For last 2 1/2 years my zx6r has fired up first time, everytime. usually once or twice a week, then on friday the battery was flat, just enough to power up the ignition lights, once bumpstarted i ran it for about an hour, then switched off and tried to restart it, again it was flat (i was in the petrol station at the time, a bit hairy bumping it on my own with no hill!!!) now before i buy a charger/new battery or both, could any other electrical glitch have caused it to go dead al of a sudden?

regards
dave

I'm new to the scene but when I bought my bike, I was told that you should only expect the battery to last approx 2 years.
I'm probably wrong though :)

If it's got an alarm / immobiliser these do make a steady drain on the battery. If you only use the bike infrequently then the battery might get past the point of no return.

Could also be a charging fault -- either a dodgy regulator / rectifier unit or a bad connection. Quickest way to test is to borrow a multimeter and connect it across the battery terminals, engine running. If you see less than 14V at about 2000rpm then it's a charging problem. If you see 14V - 15V then the battery's dead or there's a dodgy earth.

Optimates are good trickle chargers but expensive at £40 IMO. If your bike battery's easily accessible just get a cheap 1amp charger from a local motor factors (Gunsons do one for £12) and connect it to the battery every couple of weeks for 5-6 hours. That will keep the battery above terminal drain, especially in winter.

2 years is quite good for a battery. They do exactly what you said- fine fine dead:)
Happens because the crap builds up in the battery until it shorts the electrodes iirc

I would second the mention of getting an Optimate charger. Although expensive, they are the best charger to have IMO. They also have a function of de-sulphateing (sp) the electrodes on older batteries. They also have a recover function if a battery is completely dead (a high voltage charge followed by a slow charge IIRC).

You can also use them on other automotive batteries so you wont have to buy a different charger for another application say car/boat etc.

I would second the mention of getting an Optimate charger. Although expensive, they are the best charger to have IMO. They also have a function of de-sulphateing (sp) the electrodes on older batteries. They also have a recover function if a battery is completely dead (a high voltage charge followed by a slow charge IIRC).

You can also use them on other automotive batteries so you wont have to buy a different charger for another application say car/boat etc.

The Optimate worries me with that de-sulphating function, I'm sure I read that it puts out 20+ volts whilst it is doing that. That may not be good for your car/ bike ECU or clock / radio etc..???
The accumate might be a better bet for car / bike use. This one is limited to 14.X volts.

Superb battery chargers / conditioners though

Just replaced the battery on my 1995 ZZR600. Original battery only failed because I couldn't use bike for over a year.

Would get output of alternator tested first.....but battery should only cost about £30 if needs be.

I can also recommend the Optimate chargers as i used on on my Evo V and my father uses one on his DB6 Aston. I also used to use in on an MV i had but sadly that's long gone. :(

They're very durable and we've never found a problem with any of the vehicles we used them on.

Hope this helps.

James

The Optimate worries me with that de-sulphating function, I'm sure I read that it puts out 20+ volts whilst it is doing that. That may not be good for your car/ bike ECU or clock / radio etc..???
The accumate might be a better bet for car / bike use. This one is limited to 14.X volts.

Superb battery chargers / conditioners though

ShyTot, The instruction state that it is recommended to remove a battery if it has been discharged of most or all of its charge. I assume this is to avoid the problems you have stated. :)

thanks guys for replies, will try the multimeter option first (as i have one anyway) but then looks like a new battery if they only last 2 or so years!

regards
dave

I've had my R6 for over 2 years and i use an optimate charger ever few months with no problems.Get one well worth the money.

I've had my R6 for over 2 years and i use an optimate charger ever few months with no problems.Get one well worth the money.

I use an Optimate and know someone with a 6 year old bike with its original battery because he uses one. If he's not riding his bike its connected to the optimate :)

Yep, same here, Optimate.

I just permanantly connect a lead that comes with the unit to the battery then when I park the bike up I just pop the connector out from behind the panel where its tucked away and plug it in.

The best cure for most problems is to try and engineer them out to star with.
I've also used it to recover (succesfully) batteries on customers and friends cars that previously appeared to be at the end of their serviceable life.




Mike

Could also be a charging fault -- either a dodgy regulator / rectifier unit or a bad connection. Quickest way to test is to borrow a multimeter and connect it across the battery terminals, engine running. If you see less than 14V at about 2000rpm then it's a charging problem. If you see 14V - 15V then the battery's dead or there's a dodgy earth.


Definitely the place to start, if you are using your bike twice a week you'd expect to get more than 2 years out of it - if it is your reg/ rec or your battery the above multimeter test will tell :thumb:

Matt

I had an alarm/immobiliser on my R6 and it knackered the battery basically cause previous owner never charged battery. Seemingly the RED LED they install with alarms is the biggest drain, and not the alarm itself. I took alarm/immobiliser off my bike as only saved me <£40 on insurance, and IMHO I think alarms on bikes are useless anyway, and bike batteries cannot cope with extra drain from alarm, hence low life expectancy. I always plug it into an Optimate maybe once every two weeks to keep battery charge tip top if not riding.