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2013 Norge 8V - Battery discharges in 3 days after last service

CMD

Just got it firing!
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
Messages
19
Location
Toronto, ON
searched the past 20 pages of posts and have not found a similar thread so need some advice please.

Bought the bike from new and for the first 3 years or so no issues with battery charging and normal discharge (battery would hold charge for weeks). After my last service where a new battery was fitted the bike battery now discharges within 3 days. Dealer went through bike last time and though he found it but voila the problem returned. Fuses all good and nothing connected (like SatNav, etc.) that could discharge the battery.

Has anyone had a similar issue or has some suggestions ?

Thank you - Christian
 
Never heard of that before, but if the previous battery held it's charge right up to the end, and the new one doesn't, then the either dealer did something to change things during the service, or the new battery is dud. Was there a reason why a new battery was fitted?
 
Never heard of that before, but if the previous battery held it's charge right up to the end, and the new one doesn't, then the either dealer did something to change things during the service, or the new battery is dud. Was there a reason why a new battery was fitted?

Dealer did regular service and fitted replacement headline bulb. Read here that sometimes a short happens there but not sure about that. I forgot to check trickle charge the initial battery last winter and that's what did it for the old battery.
 
Find an external ammeter. Fully charge the battery. Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery then the positive. Hook up the ammeter in series between the battery and all positive connections. Reconnect negative lead to the battery. Observe ammeter, you will probably see a discharge (if you see a charge, reverse the connections at the ammeter. Be advised, the dash and ECU will consume a few miliamps to maintain memory. Pull one fuse at a time until drain stops. That will be the circuit to troubleshoot. However, pulling a main will have that impact so start with the secondary fuses.
 
Find an external ammeter. Fully charge the battery. Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery then the positive. Hook up the ammeter in series between the battery and all positive connections. Reconnect negative lead to the battery. Observe ammeter, you will probably see a discharge (if you see a charge, reverse the connections at the ammeter. Be advised, the dash and ECU will consume a few miliamps to maintain memory. Pull one fuse at a time until drain stops. That will be the circuit to troubleshoot. However, pulling a main will have that impact so start with the secondary fuses.

Thank you John
spoke to dealer who suggested relay switch (front left fairing) which controls signal to alternator. Your explanation is much more precise so will check this first. Thanks and Ciao
 
Could be that relay but if the was your headlights would also turn on. That relay has a direct feed to the battery so it is possible if it is stuck.

John has the right idea. Most good voltmeters will have an amp setting. Usually good up to 10 amp so you are good as long as you don't try to start the bike. Wont take a lot of amps. Believe it is about a 19AHr battery so even 100 miliamps will kill the battery in a week. 3 days and you are drawing 3 or 400 miliamps somewhere.

Should take a look at the main connector from the alternator to the battery. Have now seen 2 or 3 bikes with the same problem. If there is a short there it will draw current if it is the right wires.

All that being said if you do what John said you will at least find the circuit.
 
No blame, but worthy of note, most AGM batteries are incorrectly put into service, meaning filled and instantly put on a charger. If this is done, the battery will not last long. It happened to nearly every one of my brand new rental fleet bikes in the last few years (from dealers). Some lasted a month or two, some just days. Have them replace the battery again.
AGMs must be filled and allowed to sit to give the acid time to absorb into the plates before being charged. I let them sit overnight before charging.
I still maintain that the life of newer AGMs is 2-3 years... again I state new, before people post on how long their old AGM lasted.
The beauty of Lithium is fully charged and ready out of the box... install and go.
 
No blame, but worthy of note, most AGM batteries are incorrectly put into service, meaning filled and instantly put on a charger. If this is done, the battery will not last long. It happened to nearly every one of my brand new rental fleet bikes in the last few years (from dealers). Some lasted a month or two, some just days. Have them replace the battery again.
AGMs must be filled and allowed to sit to give the acid time to absorb into the plates before being charged. I let them sit overnight before charging.
I still maintain that the life of newer AGMs is 2-3 years... again I state new, before people post on how long their old AGM lasted.
The beauty of Lithium is fully charged and ready out of the box... install and go.

Interesting. The instructions for my batteries say 30 minutes and I always do that. I wonder if there is some benefit if I leave them longer?
 
The time is to allow the acid to absorb into the glass mat. There is no danger in leaving it longer before you charge it. The danger is if you don't leave it long enough the absorbed acid can leak out if tipped. That is what has happened to many of the Yuasa batteries for the Stelvio. Batteries worked fine, just leaked. The batteries are good batteries, but dealer setup caused a lot of issues. Guzzi issued a TSB for it but too late. People already started jumping ship and find alternative. I would not hesitate to put an AGM battery that requires user setup back in a bike as long as I did the setup. I went to a factory activated AGM and have had no issues. Got 4 years out of the first one and on a second one now. Think I killed the first one as I forgot about it over the winter. My bad.
 
The batteries are good batteries, but dealer setup caused a lot of issues. Guzzi issued a TSB for it but too late. People already started jumping ship and find alternative. I would not hesitate to put an AGM battery that requires user setup back in a bike as long as I did the setup.
Yep. For the record:
'16 V7 II Stone - Purchased new 7.15 : OEM Battery lasted <1 month - replaced it out of pocket with new AGM I prepped, still in the bike.
'16 V7 II Racer - Purchased new 9.15 : OEM Battery lasted <1 week - warranty replaced with dealer prepped version, lasted <1 month - replaced it out of pocket with BM Lith.
'17 V9 Stone - Purchased new 10.16 : OEM Battery lasted <1 month - replaced it out of pocket with a new AGM, currently still in bike, but drops to low 11 volts after <1 week.
'17 V7 III Stone - Purchased new 5.17 : OEM Battery good - still in bike - gets a charge once/week if sits, drops to low 11 volts after <1 week.
'17 V7 III Racer - Purchased new 6.17 : OEM Battery down to ~5 volts after 1 month off charge or use (bike is getting my 820cc big bore kit) - being replaced with AG Lith.
 
Interesting. The instructions for my batteries say 30 minutes and I always do that. I wonder if there is some benefit if I leave them longer?


Instructions may say 30 minutes. Real world is more like a minimum of 3 hours. Overnight is best. Guzzi put out a service bulletin with the 3 hour minimum.
 
You need to change dealers.
Well, they were all purchased amongst most of the dealers in SoCal (I try to spread the love). So what's next?
One of them is now gone, and two others are likely to go away soon as well.
 
Well, they were all purchased amongst most of the dealers in SoCal (I try to spread the love). So what's next?
One of them is now gone, and two others are likely to go away soon as well.

It really is sad state of affairs Todd. Not much better north of the border. My bike saw a dealer once in 5 years. For its first service. After some stripped bolts, missing parts and having to redo the work, was the last time it ever saw someone else hands other than my own.
 
I got 12 years out of the Spark 500 batteries that were fitted to my EV Tourings. These were the half width batteries that allowed the carbon filters to sit alongside. They both died within a month of each other.

Couldn't find a like-like replacement so I went to the full width batteries.
 
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