[kcstheg]

Hi All,

I own a thunderbird for 5 yrs now. The bike has done 41000 kms. Off late i have been facing some issue that I wanted advice on.

Looks like my bike's battery (Exide ) is not charging or is discharging too soon. The battery is 2 yrs old and my mechanic says I have to replace it as it does not charge properly even from a charger. The battery water levels has been checked and is fine.

I would like to know from you experts about what all should i investigate.
1. Charging
2. Leaks
What else ?

Also, in case all is good and its the battery that is near death, which one would you all recommend ?
a. The good old Exide
b. Amco
c. Amaron (This comes with a 5 yr warranty)

MODS, i could not find any thread for this so created one.

Thanks
kcstheg.

[Sankar]

Go for Amaron maintenance free battery. Your Exide has given you good life, don't waste time or money on your old battery anymore.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I would recommend you get Bat Mobile to see the battery and give their opinion whether it can be revived and then junk it if they say no. Don't junk a battery on the advice of a mechanic.
Their number is 3271 1111.

[junkishya]

I would recommend stay with Exide.

[v12]

By Gordon:
If it doesn't charge, then there are these areas you need to check:

Rectifier
Wiring
Magnet/Coil
Battery water

If these are fine, then the battery may need replacement.

[bblost]

My battery is up for change.
Its 5.5 years old.

The voltage of the battery came at a little less than 7 with the bike off.

Now my question is, does the battery play any role in how a bike performs.
I am happy with the battery with its low voltage but am I causing a performance drop due to this.
The only things that run on the battery are Roots Vibrosonic horns, parking light and the indicators.

I am planning on installing additional lights. Riding to Ooty for RM. So am changing the battery but this question plaques me.

The bike is a 2003 June model Thunderbird.

[Ardy]

My cousin is looking for a Battery replacement for his ThunderBird, but is having trouble sourcing one. The current battery in the ThunderBird is Exide Freedom 12MF14L-A2 which is not readily available anywhere. There seems to be no alternative in Amaron for a 14L battery.

Is there any other alternative for the ThunderBird battery replacement? Or can someone help us source a new Exide 12MF14L-A2 on priority?

Appreciate your responses.

Cheers,
Ardy

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by Ardy

Is there any other alternative for the ThunderBird battery replacement? Or can someone help us source a new Exide 12MF14L-A2 on priority?

Finally managed to source a Exide Freedom 12MF14L-A2 through the RE service center.

They also had another option of Exide Backer with the same specification i.e. 12V-14Amp, which was half the cost, however the SA mentioned that the warranty would be for 6 months instead of 1 year and the average life of the battery would be 1.5-2 years.

Cheers,

[GreaseMonk]

Originally Posted by Ardy

Finally managed to source a Exide Freedom 12MF14L-A2 through the RE service center.

They also had another option of Exide Backer with the same specification i.e. 12V-14Amp, which was half the cost, however the SA mentioned that the warranty would be for 6 months instead of 1 year and the average life of the battery would be 1.5-2 years.

Cheers,

Quite strange; the RE service center in Chennai has a massive shortage of 14Ah batteries for the Classic 500. They are blaming Exide for insufficient supply. I have a friend who has been waiting on a replacement battery for 4 months.

[Ardy]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

Quite strange; the RE service center in Chennai has a massive shortage of 14Ah batteries for the Classic 500. They are blaming Exide for insufficient supply. I have a friend who has been waiting on a replacement battery for 4 months.

It was the same case here as well.

First time we enquired about 10 days back and they had no stock. For the last 10 days, we were searching in every battery shop and in fact paid an advance to one battery shop to source a battery. Yesterday, while I was posting it on the forum, my cousin went to drop his TB for service and generally enquired again for the battery. He was told that the service center is expecting delivery of batteries (apparently 1000 of them, don't know if the figure was for the service center or for RE). By evening, the battery was available and installed.

Ask your friend to try his luck the RE again.

Cheers,

[ricky_1605]

Originally Posted by kcstheg

Hi All,

I own a thunderbird for 5 yrs now. The bike has done 41000 kms. Off late i have been facing some issue that I wanted advice on.

Looks like my bike's battery (Exide ) is not charging or is discharging too soon. The battery is 2 yrs old and my mechanic says I have to replace it as it does not charge properly even from a charger. The battery water levels has been checked and is fine.

I would like to know from you experts about what all should i investigate.
1. Charging
2. Leaks
What else ?

Also, in case all is good and its the battery that is near death, which one would you all recommend ?
a. The good old Exide
b. Amco
c. Amaron (This comes with a 5 yr warranty)

MODS, i could not find any thread for this so created one.

Thanks
kcstheg.

Go with the good old Exide. I don't remember exactly but one of Amco or Amaron require constant voltage to get charged which is not possible. It reduces the battery life while in case of Exide there is no such issue.

[satansvalet]

If you plan to buy new battery make sure the battery is completely charged (around 12.75 amps)

connect the battery to your bike and then check the voltage.this will show you the actual charge on the battery.

A stock battery showing you full voltage does not necessarily mean the battery is fully charged.

[Siddy]

Hi guys,

Took my Thunderbird TBTS out & straight to servicing yesterday after some 3 months. Battery was weak and the mechanic said I might need to change it. But I dint agree nor did fellow bhpian Thumpingheart for a obvious reason that the battery was just a year old.

I ride my Tbird mostly on weekends as I prefer taking my Ritzy to work, so I ride less overall and this is the reason for the quick discharging. Also, I dint ride much in the last 5-6 months because the only time I get with my 11 months daughter is on the weekends.

Finally, I took my bike to a local battery guy and he tested the battery.

Readings -
Voltage with engine turned off : 10.79 Volts
Voltage with engine revving at 2.5k : Around 15 Volts

Now, the servicing fellow said he had charged the battery for some 4 hours and the battery showed around 15 volts when i revved, so the battery is charging and its in pretty good shape.

So experts, I have a few questions here,
1. My ES does not work with 10.8 volts, I hear a whining sound. How much voltage does the starter need to crank the engine? (all other electricals working perfect, 12V standard Exide battery)
2. Battery discharging to a great extent when I don't ride her for say 2 weeks, is this normal? Is my battery good?
3. How much time would my battery take to fully charge if I ride her everyday?
4. Please give me some tips to maintain my battery, I have already changed 2 batteries till date

***All cells in my battery are fine & the distilled water level is also good.

Note: Mods, I tried searching for a similar thread but could not find one. Please merge this in case a similar thread already exists.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Siddy

I ride my Tbird mostly on weekends as I prefer taking my Ritzy to work, so I ride less overall and this is the reason for the quick discharging. Also, I dint ride much in the last 5-6 months because the only time I get with my 11 months daughter is on the weekends.

Finally, I took my bike to a local battery guy and he tested the battery.

Readings -
Voltage with engine turned off : 10.79 Volts
Voltage with engine revving at 2.5k : Around 15 Volts

Now, the servicing fellow said he had charged the battery for some 4 hours and the battery showed around 15 volts when i revved, so the battery is charging and its in pretty good shape.

So experts, I have a few questions here,
1. My ES does not work with 10.8 volts, I hear a whining sound. How much voltage does the starter need to crank the engine? (all other electricals working perfect, 12V standard Exide battery)
2. Battery discharging to a great extent when I don't ride her for say 2 weeks, is this normal? Is my battery good?
3. How much time would my battery take to fully charge if I ride her everyday?
4. Please give me some tips to maintain my battery, I have already changed 2 batteries till date

A battery that reads 10.79V assuming the VM is correct is flat..yes, absolutely flat.

A battery is at 0% state of charge at ~11.4V @ 27 C, if it shows a reading below that it's probably sulphated and that's the reason it wont retain a charge and start your bike. A fully charged battery should be 12.5-12.6V depending on make & model. But that's not the only thing to measure - you need to load test the battery something your dealer should be able to do.

Answer to your questions:

1. As mentioned the voltage when fully charged is 12.6V. A battery showing 10.xx V is dead. Also, 15V is too high a charging voltage. This will lead to excessive water loss.

2. If it runs flat in 2 weeks it could be due to a leakage - check your bikes wiring. If all checks out ok it may be the battery. Have you fitted any aftermarket accessories such as lights, horns? I suspect the battery from the symptoms you have described

3. That depends on what is the state of charge. A flat battery will take a long time to charge and its best connected to a wall charger instead of running the bike. If the battery is near or at full state of charge you need to ride the bike for 5-6 Kms every day and NOT in bumper to bumper traffic. Bikes have smaller alternators and take longer to charge the battery.

4. Tips - Get your electrical wiring and charging system checked. Charging voltages should be between 13.8-14.4V. Make sure the water level is always between the top max line and Min line. Ride the bike at least 1-2 times a week, take it for a nice sprint. If possible buy a wall charger and connect the battery to it when you don't intend using the bike for extended periods of time.

[adnaps]

Originally Posted by R2D2

If possible buy a wall charger and connect the battery to it when you don't intend using the bike for extended periods of time.

Any suggestions on a good make or model for a battery charger. Any pointers to where it can be sourced from in Bangalore/Online ?

Thanks.