PC545 still the way to go?

[tom3]

It looks like the battery in my 2001 Sport is no longer holding charge.  It is an Odyssey PC545 (with metal jacket), and the labels on it indicate a manufacture date of July 2005 and installation in 2006.  I've had the bike since 2008 and the battery has never given me problems until recently. 

 

I briefly considered reconditioning it, but I'm leaning toward just replacing it given how old it is.  From the many battery threads that turned up in my search, it looks like PC545 still gets most of your votes.  That is the default choice for me as well since I've had good experience with the one that came in my bike.  (though I probably shortened its life by putting it on a Battery Tender Jr out of ignorance).

 

Nevertheless, I'd like to make sure that it is still the way to go since many of the threads I found are from a few years ago. 

For instance, would this Yuasa YTX-15L with it's higher CCA be a better choice?  http://www.ebay.com/itm/262433899795

 

What about LiPO4 batteries?

 

Thanks!!

[Chuck]

I'm a believer in the PC 545. I replaced one at 10 years and one at 12. They hadn't failed.. but standing voltage was down to 12.3 or so. When I'd had them at any rate, they'd never been on a battery tender. One sat as long as 6 months at a time. (!)

I understand that if it doesn't get cold where you are, a Lithium battery might be the way to go. I'll probably put one in the MZ in California when the cheapie AGM dies.

[docc]

+1 on the PC545 if you will condition it properly.

 

Otherwise, you can only expect them to last ten or twelve years . . .

[MartyNZ]

 

I have an FullRiver HC14B battery in my bike that just won't die. It has May 2012 written on it, so after 5 years, I expected it to fail soon. It looks like I might be too pessimistic, if a PC545 lasts 10-12 years.

I bought a Shorai LFX21L6-BS12 to replace it, but before I fitted it I found that the bike had wiring and grounding faults. Once I tidied the burned alternator connectors, bad regulator ground, and fitted a better 30 amp fuse holder, the old battery kept doing it's job.

I really want to try out that Shorai battery, as it claims to be "high zoot", prismatic cell, lithium iron phosphate, and is MUCH lighter than a lead acid battery, but that FullRiver still still cranks well and thrives on neglect. And I'm just too tight to throw away a battery that works well.

If someone has a good home for the HC14B, then I can report back on the Shorai LiFePO4.

 

[ Edit: O2V11 swooped in and claimed the FullRiver battery. By swooped, I mean he PM'd me. Now he just needs to arrange collection. I might go for a ride while he works that out.]

[MartyNZ]

I finally fitted a lithium iron phosphate Shorai LFX21L6-BS12 battery to my bike.

I like it.

It is very slightly smaller than the previous battery, so is a better fit with clearance off the frame and seat.

The bike cranked noticeably faster with it too.  

It came in a box which was packed with lots of shapes and thicknesses of self adhesive foam so it can be made to fit snugly into the battery cradle.

I did buy Shorai's dedicated charger for it, as ideally it benefits from a balance charge every year or so. Shorai does say that a normal charger is fine, but desulfitation mode will damage it.

If you can tolerate the eye-watering price, then you could consider it.

[gstallons]

I would think nuclear fuel would be less expensive than this ? YEOW !

[footgoose]

I fitted finally fitted a lithium iron phosphate Shorai LFX21L6-BS12 battery to my bike.

I like it.

It is very slightly smaller than the previous battery, so is a better fit with clearance off the frame and seat.

The bike cranked noticeably faster with it too.  

It came in a box which was packed with lots of shapes and thicknesses of self adhesive foam so it can be made to fit snugly into the battery cradle.

I did buy Shorai's dedicated charger for it, as ideally it benefits from a balance charge every year or so. Shorai does say that a normal charger is fine, but desulfitation mode will damage it.

If you can tolerate the eye-watering price, then you could consider it.

 

 

I have Shorai in 2 other bikes and wanted to get one for the LM, but read something around here recently about the Li batteries messing with the reg/rect or something like that. You remember this Marty?

