Dead Battery

Well my battery died  so I ordered a new one which should be here Tuesday the 12th, or so they say.

Anyway I went with this: http://tinyurl.com/l3m6p9o Lithium battery. The reviews looked good so I thought I'd give it a try. It also has a 3 year warranty which isn't bad.

I'll post a photo of the two batteries side by side once it gets here and will do updates as to how it performs.

At least the only decent riding day here in MN will be today (Saturday) then we are supposed to get rain and storms for a few days. With my luck it will be great weather until I get the battery installed then turn to crap for a few days. Oh Well...

Better to replace now than in the middle of a trip. Was this the original battery? Look forward to your reports.

No. This was one I bought last year once I got the SWing home from FL. It had been sitting for two years and was totally stone dead and wouldn't take a charge. I ordered a cheap battery off Ebay for $25 or so. I had to wait for the tires to arrive and be mounted anyway so waiting was no problem. I figured that if that cheap battery got me through that summer it would be good seeing as I didn't have enough funds left over after getting the new tires plus mounting etc. for a decent one. I'm also glad that it died in my garage rather than at a fuel stop somewhere away from home. Looking back at it now I have noticed it turning over a bit slower than normal but it didn't ring home that the battery might be getting weak. Live and learn I guess.

Interesting, I just looked at my battery, it's a AGM from Power Source it was in the scoot when I bought it no idea what the model number is haven't looked and doubt it's the OEM and no idea when it was replaced. Has anyone here had experience with the Power Source batteries? TIA Al

This is an exact replacement? Cool, the battery box is pretty tight on these scoots...I replace mine every 4 years no matter what don't trust the Oh Oh mode...

I wouldn't call it an exact replacement battery vader. It's supposed to be about 60% of the original battery's size and comes with foam stick on bumper pieces to stick to the battery to fill up the space and hold the battery from slopping around in the compartment.

Here's a youtube link: http://tinyurl.com/ktpu8q4 which shows about installing the battery.

Awesome thank you for the link, have a nice day and ride safe

Im also due for a battery. It's been getting groggy for the past year or so. Forgot to plug it in to the battery tender 4 days ago, went to start it today- nothing! Plugged it in, hopefully it will charge up. Wife and I goin for a tour on it this afternoon being that its a hot summer day. Will be about a hundred klm's from the house....long walk home . Want to get a lithium ion battery-they say it will hold a charge for a full year, but the price is the deal breaker.

Oops 20 years to go but i had a seniors moment. Bike wouldn't start this morning so i realized the battery tender wasn't plugged in, as stated in the post above. Went to check to see if it charged, yep green light on the battery tender. Turned the key- nothing??? Stood there in silent bewilderment, looked down, realized the side stand was down, battery was probably fine this morning   !

No need for embarrassment I think most if not all of us have done that more than once.

According to tracking my battery is "Out For Delivery". Once it gets here I'll post a photo of a side by side comparison and come back with updates once in a while on how it's working.

Dale when you get your battery you'll find the foam they give you works good for keeping the battery bolts in place when you install the battery. I took all my extra foam stick on pieces that were about 1/4" thick and gave them to my local scooter shop. He cuts little squares about 5/16" square and sticks them to the nuts, then the nuts stay put whale you install the battery.

I just tried to put up 5 photos of the batteries together for comparison but they didn't show up. I'll try again later. Maybe they have to be approved or it takes time for them to show up. We'll see.

Here's one I hope.

Maybe I have to do them one at a time. Anyway, the old one weighed 8.5 LBS. The new one weighs 1.75 LBS. I guess these two photos will be enough to give a comparison.

Hi Roger, I do have extra foam pieces left over. The battery nuts already had some foam on them. I can run the extra foam pieces over to Larson Cycle in Cambridge, MN. They could probably put them to good use.

That could be my first run with the new battery. Cambridge is only about 40 minutes away. Nice short run. AND, they have a McDonalds so I can get some "health food".

