New Panasonic Battery = No Go.

[gossamerjohn]

Hey Folks.

I just installed a new Panasonic LC-X1228P in my R60/6. I did this not because I was having problems with the old one, but because I know it's at least 3 years old but have no idea how much older (PO didn't know either) and I wanted to be on the preventative side of maintenance rather than the reactive side, for a change :)

Anyway, I got the battery, put it in the bike, no dice. Light went out, acc lights went out. No turn over. It showed 12.6 volts on my voltmeter before I tried it. I put the old Bike Master flooded battery in it and the bike started fine.

I was under the impression that these sealed lead acid batteries came fully charged. I got mine from Digi-key.

So, should i put it on the Battery Tender Jr over night and give it another shot? Or should I just return it and go with the old flooded battery technology again?

I've read good things about the Panasonics, so I'm stumped.

[Bombayduck]

Could be defective. But probably just needs a charge. Lots of new batteries have to be charged up before using them after sitting for who knows how many months.

[tvrla]

The batteries I've gotten from digikey haven't needed charging. In your case I'd try charging it overnigt and see if that fixes it. Otherwise, have them send a new one.

[BubbaZanetti]

12.6, from memory, seems a tad low, might have been sitting a bit, charge overnight, like the others said

[20774]

12.6 - 12.7 might be just static charge. See what it measures when you hit the start button. The voltage shouldn't go below about 10.5. If it drops into the 9s, then you likely have a dead cell. Possibly some car parts places could do some load testing...determine if the battery can handle the load required to start.

[shire2000]

Had same problem this summer with 2 brand new Yuasa AGM batteries.

The first one showed 12.7Volts when I got it. Charged it with appropriate charger for AGM battery overnight and it came up to 13.4V. Installed it, and started bike fine. Went for a ride and when I came back, about 30 minutes later, the battery was down to 12.4V and would not start the bike. Took it back for replacement.

Got the 2nd one and it did basically the same thing. Checked the date of manufacture and they were both of the same batch in June 2009. Took it back and requested a replacement from a different date. They brought one in the next day from a different store with a newer date of manufacture, Mid July 2009. I checked the voltage when I came home, and it was at 13.2V, so installed in bike and went for ride. Still have that battery in bike as it is working fine.

Sometimes they just have a bad batch come out of the factory.

And if you are going to charge your AGM battery, make sure to use the proper type of charger. Those old ones we all used on our old car batteries just put out way to much power and can cause major issues with the new technology.

[gossamerjohn]

Hey all. Thanks for the replies. It's charging now so we'll see what it does.

Dave: I'm using a Battery Tender Jr. I don't know if this is technically appropriate for a sealed lead acid battery, but it's only a 1-year-old charger so it should be good eh?

thanks

[shire2000]

Yup, the Battery Tender Jr. is perfect for the AGM sealed batteries.

I also found it a good idea to go thru all the wiring system connections on these older bikes. It is amazing how many issues can be fixed by just some cleaning and the replacing of the odd connector.

[gossamerjohn]

I put the Panasonic on the charger overnight. I took a reading of about 13.2 volts, re-installed it, the bike started right up. The voltmeter read 12.2 volts as I was hitting the starter.

I took it for a 15 minute ride, then came home, turned it off. Took a measurment and it was holding steady at 13.2 volts.

Started it right back up.

Went to the Post office. Started right up. Went to get lunch, came back started right up.

Came home, turned it off for a few minutes, started right back up.

So, everything looks good so far. I'll see what it does after a night of sitting.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback.