbs (which works 9 out of 10 times). Not this time, majorly drained the battery while cranking for about 40 seconds till the battery and cranking were almost caput. I stopped just short of it going completely dead but its pretty close.

This is a relatively brand new battery (2 mos old) and this is the first time I've really drained it. Fluid is at the right levels and Its been working just fine so far. My question is "have I killed the battery to the point where it won't recover by doing what I did?" My previous battery I killed at least 3 times before it was toast.....is my new battery ever going to be the same after I recharge it?

[earlfor]

If you immediately removed it and put it on a charger to bring it back to normal, I doubt any harm was done. If you let it sit for days in a completely discharged state, I would expect some loss in capacity.

Earl

[80gs1000e]

Thanks, thats good to hear. If it is indeed dead or on its way perhaps next time around I'll go with a gel battery. Somebody told me that they are not susceptible to the same discharge death that the regular batteries are. You can supposedly discharge a gel battery completely lots of times with no ill effects? I'll need to check on that.

Time for a manual petcock!

[earlfor]

My guess is you're right about the deep discharge capabilities of gel cells.
A lot of RV and Marine application batteries are Gel. I dont believe, for the same capacity, they will have as much cold cranking amperage, but that may not be a big problem for a motorcycle.

Earl

Thanks, thats good to hear. If it is indeed dead or on its way perhaps next time around I'll go with a gel battery. Somebody told me that they are not susceptible to the same discharge death that the regular batteries are. You can supposedly discharge a gel battery completely lots of times with no ill effects? I'll need to check on that.

Time for a manual petcock!

[rphillips]

Probably no harm to battery, but 40 sec. of continous cranking will get the starter much hotter than it was designed for

[jimcor]

Your battery, Domino, is toast. Drain it and send it to me. UPS ground. I'll recycle it for you. :twisted:

Damn 1980 petcocks...I've got one too.

Be careful with running that starter too long! I've just rebuilt one. It's not hard to do but man what a PITA.

See you on the next Indiana GS ride!

[Joe Nardy]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

Well, I did it again. I have that crappy automatic petcock on my bike which requires a tool to set it to prime. Well, I knew better but..... after I got back from vacation I decided it was time for a night ride. I knew the carbs would probably be dry since the bike was sitting in the heat for about 10 days. Instead of getting my screwdriver out and setting it to prime I figured I'd just crank her over and suck enough gas into the carbs (which works 9 out of 10 times). Not this time, majorly drained the battery while cranking for about 40 seconds till the battery and cranking were almost caput. I stopped just short of it going completely dead but its pretty close.

This is a relatively brand new battery (2 mos old) and this is the first time I've really drained it. Fluid is at the right levels and Its been working just fine so far. My question is "have I killed the battery to the point where it won't recover by doing what I did?" My previous battery I killed at least 3 times before it was toast.....is my new battery ever going to be the same after I recharge it?

Domino,

Are you SURE there was gas in the tank? You DO have a past history:

[80gs1000e]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

Domino,

Are you SURE there was gas in the tank? You DO have a past history:

.....well I'll make sure to check the gas first thing when I get home as long as you promise to make sure your battery is actually bolted up OK? :twisted:

Your battery, Domino, is toast. Drain it and send it to me. UPS ground. I'll recycle it for you. :twisted:

Damn 1980 petcocks...I've got one too.

See you on the next Indiana GS ride!

Sounds like a plan, I'll also send with it the 50 or so quarts of oil I've been meaning to recycle and the other 3 leaking batteries as well. Cya next time man! :twisted:

[Joe Nardy]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

.....well I'll make sure to check the gas first thing when I get home as long as you promise to make sure your battery is actually bolted up OK? :twisted:

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Do you have any photographic evidence to support the above claim??? Hmmmm?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[80gs1000e]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

.....well I'll make sure to check the gas first thing when I get home as long as you promise to make sure your battery is actually bolted up OK? :twisted:

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Do you have any photographic evidence to support the above claim??? Hmmmm?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You're lucky I didn't have my cameraphone then.....I'll be keeping an eye on you Nardy....and when you slip up I'll be there to document it! :twisted:

[Joe Nardy]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

.....well I'll make sure to check the gas first thing when I get home as long as you promise to make sure your battery is actually bolted up OK? :twisted:

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Do you have any photographic evidence to support the above claim??? Hmmmm?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

You're lucky I didn't have my cameraphone then.....I'll be keeping an eye on you Nardy....and when you slip up I'll be there to document it! :twisted:

You didn't have a cameraphone WHEN? I still don't know what you're talking about. Are you implying that MY GS has ever let me down? :roll:

Joe

[80gs1000e]

Re: Battery question for you acidic experts

You didn't have a cameraphone WHEN? I still don't know what you're talking about. Are you implying that MY GS has ever let me down? :roll:

Joe

Not at all, just old dudes that tighten screws on battery terminals. :twisted:

[80gs1000e]

Well, on a more serious note I trickle charged the battery for the last 4 days and took it off last night to let it settle for a reading. Fluid levels are all good. This morning it reads 13.1 amps. No idea if it'll stay that way but its a good sign yes? Tonight we shall see..... :twisted:

[earlfor]

I expect you meant 13.1 volts. If its showing a 13 amp flow just sitting there, there just might be a problem. :-) :-)

Earl

Well, on a more serious note I trickle charged the battery for the last 4 days and took it off last night to let it settle for a reading. Fluid levels are all good. This morning it reads 13.1 amps. No idea if it'll stay that way but its a good sign yes? Tonight we shall see..... :twisted:

[80gs1000e]

[quote="earlfor"]I expect you meant 13.1 volts. If its showing a 13 amp flow just sitting there, there just might be a problem. :-) :-)

Earl

Oh yeah.....doh...ummmmm, I was just testing you.