GSX-R 1000 K5 Battery has low voltage
Discussion
Hi All,
Tried to start bike yesterday and the ignition comes on but the bike does not turn over. It seems the original Yuasa battery is on its way out. I checked the voltage and it's 10.7 and that's after an overnight trickle charge with optimate.
Do you think it's safe to say I need a new battery?
PS: the bike does not have an alarm.
Tried to start bike yesterday and the ignition comes on but the bike does not turn over. It seems the original Yuasa battery is on its way out. I checked the voltage and it's 10.7 and that's after an overnight trickle charge with optimate.
Do you think it's safe to say I need a new battery?
PS: the bike does not have an alarm.
Yuasa is about £60 from Halfords.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/motorcycling/moto...
How much are lithium-ion batteries (I thought they might be about £120?) That's double the price for weight saving I potentially don't really need.
Are there any online suppliers you can recommend?
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/motorcycling/moto...
How much are lithium-ion batteries (I thought they might be about £120?) That's double the price for weight saving I potentially don't really need.
Are there any online suppliers you can recommend?
Prof Prolapse said:
Presumably you checked the voltage before you "trickle charged" it, and have checked the voltage across the terminals with the engine running before confirming the battery is goosed?
I've never understood the appeal of Lithium batteries personally. In addition to needing a specific charger, the sprung weight saving is irrelevant on a road bike, they cost more, and they are much less unforgiving to irregular charging.
I'd just buy another £40 Yuasa battery personally. You can pay more if you wish to shop at Halfords however.
Thanks for this info.I've never understood the appeal of Lithium batteries personally. In addition to needing a specific charger, the sprung weight saving is irrelevant on a road bike, they cost more, and they are much less unforgiving to irregular charging.
I'd just buy another £40 Yuasa battery personally. You can pay more if you wish to shop at Halfords however.
I didn't check the voltage before the trickle charge unfortunately. However, I am not sure how to get the engine running with dead battery. Should I use jump leads?
Agreed that lithium ion batteries are unneccessary.
Prof Prolapse said:
Ideally you'd have a battery tester but few of us do, I'm assuming that you have a battery charger an a voltmeter? Everyone who runs a 12 year old vehicle probably should!
Take out the battery and charge it properly. Once it's up to 12.5v+ it should start the bike. If it doesn't, or is excessively laboured, then you can conclude the battery is indeed f
ked.
Once the bike is running, put your voltmeter across the terminals. It should be at circa 14.5volts, if it isn't you have a charging issue. This could result in battery damage, but not necessarily so, none the less it requires further investigation.
Alternatively you can use jump leads, I'd suggest using a car battery, and make sure the car isn't running. Again, you should be aiming to rule out charging issues, so once it's started and you've removed the donor battery, again check the voltage across the terminals.
Just bear in mind if your jumping it with the battery is half dead, you're going to have to do a big run to get it back up to a decent voltage again as tickover won't charge it at any decent rate, and the risk is you can stall and end up stranded.
It mine seem a pointless exercise if everything is charging as it should and you conclude it's the battery, but it only takes 10 minutes and means you've at least made a partial diagnosis before throwing a battery at it.
ETA: You mentioned an alarm system. Unless you're feeling very confident, you may want to consider this as well, otherwise you may unnecessarily conclude it's the battery from what the process I described. You need to measure the drain with the engine off with a ammeter, an example guide is here;
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/technology/ho...
Prof - I used jump leads to start bike, and with the engine running, the voltage was changing every second from 13.6 down to 8.1 i.e. it was not consistent. When giving some revs, the voltage actually went down rather than up, and I could also see the headlights dimming when revving the engine.Take out the battery and charge it properly. Once it's up to 12.5v+ it should start the bike. If it doesn't, or is excessively laboured, then you can conclude the battery is indeed f
ked. Once the bike is running, put your voltmeter across the terminals. It should be at circa 14.5volts, if it isn't you have a charging issue. This could result in battery damage, but not necessarily so, none the less it requires further investigation.
Alternatively you can use jump leads, I'd suggest using a car battery, and make sure the car isn't running. Again, you should be aiming to rule out charging issues, so once it's started and you've removed the donor battery, again check the voltage across the terminals.
Just bear in mind if your jumping it with the battery is half dead, you're going to have to do a big run to get it back up to a decent voltage again as tickover won't charge it at any decent rate, and the risk is you can stall and end up stranded.
It mine seem a pointless exercise if everything is charging as it should and you conclude it's the battery, but it only takes 10 minutes and means you've at least made a partial diagnosis before throwing a battery at it.
ETA: You mentioned an alarm system. Unless you're feeling very confident, you may want to consider this as well, otherwise you may unnecessarily conclude it's the battery from what the process I described. You need to measure the drain with the engine off with a ammeter, an example guide is here;
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/technology/ho...
Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 22 February 10:25
What does this indicate?
Thanks Moulder.
When I originally charged it, I used Optimate 2, and on the box it says that can 'bulk' charge a battery from low voltage to the normal range. Obviously and 8 hour charge was not enough, which probably indicates the battery just cannot hold the charge and needs changing.
When I originally charged it, I used Optimate 2, and on the box it says that can 'bulk' charge a battery from low voltage to the normal range. Obviously and 8 hour charge was not enough, which probably indicates the battery just cannot hold the charge and needs changing.
Some further information: I left the optimate on all day today and the optimate was showing battery as fully charged. The measured voltage went up to 13.5. I just tried to start it now, but the bike wouldn't turn over and the voltage dropped to 10.7.
This tells me the battery is definitely gone right?
PS: I am using a Ring Automotive battery tester, so no calibration. The digital display lights up as soon as I put the wires on the terminal.
PPS: thanks for all the help and suggestions so far, very informative.
This tells me the battery is definitely gone right?
PS: I am using a Ring Automotive battery tester, so no calibration. The digital display lights up as soon as I put the wires on the terminal.
PPS: thanks for all the help and suggestions so far, very informative.
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