Dead Battery - again!

[av8or-dave]

Ok, back in April 2020 the battery in my 2017 TTSE was dead (after being on OPTIMATE II battery maintainer for the winter).

It needed the wiring recall and radio firmware update too, so I had it towed to the dealer.  They sold me a new battery, recalled wiring inspection was good, and updated the radio firmware to the "E" version (I checked).  Six weeks later I got the bike back.

So, we had a bad week of weather - no riding, and then I got sick and quarantined (Neg COVID test) for 2 weeks until Oct 29th.  So, when I went to ride again - dead battery!

The bike is at the dealer now...so my question is - besides the radio firmware issue, does anyone else have this problem with the battery dying over and over again?  $165 USD for a new battery twice in one year is unacceptable!

[Coconut]

Sorry to hear of this.

I’m not aware of anyone else having had batteries fail
repeatedly after getting the Audio firmware ( applicable
to the U.S. & Canada market ) updated.

It is possible that you were sold a faulty battery to begin with -
It can happen !

I have also heard of Battery Tenders failing or not operating
correctly due to poor electrical contacts, so get that checked !

Assuming the Battery Tender is good, I would ask the Dealer
to run a test to determine what the actual current draw is
on your Trophy to rule out any other electrical fault
that could be causing an excessive drain on the Battery.

If the current draw is minimal with Ignition off, such that
the Battery Tender should be able to cope with it, this would
support a theory of the battery being faulty, which  may be
covered by Warranty depending on how long ago it was purchased.

Cheers,

[STJIM]

This is an interesting problem. Even if the battery tender isn't working properly I wouldn't think the battery would die in 2 weeks unless the battery tender is drawing current from the battery instead of supplying current to the battery.

Know anyone with a DVM or VOM ?  It would be interesting to find that out, as well as the current draw from the battery without a tender connected

What exactly is the symptom ?  Is the display "alive" when the ignition switch is in the "run" position and the starter just not working, or is everything dead?

.

[brenchley]

Are you, by chance, using the fork lock and then inadvertently turning the key to the "P" position on the ignition.?

[Saddle Tramp]

Was your battery tender hooked up during the two weeks that you were sick?

[darmah59]

Need to initially check engine off and engine on battery voltages, they should be above 12 off and over 14 with engine on. Then would be worthwhile checking voltage with battery charger, once again it should be over 14. Next check battery voltage while cranking engine, it should not go below 11. Lastly get battery load tested after charging. These are not very complicated circuits, and it is either a bad battery, bad charger or bad charging system.

[Wanderer67]

Question along this topic. I got the radio update this last Tuesday. I have used the radio and ridden every day to work and other errands. Yesterday I got the low voltage warning and radio off until the bike was running. Last night I hooked up my battery tender and it took an hour plus to bring the battery up to a full charge again. Shouldn't riding every day, a minimum of 30 miles, keep the battery fully charged? I'm assuming my battery (when I got my bike from the dealer I was told they replaced the battery and once again assume it was a new one) is not a good battery. I am going to check per darmah59's instructions this weekend but my question is shouldn't the Trophy keep the battery topped up if riding every day even if all bells and whistles are being used?

'77 Kaw KZ650
'84 Honda VF1000
'89 Honda PC800
'91 Honda ST1100
'14 Triumph Trophy SE 

[darmah59]

This sounds normal for a Trophy, mine does almost exactly the same. The battery tenders will take a hour or so for the green light to come on even on a fully charged new battery, it does not mean the battery is bad or not being charged. Only way to test a battery is to do a engine off and engine on voltage test and also do a load test.