I have a 1993 Suzuki Intruder 1400, put about 35000 miles on it. I put in a new battery and it last from a day to a month or so and then it is fryed, bad cell. I have replaced the voltage regulator and the alternator seems to be fine. While going down the road with a new battery the bike just dies and then I have a battery with a bad cell. Please Help
If you are using a cheap battery then that could be the issue there. If not have your alternator scoped and see the voltage pattern, It should look like a picket fence. I have seen new parts come from the factory not working. If the vibration is what is killing it then try to put something in the battery box to help isolate your battery (rubber matting) If this is a new problem then you may be getting a weird harmonic resonance from somewhere (wheel balance, engine mounts, worn shocks causing very minor wheel hop, all sorts of stuff)
If a cell went bad, its is not possible for it to be from a bad charger.
It's a bad cell that took 30 days or so to get bad enough that it failed, there by killing the rest of the battery cells. Killing meaning not allowing to work properly, not really killing.
If you can, prior to leaving the store see if they will check the specific gravity of each cell (no big deal to do) and a amp check. If Gel cell or sealed, them just go with voltage and amps of the battery.
If offered, have (and pay) for them to do the filling of acid and charging for you. This takes out who screwed up immediately. Before paying, ask for written results of final tests, yes there is more than one that should be done. Don't worry about if you understand the results, the fact that you have them is more likely to ensure your battery will be treated right.
Thanks for all the good comments; I have tried different batteries, the worst trouble I had was with "PowerMax" battery went through 3 of them in 2 months, just recently I purchased a "Yuasa" it lasted 30 days. Ironically the cheap batteries are lasting me a little longer. The output voltage on the alternator is about 14v or so. Someone mentioned the gap on the magneto might be off, not sure where the magneto is on this bike or if it ties in or not. Still looking
Thanks
rvmiles wrote: Ironically the cheap batteries are lasting me a little longer.
Odd truth is if you live in a area with high temps or the engine is hot alot, you can have a high end battery with a short life. Due to excessive heat from jamming to many plates per cell. So a cheaper battery with less plates will hold less heat and create less heat.
So a cheaper battery can be better depending on where you live and general bike heat issues.
All 12v liquid cell batteries have the same number of cells - 6 cells at 2.1 V a piece = 12.6 v. there will be a difference in quality of construction, amp rating, longevity and possibly size but that is about it. I dont really know what to tell you man, The only way for you to know for shure is to have everything tested by a competant mechanic. ou could allways try putting a thermometer in your battery box and then checking it after about 1 hour, record the temp and then ask someone who knows about the kind of heat a battery can take before going south
