Leaking Battery and Failed Tray

[pnguzzi]

Do some electrical goodies on the bike and noticed that the battery was leaking.. Pulled it and found the bottom of the tray "See Through". The acid had eaten the bottom of the tray and tray drain spout, niiiice .
Submitted for warranty, lets see what they say.
Surprised that the tray isn't designed to hold up to the acid!
Anybody with the same issue? Moral: keep an eye on it!

 

[Bisonheed]

Bugger, that could have been nasty ! I hope it all pans out OK with the claim (sounds nailed on to me...) It beggars belief that the battery tray is not acid proof however ?

 

[Penis Rotor]

Errm. It's a 'sealed' battery. If it was put into service properly I can't see how it could of had a failure tht would cause the acid to escape.

Shit. I keep saying this. Nobody pays any attention. Everybody says it's Guzzi's fault that they use crap batteries!

Sorry, perhaps we should 'Sticky' this for people.

WHEN THE BATTERY IS PUT INTO SERVICE THE ACID HAS TO BE DECANTED FROM THE CELL-PACK IT COMES IN INTO THE BATTERY HOUSING. THIS TAKES 2O MINUTES OR SO IF LEFT TO GRAVITY BUT YOU CAN SPEED IT UP A BIT BY TAPPING THE CELLS. ONCE THE ACID IS IN THE BATTERY HOUSING IT SHOULD BE LEFT FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS, (I leave it overnight.) FOR THE ACID TO BE ABSORBED INTO THE PLATES. FAILURE TO DO THIS MEANS THAT WHILE THE BIKE WILL PROBABLY START, THE PLATES WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY AND THE ACID WILL BE BOILED OFF AND ESCAPE FROM THE CELLS CAUSING DAMAGE..

If this has occured it is NOT GUZZI'S FAULT! The instructions on how to put the battery into service are on a sheet, in the box the battery comes in in the bike crate. If the people who are PD'ing the bikes are incapable of reading? well? Buy from a shop that had staff who are, if not dyslexic, at least litterate!

Yes, there are other possibilities? But if you look at your dashboard it TELLS you what voltage the battery is charging at. If its above about 14.7 V it will probably throw up a 'Service' warning.

In this case my guess is the battery was filled and then stuck straight in the bike without absorbtion time and puked it out. While I can sympathise with your plight blaming the manufacturer for the fact that the shop-weasel is a cretin is really a bit counter productive.

FWIW I've yet to replace a battery in ANY of the post 2006 bikes including both my own Grisos and my Mana and I haven't yet sold one to a customer. Make of that what you will.

Pete

 

[Forseti]

The only problem with that Pete is that there is no shop that will admit to messing up the battery as then they will be expected to replace it. I would expect the shop to at least attempt to re-coup the cost and pass the blame to the factory rather than admit to being clueless and responsible for any problem.

Other than that I do quite agree that it was likely the shops failure that caused the problem.

 

[pnguzzi]

Update :shock:

Guzzi turned down the warranty claim!!
My first effort was through the local dealer, I am now taking matters into my own hands. I have contacted Piaggio directly, cross your fingers. Guzzi has made a puzzling error fabricating the battery tray that is not corrosion resistant to battery acid. Wonder how many out there have leaking batteries dripping on their frames/engines.
Failed battery after a year? Unfortunately the most expensive part (the tray is $16), would be nice if they will come to their senses.
Will update :dry:

 

[kwn306]

My battery tray is plastic, how does battery acid eat plastic?

 

[GuzziMoto]

I have seen many "battery trays" that are not "corrosion proof". That is normal, especially with a sealed battery.
Why should Guzzi have to pay to fix something that is not their fault?

 

[Penis Rotor]

Exactly. The fault lies with the pimply youth employed to PD the bike. It is not Guzzi's fault that he is illiterate or that the dealer that employs him hasn't taught him how to do the job, (If all else fails? Read the instructions!).

Pete

PS, FWIW the battery tray retails for $24.14 AU. Our price is $13.88 AU so if you're being asked for $16 you're not paying freight and getting at dealer cost. Or at least close to it I'd guess. US prices tend to be a wee bit cheaper but a battery tray is hardly an expensive item.

 

[312griso8v]

Errm. It's a 'sealed' battery. If it was put into service properly I can't see how it could of had a failure tht would cause the acid to escape.

THE PLATES WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY AND THE ACID WILL BE BOILED OFF AND ESCAPE FROM THE CELLS CAUSING DAMAGE..

A 'sealed' battery will boil off acid and escape from the cells?

A damaged, cracked, battery case would leak battery acid.. ya?

Yes, there are other possibilities? But if you look at your dashboard it TELLS you what voltage the battery is charging at. If its above about 14.7 V it will probably throw up a 'Service' warning.

Pete

Does the Guzzi computer have an 'overvoltage' threshold that will throw a warning? If so, that's pretty cool and my bike is smarter than I thought..

