When I got my V7 last summer, one of the first things I did was replace the old battery that was in a bit of a state, and didn’t appear to be the right one - so I got the MotoBatt MTBX14AU that was suggested as the right one for my bike.
However less than a year later if I leave the bike for more than 48 hours without starting/riding it, the battery drains away to the point where it won’t turn over to start.
I do have a Datatool alarm fitted, so on Sunday evening after riding back home I decided to put the alarm in “winter mode” to see if it made a difference. However this morning it still wouldn’t start without a jump.
The only other thing that should be draining the battery is a tracker I also have fitted - but that is a tiny draw.
Any ideas? Is there a high capacity battery that will fit into the rather tight space available? Should I be looking for some other reason for the drain? Or should I consider putting the battery on a trickle charger such as an Optimate? (I do have a Yuasa battery charger which is supposed to be good at keeping the battery well-conditioned). The problem is that I don’t have a garage so the bike has to stay outside - making it difficult to have the battery on trickle charge whilst still fitted to the bike.
Have the Datatool and tracker got their own fuses? If so maybe trying pulling those as a test. I had a Datatool whose internal battery failed, possibly resulting in a relatively high charging current which of course comes from the bike’s battery. Also, before this, the Datatool connector was badly corroded, I had to cut it out and solder the wires together. Possibly there could be water in there making a short. Just some ideas. Otherwise I agree shouldn’t be enough to flatten the battery.
Really you need to find/eliminate problem sources.My take:assume nothing for granted & check all basics.A search on youtube for motorcycle charging systems & parasitic drains might be helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44hLjPBObYw could be a start.
The one I had is supposed to be like a rechargeable PP3, but never got as far as trying to take it apart. Took the whole thing off because the low battery was making it play silly bu55ers, it would throw an alarm or get stuck in another mode and then not have enough power to receive the fob signal! So couldn’t shut it up or complete the mode command.
Yes, my alarm does appear to be playing a bit like yours. My traker battery also seems to be flat so it was drawing from the bike battery as well…
On the charging voltage, I did try revving up and it didn’t seem to make much difference but I will check again tomorrow. In the meantime I’ve bought a replacement regulator/rectifier just in case.
The battery is being charged at up to and over 14v so that’s good.
The drain was indeed coming from the fact that the tracker battery is buggered and so it was being powered by the bike battery, draining it more than usual. Tracker removed and everything is well…
… which is handy as it’s now up for sale! (See separate post). If have put down a deposit on a gorgeous MkII that came up for sale this week on EBay - beautiful Red 2015 Special! So my white Classic now has to go!
These things are great if they work. But one more thing to worry about. I recently acquired a Wi-Fi CCTV Camera for the sideway at home, it’s fine when it’s not being obscured by clouds of insects or spiders webs which appear only at night. So I have 2 million recordings of those.