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Hot battery

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Tech Talk' started by lowrider92, Feb 12, 2008.

  1. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    My riding buddy has a 95 Dyna convertable that is driving us both crazy. It all started last summer when we did a day rider of around 200 miles. We stopped to get something to drink and he was complaining about how hot his left thigh and butt were. It was a 90+ day so I told him to quite complaining. As we rode on and got back home he felt his battery box and it was so hot you couldnt hold your hand on it. I felt mine and it was just warm. The next day we checked out the electrical system by the book with a meter and it checked out fine. The battery checks out, the stator and regulator check fine, but to this day if he rides for longer than a couple of hours or so the battery will get very hot. If its a short trip, no problem. Any ideas? we're stumped.
    lowrider92, Feb 12, 2008
    #1
  3. cowboy

    cowboy Moderator Staff Member

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    sound's like a over charge to me might have a circut staying part way open & causing a over charge just my 2 cents
    cowboy, Feb 12, 2008
    #2
  4. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    how is the electrolyte level in the battery. if it is being boiled out, you are over charging it. now, you stated you checked the battery. did you check the specific gravity of the electrolyte???? did you check voltage between the cells. these tests will let you know if you have a weak cell or dead cell. while running or after running and the battery starts to get hot, what is the volts to the battery and what are the amps being put into the battery.....i am going to suspect a faulty volt regulator, and it is probably faulty due to a bad battery.............................wow, did i go out on a limb or what!!!!:D .....let us know what ya find!! i hope ya got good clean terminals and connectors.............
    chucktx, Feb 12, 2008
    #3
  5. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    He is running a sealed battery , but he's checked the battery, isolated it buy itself and in the circuit, both with the bike turned off and with it running. By the book it checks out fine. He hooked a volt meter to the battery and hit the starter to see if the voltage dropped, the book says it shouldn't drop below 10 volts with the starter engaged, and it dropped to 10.5. He tried a new battery just in case and it does the same thing.As I said, we have gone thru the tests in the service manuel and the test listed on this site and it all checks out. The battery will be so hot you can't hold your hand on it for more than about a minute. No boiling, no cracking, no short. As i said, we are stumped. Thanks for the input.
    lowrider92, Feb 13, 2008
    #4
  6. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    are you checking the voltage after the hr of running to see what is happening when the battery gets hot???
    another direction....is any part of the exhaust pipe touching the battery box, or battery tray???

    the battery heats when charging or discharging. i would like to know the volts/amps after an hour of running when it is getting hot....not sitting in the garage. is there a seat pan that may be touching the battery when someone is riding it??
    chucktx, Feb 13, 2008
    #5
  7. Sleepy

    Sleepy Well-Known Member

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    Might be a dumb question but how hot is the bike running..if you're really leaned out it may be an issue. The battery is hung off the right side of the frame not terribly far from where the rear pipe comes out of the head. the heat from the pipe and the windblast puts it right back on the battery box. I had a 96 Dyna that had a funky ignition key switch. I remember getting a lot of engine heat in hot weather but don't recall the battery box getting that hot. Batteries didn't last a long time on those though so I'd guess there's a heat issue.
    Sleepy, Feb 13, 2008
    #6
  8. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    He's had the bike 5 years and rides back and forth to work when weather permits and has never had this problem until now. He has had a local shop owner who is a member of our ABATE chapter check the regulator, the stator the battery and the starter when the bike is cool, and all checks OK. If he check it hot after a ride it checks OK, but is very hot. ?????
    lowrider92, Feb 14, 2008
    #7
  9. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    It may not be the VR, at idle and sitting still may not be the issue, could be he has a frayed wire or loose connection along the charging circuit that when the bike is in motion causes the situation to get worse.

    I'd look at all connections, clean and tighten them up, and I'd look for a bad or cut/frayed wire.
    hotroadking, Feb 14, 2008
    #8
  10. ironhorse

    ironhorse Active Member

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    swap the battery with your friends for a round and check it could be loose plates in the battery, if it continues swap back and do as hrk suggested, and look for a high draw.
    ironhorse, Feb 14, 2008
    #9
  11. skull2007

    skull2007 Active Member

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    maybe check the plugs. make sure you don't have a hot cylinder.
    skull2007, Feb 14, 2008
    #10
  12. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    Installed new ones to see if that would hep, it didn't. Any body think maybe to many amps?
    lowrider92, Feb 14, 2008
    #11
  13. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    lowrider, that was one of the first questions i asked about.....have they been checked??? also as hrk mentioned, look for faulty wiring. use a bright flashlight and lift the tank to inspect all the wiring. as i said, check to make sure that the lid is not touching or close to the terminals....let us know..:)
    chucktx, Feb 14, 2008
    #12
  14. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    hotbattery

    Will check and let you know. Thanks
    lowrider92, Feb 14, 2008
    #13
  15. hotroadking

    hotroadking Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Too add, my bud's 113 RK was always needing to be on the charger, after a ride he'd put the bike on the charge and it was red for quite a while, leading you to believe the charging system wasn't running.

    Tests at the battery showed everything normal.

    Wiggle test of wires found a short where one of the wires coming off the vr was rubbing against the motor and had worn through to the copper wire, so it would ground it'self out mutliple times during a ride due to the cut so the battery wouldn't get full charge.
    hotroadking, Feb 15, 2008
    #14
  16. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    Just wanted to thank all who offered help. I hate to admit this, but you know how they say men never read the instructions, well as it turns out my buddy didn't. What we found was the replacement battery had some spacers and instructions telling him " caution, If you do not put the spacers supplied with the battery, when you tighten the bolts that hold the battery in,the posts will touch the case and cause a short, which will cause the battery case to get hot and ruin the battery. The only thing he told me to tell you guys, " I'm such a dumbass "
    lowrider92, Apr 4, 2008
    #15
  17. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    live and learn...........:)
    chucktx, Apr 4, 2008
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  18. AFNurse

    AFNurse Moderator Staff Member

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    Bet he doesn't make that mistake a second time!!! :roflmao:
    AFNurse, Apr 4, 2008
    #17
  19. cowboy

    cowboy Moderator Staff Member

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    Good to here it was a easy fix & just a case of D A :roflmao:
    cowboy, Apr 4, 2008
    #18
  20. whacker

    whacker Active Member

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    I guess it pays to read the instructions first.....
    whacker, Apr 5, 2008
    #19
  21. lowrider92

    lowrider92 New Member

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    hotbattery

    Thanks guy's.
    lowrider92, Apr 6, 2008
    #20

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