Low Battery Level ... in just one cell?

[905mike]

i took the battery out of my bike to store for the winter and noticed that one of the cells is way below the lower limit ... the other cells are fine.
am I SOL?

if i just add distilled water to that cell to bring the level back up am I OK or has damage already been done?

and how does one cell drop so low and all the other cells stay OK all season??

[ohgood]

got me, i just re-fill the lower cells with distilled and ride on. 3 seasons now on the same battery.

[commuterdude]

it's not the one nearest the overflow tube is it?  if you lean the bike over, the fluid can leak out of the battery.

[905mike]

it's not the one nearest the overflow tube is it?  if you lean the bike over, the fluid can leak out of the battery.

the only cell in the battery that dropped below lower limit (and it did by a lot) is the one closest to the sidestand (left side of the bike).
the overflow tube on my battery connects on the opposite side of the bike.

[Kasumi]

Top up, charge, monitor problem.

[905mike]

thanks. got a jug of distilled water.
filled up all the cells to max. and put the battery on my Battery Float Charger in my basement ...
hopin' for the best next spring!

[GeeP]

I won't tell you how much water I put in my battery yesterday.

Couple of days should have it back to normal, I hope.   

One cell down shouldn't be a problem.  Mine was nearly out of electrolyte.  I'm suprised the electrics worked. 

[905mike]

i winterized a couple weeks ago, took the battery off the bike after riding it almost daily all season no problems ....
i filled up the low cell top up the others and put it on a my battery tender ...
one week later i check the battery with a multimeter and it reads 11.6VDC
OK
..
so i put i back on the battery tender and wait one more week. today, i check it at the battery reads 10.0VDC


WTF???

am i slowly killing my battery?

[GeeP]

 

Does your tender have a light to show when it is charging?

[905mike]

Does your tender have a light to show when it is charging?

nope it just has a red light that goes on when it is connected.
when you connect the clips to the battery and a good connection is made, the red light goes on and stays on.

[GeeP]

Hmm.  Well, it sounds as though it is properly functioning...

Have a specific gravity tester floating around there?  Give that a shot.

10V is low, but voltage is not a good indicator of the state of charge of a lead acid battery.  ( Is that a record on the use of the word "of" in a sentence?)

[DoD#i]

A lead acid battery with a voltage below 2V/cell has more problems than being discharged, despite the real issues involved in trying to equate voltage with state of charge.

You have a shorted cell if it's down at 10V. Time for a new battery - well, actually, wait and buy one in the spring - remember to save this one for the lead recycling credit (trade it in when you buy the new one).

Batteries are not forever. While it's possible that you might have eked another year out of it if you had caught it earlier, you might not have, too.

[905mike]

A lead acid battery with a voltage below 2V/cell has more problems than being discharged, despite the real issues involved in trying to equate voltage with state of charge.

You have a shorted cell if it's down at 10V. Time for a new battery - well, actually, wait and buy one in the spring - remember to save this one for the lead recycling credit (trade it in when you buy the new one).

Batteries are not forever. While it's possible that you might have eked another year out of it if you had caught it earlier, you might not have, too.

F-Me!!!!! it was a new battery just 6 months ago!!! guess i wrecked it by letting the levels in one of the cells get too low below the lower limit.

[DoD#i]

You may also have a charging system problem, if it's that new - then again, it may have a factory defect - if it's 6 months old, there may be a warranty in effect, and you might want to go ahead and replace it now, if that is the case (since they usually have a short period of full replacement, and then a longer period of "pro-rated" partial payment based on expected life.

[GeeP]

Yes, if one cell has a specific gravity lower than the other cells, you have a shorted cell.  You can charge it all you want, but it won't hold a charge for very long.

[905mike]

oh my, double F-me!!
checked the battery this morning after another 24 hours on the battery tender ....and it now reads 9.0VDC
i also notice now that the battery tender says not to charge the battery
with this if it is below 9.6V!

SHeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I'll check the SG this evening.

[905mike]

so it goes like this..

11/16 11.6V ... just as i pull it off the bike and top up one cell that was below the lower limit, then PUT ON TENDER.
11/23 10.0V ... reading, then PUT ON TENDER
11/24  9.0V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/25  9.7V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/26  9.81V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/27  9.82V ... reading, am currently letting it sit OFF TENDER



is my battery healing itself?

Just for kicks I measure the voltage across the clips of my battery-tender .. it reads 6.7V ....
is this OK???
was I mistakenly given a battery-tender for 6V batteries???   

btw, the dude i got it from off ebay is willing to take it back. i'll send it back and see what happens.

[wladziu]

Meh.

Just take it to Advance or that other auto parts store.  They run diagnostics and charge car batteries for free; pretty sure they'll do the same with a motorcycle battery.  Takes a while, though.  The guy told me that the machine drains it all the way down, then recharges it in cycles.  Usually the machine's full during the day.  Just call them and find out.

I think you have a 6V charger.  There might be a switch on the side, though.

[905mike]

so it goes like this..

11/16 11.6V ... just as i pull it off the bike and top up one cell that was below the lower limit, then PUT ON TENDER.
11/23 10.0V ... reading, then PUT ON TENDER
11/24  9.0V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/25  9.7V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/26  9.81V ... reading, am currently letting it sit OFF TENDER



is my battery healing itself?
so far every 24 hours it has be OFF the TENDER it is increasing in voltage.

Just for kicks I measure the voltage across the clips of my battery-tender .. it reads 6.7V ....
is this OK???

was I mistakenly given a battery-tender for 6V batteries???   

here is the unit i purchased:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160300955588&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123

anyone else have a similar experience with this?

[905mike]

so it goes like this..

11/16 11.6V ... just as i pull it off the bike and top up one cell that was below the lower limit, then PUT ON TENDER.
11/23 10.0V ... reading, then PUT ON TENDER
11/24  9.0V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/25  9.7V ... reading, then LET IT SIT OFF TENDER
11/26  9.81V ... reading, am currently letting it sit OFF TENDER



is my battery healing itself?
so far every 24 hours it has be OFF the TENDER it is increasing in voltage.

Just for kicks I measure the voltage across the clips of my battery-tender .. it reads 6.7V ....
is this OK???

was I mistakenly given a battery-tender for 6V batteries???   

here is the unit i purchased:
http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#search/ebay/119e05ad45e1c9bf

anyone else have a similar experience with this?

(what is the voltage reading across the clips of YOUR battery tender when it is plugged in but NOT hooked up to your battery???)