[MartyNZ]

I have Shorai in 2 other bikes and wanted to get one for the LM, but read something around here recently about the Li batteries messing with the reg/rect or something like that. You remember this Marty?

You may be right, but so far there are no signs of a problem on my bike. The Shorai NZ dealer has a written guarantee on the battery so long as I use the recommended battery for the bike.

 

Their website makes this claim: "Shorai LFX™ batteries have the same charge requirements as AGM lead-acid batteries and all modern vehicle charging systems work with Shorai LFX™ batteries." 

US website-

http://shoraipower.com/faq

http://shoraipower.com/about-us

NZ website-

http://www.shorai.co.nz/blog/category/battery-technical-info/

 

Your question made me go check voltages, so I stunk up the garage running the bike inside because I was too lazy to push it outside in the heat.

I measured at the battery terminals. After start the volts were slowly climbing, but I took the numbers from the first 30 seconds.

13.37 v Resting

13.20 v Ignition & headlight on

11.58 v Cranking

14.08 v 1000 rpm

14.22 v 2000 rpm

14.23 v 3000 rpm

14.25 v 4000 rpm

I'm happy with these figures, so I suspect that any reported regulator problems on other bikes probably relate to poor grounding, fuse or wiring, not the Shorai battery.

[footgoose]

That's good to hear. I like the batteries. So lite, and high cca. No winter tending. My 545 has just given up the ghost.

 

"I was too lazy to push it outside in the heat." it's 35 deg F here! Right now I would push my bike out in the heat for no reason at all.

[motortouring]

I was discussing the Li-ion battery with the locale battery-supplier. He expressed his worry on the stability of the charging-voltage on a motorcycle. If I understood correctly the LI-ion has (or should have) a sort of protection for to high charging-voltage. And this is not always working well in a classic charging wiring diagram. The PC545 from Odyssey would be his choice for my 2002 V11.

 

The Li-Ion battery is usually build-up with cells of 4.20V/Cell. 3 cells are 12.6Volt and should be charged with 14.6 Volt. Theoretically the motorcycle delivers 14.4 Volt, but this is only a small difference. If the voltage rises the battery protection circuit can switch-off the charging. A higher voltage can also heat-up the battery.

 

In my close area we have had a burning Li-Ion battery and damage to the ECU in the same Centauro. All was adequately covered by the battery -supplier. But still you have only little time to take-out the smoking battery before it starts to burn.

 

On the other hand, there are lots of bikes that do not have this incidents.

 

General Li-Ion background

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

 

On protecting the Li-Ion

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/bu_304b_making_lithium_ion_safe

[MartyNZ]

Motortouring, you are correct that some types of lithium batteries can be hazardous. We have all heard of Samsung and Apple phones catching fire. We need to consider the many types of lithium chemistry batteries, some safe, some (lithium polymer) so unstable you only get them in radio control toys. The brand of battery I put in my bike uses LiFePO4 cells which have much lower performance than phone batteries, but significantly higher stability and safety. This is shown in that excellent website you gave us links to.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion

That's why I feel safe enough to sit on that battery on the road.

[motortouring]

MartyNZ, I agree with you about, "safe enough to sit on". Our battery was of X-racer used on a Centauro. This battery brand is used a lot and there is no sign on the web about incidents. So it is likely a resistance in a connector of the regulator that lifts the 14.4 Volt to a higher value. The voltage table that you showed is a good way to verify that you are in the good operating area of the LI-Ion battery.

[tom3]

Thanks so much everyone!  I decided to play it safe and went with the PC545. 

[docc]

Thanks so much everyone!  I decided to play it safe and went with the PC545. 

I've had good service from mine. Consider "conditioning" the battery before installation:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18838

[tom3]

 

Thanks so much everyone!  I decided to play it safe and went with the PC545. 

I've had good service from mine. Consider "conditioning" the battery before installation:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18838

 

Thanks Docc!  Your thread was how I got the idea to recondition the old battery in the first place, before I realized that it was almost 12 years old.

 

I'd need to get a charger to condition the battery though.  Would you still recommend the procedure if the new battery is measuring 13.02 volts?

 

thanks!