Now to wait for the battery to charge up. Come On. Come On. Darn charger is slooow. LOL

Dale,

If you only spent $25 dollars for your last battery I'm not surprised it only lasted a year. I think when I replaced my battery I used the OEM battery but I believe it was about $120 or so. I always spend the money on batteries because I hate a dead battery. If you want to test your new battery if it is holding a charge, just take a shower with it and if we see you post after this, it means you are still alive but the battery is dead. lol

Dale, do you have a lithium battery charger , I read that they don't work well with a standard battery charger,please correct me if I'm wrong .

Hi tinman, I asked support at Deltran about that and they told me I could use my regular Battery Tender Jr. for charging it but that I'd need to get a lithium charger to maintain it over the winter.

I just got home and checked the voltage. It was 12.41 volts when I first took it out of the box. Now, after sitting for several hours after charging it, it's reading 13.02 volts. Hopefully it will be close to that in the morning. And NO I don't take showers with a battery!!!  :lol!:

Hi JeffR, I paid only $25 for the first battery due to the expenses of purchasing it and getting it running after getting it home last spring. At the time I figured that if it did last only one year that would be OK. It did last the one year and now I have a new battery which has a 3 year warranty. And, with the crappy weather we've been having for the last few days it didn't really matter seeing as I have no problem NOT riding in the cold and rain. And it's supposed to be about the same for most of this week also. Now that I do have a decent battery I'm cussing at Mother Nature for the rain and cold. I'll probably just make her angrier and we'll have a month of crap.

I thought the "idea" of the lithium battery was that it's maintenance free and had a shelf life of a year without loosing power? Now you are already having to charge it from the box and being told you will need a special charger to maintain over the winter! Think i will stick to the old school battery especially when they are only half the price of the lithium. So what is the benefit of the lithium?

I suppose if I were to disconnect the battery so that it wouldn't drain it would be ok. What I plan on doing is like I did with the other battery is to charge it up about once a month to maintain its charge. I will frequently check the voltage to see where it is and charge it up as necessary.

They did say it would sit on a shelf for a year to year and a half with no problems. But the dash does have some drain on it in the long run. So by putting my charger on it once in a while it should be good to go.

The instructions said to fully charge it before putting it into service seeing as it's only about 75% charged when it leaves the factory. It was reading 12.4 volts out of the box and 13.02 after charging it.

I've had lead acid batteries before and was told to charge them fully before using them so this isn't any different. And as long as I can use my regular charger to initially charge it I don't see why I can't charge it periodically during the winter also.

I also feel that while they do have a Battery Tender Jr. Lithium, which they recommend, they also want to sell their products. It's just like buying anything and they recommend using their products only.

Either way, a new decent battery for the SWing is around $120, give or take, so this battery, with its 3 year warranty should work. I have started it 4 times now since charging it and the SWing did turn over faster than with my dead battery. Go Figure, HUH?

I use a Lithium battery too. You can charge a Lithium battery with any low amp. battery charger that does not have a desulfation mode. The advantage of a charger made for Lithium batteries is it will optimize each cell. The Honda dealer I bought my Shorai Lithium battery from told me I should just use my Battery Tender. And if I ever had a problem with it not holding a charge or just wanted optimize each cell to to bring it to them and they would charge it for me with a Shorai Lithium battery charger at no cost to me.

That's pretty much what I plan on doing with my Lithium battery model28a. Although I still might spring for the Battery Tender Lithium charger before winter sets in just to make sure. I've only had the battery for three days now and rode the SWing for 8 starts (4 trips). They were pretty short runs and I wanted to see how it stood up with short runs. Each time I was going for a ride I'd check the voltage to see where it sat. Today it was at 13.42 volts. Evidently the charging system on the SWing is keeping it charged up on these short runs of a few miles each or the battery is charging itself while it sits. Either way it sure turns over faster when starting it up. And if it is a self-charging battery they have sure come up with an invention that will rock the world...

Had a bit of a shock today, found my Swing battery flat, I had left the seat open and the courtesy light had run the battery completely flat, annoyed with myself I removed the battery to charge it and when I connected it to my charger, it wouldn't charge, the charger said error, tried the charger on another battery and it worked Ok. Has it damaged the battery letting it run flat, I was assured it was a new battery when I bought Swing in Sept 2015, Does anyone know if there is anything that can be done with it to make it take charge. (My charger is a full automatic one)

Um...borrow someone else's non-automatic charger.Or try starting the scoot with a booster battery.

Maybe either of the above will reboot the battery into accepting a charge on your charger.


Tim

Just about everyone on the forum has taken that underseat bulb out. It doesn't seem to serve any real purpose, other than flattening the battery! (Oh sorry, you already know that! )
Better off carrying a small torch in the glove box.

Winger61 wrote:

Better off carrying a small torch in the glove box.

Or carry a small flashlight.

Sorry Winger61 I couldn't help it. I know that a flashlight is called a torch on that side of the pond. But still, I couldn't help myself. :lol!:

I flat lined my 09 battery more then once .The last time a accidentally cross line the batterie all of last winter . Come spring I noticed my mistake . I tried to recharge the batterie for 24 hrs and it was dead .I replace the batterie with the same make . I left the old batterie on my trickle charger for a week . The batterie came to life and i fitted it to my lawn tractor and it worked all of last summer and is ready for another summer of lawn cutting. The Honda stock battery is one tuff battery .It will come back to life . Good at least to start my lawn mower. Give it a try you might be surprise.

There should be no need to remove the battery for charging on the UK spec FJS Silver Wing as it can be charged with an Optimate or similar charger/conditioner simply by plugging in into the 12v socket in the left glove box using the 12v plug and leads supplied.

As for that useless underseat light that has flattened many a battery, simply remove it, cover it with a piece of bubble wrap or whatever and replace it, it now won't light. A small cheapo multi LED lamp kept under the seat does the job if you need to ratch around under the seat in the dark. When you sell the scooter just unwrap the bulb and stick it back in again.

Have already disabled the under seat light, was meaning to do it a while ago, after reading a post warning of the danger of leaving seat open, but closing doors after pony has bolted has never been of any use.
The really annoying thing about it all is, I put the battery on charge today, just to try again and the F*****g thing is charging up,(you were right Silver Wing Guru) so it looks like I am going to have a spare one, the up side is I have ordered the YTZ14 as a replacement.
Torch installed Meldrew.

I've got one of these (mine's red, not blue though) - I had it before I bought the Silverwing. I keep it under the seat.

In due course I shall fix a little steel plate on the bottom of the seat and on the red document-holder in the lid of my Givi box so I can stick it on to either.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Multilamp-Ultra-bright-combined-Magnetic-batteries/dp/B00DN49NZ8/ref=sr_1_62?ie=UTF8&qid=1455551978&sr=8-62&keywords=magnetic+led+torch

Tommo wrote:

Had a bit of a shock today, found my Swing battery flat, I had left the seat open and the courtesy light had run the battery completely flat, annoyed with myself I removed the battery to charge it and when I connected it to my charger, it wouldn't charge, the charger said error, tried the charger on another battery and it worked Ok. Has it damaged the battery letting it run flat, I was assured it was a new battery when I bought Swing in Sept 2015, Does anyone know if there is anything that can be done with it to make it take charge. (My charger is a full automatic one)

as you discovered, an automatic battery charger won't charge a totally flat battery
This is because with zero charge it doesn't think there's a battery to charge
A trick that works is to connect the totally dead battery via jumpers to a battery that does have some charge, and the attach the leads of the tender to the dead battery
the other battery will provide enough voltage to tell the tender there's something there needing a charge, and it'll start charging both batteries

That's what I was told to do with my Silverwing battery - and it worked!

Hey Art,
Tremendous idea for a completely dead battery... I'll have to keep that in mind now... had that problem on an electric golf cart that I eventuall got charged back up at a battery shop (at least to a chargeable level so my own charger would kick on). Maybe my truck battery would have sent a good enough signal throught the six eight cell batteries... ????? Anyway, thanks for that great piece of information.

You're welcome, I got that bit of info off amother forum a while back, and figured it'd be a good share

Here is a simple question that I know all of you smart men can answer without a ton of harrassment. My battery is dead and I have connected the trickle charger to it. Should the setting be on 6v or 12v? My husband is at work and I want to get my bike running so we can go out tomorrow.

12V