Something emptying battery

[alo7]

Hey all

Didn't use my bike for about a month and when I went to start it today the battery was completely flat

I measured the amps drawn from the battery as I pulled out fuses one by one and found that the radiator fan was the culprit measuring about 0.6mA

Anyone else ever had this? When I pulled out the fan fuse i measured 0mA

[Triple Jim]

It sounds like maybe something like dirt is conducting a tiny amount of current somewhere in that circuit.

But 0.0006 amps x 24 hours/day x 30 days = 0.432 amp hours in that month you didn't run the bike. That's only a small fraction of the capacity of the battery, so that's not why your battery was dead.

Welcome to the board Alexander!

[SibSerge]

How old is the battery ? Lead acid batteries have a self discharge rate of about 5% per week. And if they are old they lose their capacity and self discharge will drain them quicker.

[alo7]

Thanks for the replies

I think I've figured out that the battery is the problem, even though it's a gel battery about 1.5 years old

It went from not being able to start the bike to being fully charged in about 2-3 hours - my chargers output is only 0.6A - and it sounds weak when starting up even after charging

Are lithium batteries the way to go? Or do bike batteries just not last that long?

[SibSerge]

Originally Posted by alo7

Thanks for the replies

I think I've figured out that the battery is the problem, even though it's a gel battery about 1.5 years old

It went from not being able to start the bike to being fully charged in about 2-3 hours - my chargers output is only 0.6A - and it sounds weak when starting up even after charging

Are lithium batteries the way to go? Or do bike batteries just not last that long?

My bike when, I purchased it, was 12 years old and it had the original battery I did not work well however, although the owner said he was riding it a couple of month before the sale. What kills the SLA batteries is a full discharge. So if you do not maintain them they die sooner.

[DannoXYZ]

Originally Posted by alo7

Thanks for the replies

I think I've figured out that the battery is the problem, even though it's a gel battery about 1.5 years old

It went from not being able to start the bike to being fully charged in about 2-3 hours - my chargers output is only 0.6A - and it sounds weak when starting up even after charging

Are lithium batteries the way to go? Or do bike batteries just not last that long?

Lithium batteries have their pros and cons. That balance probably benefits racers most, not so much street bikes.

Are you sure it’s gel battery and not AGM? Gel batteries are mostly for warehouse alarm systems and datacentre UPS. They don’t really have much CCA and would struggle to start a bike.