New Battery

[jbfla]

Replacing a dead battery isn't a big deal.

Having a dead battery will eventually happen to everyone.

However, if you are far from home, and totally unprepared, makes it more inconvenient....and more story-worthy....

In Ormond by the Sea, on A1A, (north of Daytona Beach, FL),

.....I stopped at a convenience store/gas station to fill up the gas tank.

After the fill-up, when I tried to start the bike, all that happened was crank, crank, clunk....the engine would turn over twice, then stop with a loud clunk.

I repeated this several times....crank, crank, clunk.

I've had dead batteries before. This was different.

Usually the engine turns over slower and slower, then stops.

Or you only hear the click of the starter solenoid.

Or nothing happens.



I pushed the bike to a parking spot to the side of the convenience store, and pondered what to do.

Removing the seat and the side panel, and the battery revealed this:




It is supposed to look like this:





I asked inside the convenience store, and some of the people who pulled into the station for gas, if they had any jumper cables....no luck...

.....where's Joe #2 when you need him?

At least my phone battery wasn't dead.

There is an extra fee to have AAA motorcycle coverage, which I had added to my basic coverage for years, but had never used.

Now to see if it was worth the extra money.

I called the Auto Club (AAA) to get the battery jumped, or a tow.

After several minutes on the phone giving the AAA girl my location, and all my personal info, she asked where I would like the bike towed to, if necessary.



Where's the nearest Zongshen dealer?

I said, “Azusa, California”.

Without missing a beat, the girl says that my towing was limited to 50 miles.

I had just spent the night with some friends in Ormond, so I reluctantly gave their address, and sat down to wait the 1 to 2 hours for the tow truck.

While I was waiting, a man in an old truck pulled up and asked if I needed a jump.

Woooo Hooooo!

Connected the cables, and the bike started on the first touch of the starter button.

I thanked the man, and offered him some compensation, which he declined.

I thanked him again, then called AAA to cancel the tow truck.


Calling my friends to warn them that they hadn't seen the last of me yet, I headed back over the bridge to the mainland and to their house.

We spent the next couple of hours driving around trying to find a YTZ12S-BS battery with no success.

We also learned that the nearest motorcycle dealers are closed on Mondays.

At Auto Zone we finally found a battery (although it didn't have the same alpha-numerical designation).

The case size was the same, but it was 9 amps instead of the claimed 11 amps on the Guyue battery.

The guy at Auto Zone put the old battery on a load tester.

It showed a voltage of 12.5 But when he applied the "load", the battery went to zero, then back to 12.








And for a switch, this battery said it was made in the USA!

With the new battery installed, the bike started right up......

It was late in the day, so my friends invited me to stay over another night, which I did.

So, everything turned out OK.

I only lost a day of my trip....it could have been a lot worse.


My RX3 was from the second shipment, with the supposedly upgraded battery (according to 5,000 Miles at 8,000 RPM).

The battery was 1 ½ years old.

I had fully charged the battery the day I received the RX3.

And when I wasn't riding the bike, the battery has always been on a smart charger.





Hopefully, the new battery will last longer.

Oh....I ordered a set of motorcycle jumper cables, which should been waiting for me when I get home.

jb

[ben2go]

I have seen batteries damaged like that. It usually due to a failing regulator over charging the battery. I would check the charge voltage. At idle it should be about 13.5 to 13.7 volts, and at 3000 rpm it should be no higher than 14.5 volts.

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by ben2go

I have seen batteries damaged like that. It usually due to a failing regulator over charging the battery. I would check the charge voltage. At idle it should be about 13.5 to 13.7 volts, and at 3000 rpm it should be no higher than 14.5 volts.

Thanks for the reminder.

As soon as I recover from 4 days on the road, I will dig out the VOM and check the voltage.

jb

[jbfla]

Out of curiosity, do any of you that have an RX3 from the first shipment (2015) have this same battery.......

....or do you have a different one?




jb

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by jbfla

Thanks for the reminder.

As soon as I recover from 4 days on the road, I will dig out the VOM and check the voltage.

jb

[rjmorel]

My battery failed about 1 year after receiving it from the first shipment. Bought another battery locally and it's been working fine.
If you have enough juice in the battery , you can push start the RX3 in 2 or 3 gear and get it going. Like when you (ahem) fall and the starter button switch gear gets busted up and is inoperable. rj

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

My battery failed about 1 year after receiving it from the first shipment. Bought another battery locally and it's been working fine.
If you have enough juice in the battery , you can push start the RX3 in 2 or 3 gear and get it going. Like when you (ahem) fall and the starter button switch gear gets busted up and is inoperable. rj

Ouch


Jbfla, great post, hope all works out with the regulator. May be one of those "intermittent auto electric issues". I hope not, you have had a lifetimes worth of issues already with this bike.

[fjmartin]

I have a volt meter on my RX3 and when running the voltage is always between 14.6 and 15.0

[Chucho]

I always carry this $40, 800mA-Hr portable battery with me:

https://www.amazon.com/Arteck-Extern...Arteck+battery

Vey small, lightweight, comes with jumper cables, integral LED flashlight and one USB port to charge electronic devices like phones and tablets.

This battery saved me once already from a dead battery on my 2010 cruiser.



-Chucho

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by ben2go

I have seen batteries damaged like that. It usually due to a failing regulator over charging the battery. I would check the charge voltage. At idle it should be about 13.5 to 13.7 volts, and at 3000 rpm it should be no higher than 14.5 volts.

Plus, I've had trickle/float chargers not "float" and slowly cook a couple of my batteries over time, and like this story, they always crapped out after I rode off.

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by Chucho

I always carry this $40, 800mA-Hr portable battery with me:

https://www.amazon.com/Arteck-Extern...Arteck+battery

Vey small, lightweight, comes with jumper cables, integral LED flashlight and one USB port to charge electronic devices like phones and tablets.

-Chucho

Thanks for the link, Chucho.

I have something similar in my truck, however it's too bulky to carry on the motorcycle.

I wasn't aware of a smaller version.



jb

[jbfla]

Checked the electrical output to the battery with the engine running.

It did not seem to make any difference whether the engine was at idle or revved up.

The meter stayed steady at 14.4 volts.



jb

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by jbfla

Checked the electrical output to the battery with the engine running.

It did not seem to make any difference whether the engine was at idle or revved up.

The meter stayed steady at 14.4 volts.



jb

You are in good shape then. Your charging system is strong.

[fjmartin]

This is the jump starter I have: https://www.amazon.com/K12-8000mAh-F...=p_89%3ASUAOKI. $32 with prime free shipping if you have that. VERY compact and strong enough to start my VW GTI.

[BlackBike]

Jb, I know you don't keep it on a maintainer , right? I wouldn't think you would need to since you are such an avid rider. I was also thinking along the same line as 2lz, cooked battery.

Perhaps it was heat and also just out of time. Bats don't last as long in hot southern states.