 

[pnguzzi]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but if I buy a product... then I expect Piaggio to stand behind the product!! It is Piaggio's responsibility to train THEIR shops properly. As the consumer we must assume Dealer/Product as integral when buying cars/motorcycles.
So yes! I definitely feel it's a warranty issue! Piaggio pays and then slaps the vendors hand!! if they so choose :evil:

 

[312griso8v]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but if I buy a product... then I expect Piaggio to stand behind the product!! It is Piaggio's responsibility to train THEIR shops properly. As the consumer we must assume Dealer/Product as integral when buying cars/motorcycles.

Hmm.. I think this may upset any dealers that read this. I agree that a manufacturer should stand behind their product. It seems the Yuasa (my battery from the factory was a Yuasa) battery is the part that failed and subsequently caused the battery tray to fail from the battery acid eating away at it. Maybe Yuasa should cover the cost of these repairs?

Piaggio doesn't OWN the shops, so it's not THEIR shops. While they're 'authorized service centers' which means that their technicians should have proper training, but when you go to your dealer you're not dealing with PIAGGIO.. you're dealing with your dealer who sells and services your PIAGGIO product.

Another question, how did the battery fail? did you already replace it? was the battery case damaged? did the battery freeze? was it maintained on a trickle charger or other type of battery charger?

 

[312griso8v]

Also, I might add that my experiences dealing with warranty and corporate at the company I work for(not cars or motorcycles), warranty is a joke. They don't pay the labor it actually takes to complete the repairs properly, it doesn't pay the typical shop labor rate to cover overhead costs of the repair shop, and many warranty claims performed by the dealer don't end up getting paid by the factory..

In summary, warranty sucks.. at least where I work.

 

[Penis Rotor]

A 'sealed' battery will boil off acid and escape from the cells? [/quote.]

Yes, if the acid does not have time to be absorbed into the mats before it is put into service.

Yes, there are other possibilities? But if you look at your dashboard it TELLS you what voltage the battery is charging at. If its above about 14.7 V it will probably throw up a 'Service' warning.

Pete

Does the Guzzi computer have an 'overvoltage' threshold that will throw a warning? If so, that's pretty cool and my bike is smarter than I thought..

I'm not sure, but I would expect it does. The dash detects a big range of 'Faults' and will inform you by throwing up the 'Service' icon and warning triangle. This is a prompt for you to either take the bike to a dealer or, if you want to troubleshoot it yourself, to check the error codes. Not sure if there is one for over-voltage per-se but there are certainly codes that relate to charging.

Pete

 

[Penis Rotor]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but if I buy a product... then I expect Piaggio to stand behind the product!! It is Piaggio's responsibility to train THEIR shops properly. As the consumer we must assume Dealer/Product as integral when buying cars/motorcycles.
So yes! I definitely feel it's a warranty issue! Piaggio pays and then slaps the vendors hand!! if they so choose :evil:

My guess is that they would stand behind the product. The issue here is not the product though, it's the way the battery was put into service, I'll pretty much guarantee it. This was quite an issue when Guzzi started using these batteries in that they were being put into service incorrectly by people who didn't read the instructions that ARE IN THE BOX THE BATTERY COMES IN. It was obviously such a problem that they put out a 'Techical Update' on the 'Servicemotoguzzi' website telling dealers how to put the battery into service and to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, failure to do so would lead to warranty being declined. If your shop didn't take great pains to emphasize that the battery had been put into service EXACTLY As described in the instructions then, obviously, warranty is going to get knocked back. I don't see how they can be expected to do anything more??? It comes down to the person ho PD's the bike, not Guzzi/Piaggio. As I said earlier NONE of the batteries I've put into service has failed, nor have those that I know that have been put into service by people who have READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! If a battery is going to 'Fail' in some way it is most likely to be by busting a connection at a post, in which case the battery will die or shorting out a cell, in which case you'll get a voltage drop comensurate with the number of cells that have shorted.

IF IT HAS BLURTED OUT ITS ACID IT IS BECAUSE THE BATTERY WAS ASKED TO PERFORM BEFORE THE ELECTROLYTE HAD A CHANCE TO BE ABSORBED INTO THE MATS. WHILE THIS MAY NOT CAUSE AN IMMEDIATE FAILURE IT WILL DRASTICALLY SHORTEN THE LIFE OF THE BATTERY.

I sympathise with your plight but it isn't IMHO Guzzi/Piaggios fault they've done EVERYRTHING THEY CAN to get people to put the batteries into service the right way. The fact that people still aren't speaks vollumes about the sort of people employed to PD bikes and their bosses but says little about the product.

Pete

PS, I had to dredge back to 2006 to find this so it's not as if it is NEW information :roll:

http://www.servicemotoguzzi.com/public/ ... 7-2006.pdf

 

[DanPez]

I just got myself a new Yuasa battery today ....no choice the other one was dead.
Tried to pass it as a warranty claim. :lol:
No way!
Too many variables.
Bottom line .... it wasn't maintained properly. (By ME!)
Whopping $125.00cdn

The instructions that came with the battery are exactly as tha service memo from Guzzi.

 

[Brian UK]

I just got myself a new Yuasa battery today.
Whopping $125.00cdn

Well if you were in the UK it would cost you something like that number in sterling, and the current exchange rate is around 1.50 cdn to the pound. :evil: