Battery nonsense

This isn't GRiSO specific, but I'm interested in what you guys think.

Back in the summer I needed a battery. I know it's not the best fitment, but there was a Yuasa YTX 16 ( the pre- filled variant) on the shelf in my local Halfords. So it was soon in my Grso,  working fine. Then the GRiSO failed it's MOT just before Xmas, and has been idle since, as I try to source some new fork kegs.

I thought I ought to charge it up, so over the weekend I hooked it up to the Optimate. Nothing. NADA. Zilch. The Optimate can't see it .

Have I killed it? I know it's not good to let them go completely flat, but I've done it before and they always take a charge. Just for interest, I hooked the Optimate up to the old (known bad) battery, and it had a go at charging that .

So ..what the hell? Will Halfords entertain me if I take it back?

Do you have a voltmeter? What is the voltage readout at the battery poles?

If it's reading 0 volts, chances are the battery experienced a short circuit
If it cannot reach higher than 10.5 volts when being charged, then the battery has a dead cell.

If the battery was not completely charged when you stored the bike, chances are, the electrodes sulfated over winter.
Sulfation is the natural byproduct when the battery discharges. Naturally, re-charging the battery will reverse the sulfation crystals and turn it back into electrolyte, ready to produce power again. But if a battery sat, uncharged, severely discharged, and/or drained for extended periods of time, the sulfation will increase in size and harden onto the plates. This covers the surface area of the plates, removing the chemicals needed to produce power.

Sulfation decreases the potential to reach a full charge, and it self-discharges the battery quicker than normal. Charging a sulfated battery is like trying to wash your hands while wearing gloves. At this point, charging alone will not restore the battery to a healthy condition. The majority of replacement battery purchases occur when the original battery has reached this point.

Connect it to a known good battery and let it charge for a bit then connect the Optimate again. Your "smart" charger sees too low of a voltage so it won't start the charging process.

guzziownr wrote:

Connect it to a known good battery and let it charge for a bit then connect the Optimate again. Your "smart" charger sees too low of a voltage so it won't start the charging process.

Agree! Been there, done that.

Thanks guys. I'll give it a go at the weekend. (During the week my unreasonable employer seems to want me to actually work for a living!)

If it won't charge, do Halfrauds owe me a battery?

Pres

If it's still within warranty I can't see why not but next time get a 20 not a 16. The 16's simply aren't up to the job.

Why wait until the weekend? It doesn't need supervision once it starts charging.

kiwi dave wrote:

Why wait until the weekend?  It doesn't need supervision once it starts charging.

Its not a 5 minute job, due to the location of the bike, and a suitable spare battery.

Well the bad news is that it is comprehensively and thoroughly deceased. It is an ex battery. It has passed away and is no more. I tried three chargers, and it's not interested. It will not charge. And it's almost certainly my own stupid fault for allowing it to fully discharge.

The entirely better news is that I took it back to Halfords. They had cunningly sent me the receipt by email. So I had the receipt. So they took it back, and gave me a brand stonking new one!

As I'm still waiting for fork bits, I won't install it, so hopefully I won't kill this one too!