mikstr

tried it... a few times, but take my word that bump starting a one litre twin with 12.2:1 compression is an exercise in futility. Besides after 3 tries at bump starting, the battery was so weak that it hardly lit up the headlight, so it probably could not have supplied power to fire the plugs, even if the rear wheel hadn't locked up (in 3rd gear!).....

this all began yesterday when the bike wouldn't start (wouldn't even turn over, this despite having ridden it the day before)...... I hooked up the special CV4 charger/balancer and noticed the reading was at 7.75 V (!!!!!!). I let it take on a full charge (over 2 hours) and it fired up great this morning. However, about 20 miles from the house, it stalled at a stop light (idle set slightly too low) and wouldn't even turn over when I hit the starter button......

the battery was barely 3 months old..... this was my 3rd (and final!!!) try at a lithium battery..... I had bought the special charger and had charged/balanced it twice already, determined to make this one last....... f***in' junk!

oahu hawk

Good to know...my thoughts of a LI battery for my S3 have quickly dissipated...

mikstr

some seem to have luck with them (notably the Shorais), but that`s not my case. Perhaps my bike has a weak charging system (guess I should look into at, though I never had any problems when running Yuasas)..... should that turn out to be the case, perhaps I can try them again, but am in no rush at this time...... getting stranded has that effect on me......

skokievtr

I have been thinking I'll need a new battery soon and in the past considered a LiPo because Tweaty has good luck with them. However, the cost of a factory unit versus a BYO has deterred me.

Knock on plastic I may try to keep mine until the spring and then retire it for a conventional Yuasa AGM, as my current (pun) battery has lasted quite a while. I guess 8 or so years is not too bad. I replaced the OEM out of guilt after 7. And that's with twin 50w halogens, radar detector, GPS, heated vest and grips...

E.Marquez

Lifepo4 batteries as you found out have a much smaller margin for anything in the system being off the required spec.

Bad connection, failing R/R, low stator output, corroded (externally where visible or internally) causing high resistance... anything like that and Lifepo4 batteries will not work or last....
Lead acid, whether flooded, AGM, Gel on the other hand is more forgiving ....

Sucks you got stuck...

Absolutly 6 extra pounds is better than pushing a bike... BUT at three battery failures...I'd suspect the issue is the bike, not the battery

Jack Flash

Some guys have all the luck.

mikstr

Now in a calmer state, I am leaning the same way...... time to get the voltmeter out......

Stephan

mikstr: You have great opportunity for modding, quite cheap :-)

Eclipse Battery Voltage Monitor | SparkBright

mikstr

Question for those in the know (I am a total retard when it comes to electronics): could a weak stator be the root of all this?

mikstr

thanks for the link Stephan....... may have to give that a look

thetophatflash

I worked with lithium ion batteries in the power tool industry before I retired and it is my belief that lithium, more than any other battery packs, seemed to be much more susceptible to heat and vibration induced failures than any previous batteries.

VTR1000F

Thanks Stephan. That's slick and the pricing/shipping is reasonable.

Which size is that you have mounted in your cluster?

Stephan

I ordered Eclipse 8mm with 1m long leads.

E.Marquez

ANYthing that lowers the voltage or wattage to the charging wire to the battery can be the issue......
So I would simply start with key on, engine running voltage test at the battery terminals, @ Idle and at 2k RPM, 4k RPM... That will tell you if there is reason to go further.

Looking for a nice 14.5 v or better from that charging system at 2k rpm or more.
The VTR charging system is rated at full output (wattage & voltage) at 5,000RPM.. but should make full voltage slower.

mikstr

Just ordered an 8mm Eclipse....... thanks again

killer5280

I have had a JD battery on mine for about 3 years now. Other than behaving a little differently (the system voltage when running is lower with the lithium battery) and being undersized it has worked fine and never failed to start my bike. I do have an old Yuasa lead acid on a battery tender just in case.

7moore7

I can't speak first hand for any of the other lithium chemistry (Li-ion in your case), but the LiFePo4 batteries that I have used in various circumstances have been pretty impressive. Keep us up to date on the charging system!

CrankenFine

I have a properly operating charging system but I learned a couple things after installing Tweety's charging monitor. (KB sticky if you're interested)

If idle is even a 100 rpm low at a stop light the low voltage LED will blink in synchronization with my turn signals. If my fan comes on at idle, the low voltage LED is on steady til the fan shuts off. My measured battery voltage is fine per the Honda manual at higher RPMs. To me this says any additional draw beyond OEM loads may be loading the charging system more than you'd guess.

I have an Eastern Beaver wiring kit for my MOSFET R/R and no starting problems. My battery sits on a tender when in the garage.

RoadManiac

you have a lithium battery on a tender ? thats not good leave it alone
also i disconnect my battery every time when i am done with the bike for the day, may be a bit anoying with oem style connector,
also when i am riding at like 4000 rpm i get 15 volt on my volt meter,
but like crankenrine says the fan and lights draws some volts so its good idea to have more cells so more milliamps of storage

CrankenFine

Nope sorry - should have specified I use an ordinary motorcycle battery.

My only point is that even a properly operating charging system well within spec still does not give you a lot of margin for error. So if you run around without a voltage monitor like mine or the one mentioned above, you could be running closer to the edge than you realize.

jerryh

As in leaving a manually switched fan on in traffic

mikstr

well, I seem to have found the root of my problem: the stator. I took out my voltmeter and took readings at idle and 5000 rpm, both were around 12.5V (service manual says it should be between 13.5 and 15.5 at 5k rpm). As a preventive measure, I had bought a replacement stator a couple of years back so, I decided to overcome my fear of all things electrons, and put in the new stator (old one was all black........). I fired it up afterwards and it was reading just under 14V at idle.... bingo! Moral of the story, don't procrastinate, mine cost me 3 batteries (or so it would seem)....... This may also explain why I was never able to get the RC51 cluster and Ignitech ECU to work....... I feel like a real loser I must admit....... though a wiser one now......

RoadManiac

Stator is always the last thing people suspect, i see it on 50cc bikes and 125 more often that the stator is bad but there are cases on bikes aswell although not as much with japanese bikes, seems like italy doesnt know its electronics either because piaggio, aprilia, ducati can throw some electric hissy fits

mikstr

well, bike does have well over 200,000 km after all, so I guess if I have to replace one per 200,000 km I am not doing so bad.....