WestCo AGM battery failure

[rktmanfj]

I went to ride the FJ to work yesterday, and it failed to crank hard enough to start.

Overnight charging only brought it up to 12.55v, (drops 8.6 upon hitting the starter).

WTF?  The thing is only 8 years old...       

Randy T
Indy

[Yamifj1200]

Aint it a shame Randy, I just had to replace a 9 year old battery in my Jeep. They just dont make em like they used to... LOL 8 years is damn good service out of any bike battery, I'd say ya got the good out of it..


Eric M

[rktmanfj]

Aint it a shame Randy, I just had to replace a 9 year old battery in my Jeep. They just dont make em like they used to... LOL 8 years is damn good service out of any bike battery, I'd say ya got the good out of it..


Eric M

I dunno, Eric... do ya think it was worth the extra $20?       

Randy T
Indy

[FeralJuggernaut]

My AGM was twice the cost of straight lead acid.  On the other side of the coin, it is two years old now, so it is a wash and if I could dream of 5 or 6 more years, any other battery will be a tough sell!   Anyone else 'retire' an AGM yet?   What was the lifespan?   

[pdxfj]

I "retired" my 6 year old AGM to another FJ that needed a battery and bought myself a new one.

The "retired" battery is still going strong in the other bike.

[Pat Conlon]

Yeppers, due to a faulty voltage regulator on my '84, my Westco only lasted  2 hot summers,~14 months.
What I have since learned (the hard way) is that sealed AGMs do not like overcharging. Which is, according to the folks in other forums, any charging in excess of 14.4 volts.
As we know, early FJ's would charge anywhere between 14.8 to over 15+ volts, not good for sealed AGM batteries.
Conventional vented lead acid batteries can tolerate this overcharge fine, the battery's electrolyte just bubbles away. A top off with distilled water and your good to go.
Installing a adjustable Transpo regulator set at 14.2 volts, solved this problem. When my conventional lead acid battery starts to fail on my '84, I'll consider another Westco.

The Westco installed on my '92 has been putting out good power for over 5 years now....

[rktmanfj]

Yeppers, due to a faulty voltage regulator on my '84, my Westco only lasted  2 hot summers,~14 months.
What I have since learned (the hard way) is that sealed AGMs do not like overcharging. Which is, according to the folks in other forums, any charging in excess of 14.4 volts.
As we know, early FJ's would charge anywhere between 14.8 to over 15+ volts, not good for sealed AGM batteries.
Conventional vented lead acid batteries can tolerate this overcharge fine, the battery's electrolyte just bubbles away. A top off with distilled water and your good to go.
Installing a adjustable Transpo regulator set at 14.2 volts, solved this problem. When my conventional lead acid battery starts to fail on my '84, I'll consider another Westco.

The Westco installed on my '92 has been putting out good power for over 5 years now....

I've heard that said before... that the AGMs don't like high voltage, and while I don't necessarily disagree, my personal experience says otherwise.

Like many (probably all of 'em) others, my FJ apparently overcharges pretty badly at times,  Though I've never checked to see exactly how much, it would boil the battery badly on a hot day.  I pulled into the Kennebec, SD KOA one day to find the conventional battery had enough electrolyte to cover the bottom 1/2" or so of the plates.  I filled it with tap water, and watched it closely for the rest of the trip to Bozeman.

Upon my return home, I checked out a later model (a low mile '91, IIRC) FJ that my dealer (and close friend) had sitting around, and looked for any changes to the charging system from the factory.  The only difference we could find was that it had come with a Yuasa Maintenance-Free battery (sealed w/ vent tube), so I ordered up one of those, and it lasted for +/- 5 years.  I replaced it with the WestCo, which just made it for 8 years.

I'm sure that the regulator mod is the best solution (and definitely more elegant), but my plan is to stick another WestCo (or possibly a Deka) in there and go with it.  I might add a reg mod over the winter if I get around to the coil relay mod and a new fuse box (probably from Eastern Beaver).

Best price I have found is $85 for the WestCo, shipped, and $65 for the Deka ($12 shipping).

Randy T
Indy

[the fan]

I purchased a sealed battery from the local Batteries plus franchise for around $50 bucks for my YZF. I run a 7 series battery in place of the 12 series Yamaha specifies to save weight and after 2 years of neglect it still starts the bike every time.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/product_search/32757-Xtreme-Permaseal-High-Performance-AGM-Motorcycle,-Powersport-Battery-DASH--DASH-XTAX7A--BS.aspx

looks like they have one for the late model FJ retailing at $70.00, but a quick search online finds several 10% discount coupons.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/product/32749-XTAX14--BS-Xtreme-Permaseal-Battery/558-CC/5380-Motorcycle-Batteries/128619-Yamaha/FJ1200/1200CC-1991-to-1993.aspx

[rktmanfj]

Hey. I've got a Big Crank!         




er, battery, that is...             







It's supposedly a Deka (and looks like it), but has the BC label, and the box says Xtreme Magna Power... who knows?

$71 delivered from batterymart.com (ordered thru Amazon).

Randy T
Indy

[racerrad8]

Hey. I've got a Big Crank!         




er, battery, that is...             







It's supposedly a Deka (and looks like it), but has the BC label, and the box says Xtreme Magna Power... who knows?

$71 delivered from batterymart.com (ordered thru Amazon).

Randy T
Indy

Randy,
          How is this battery working out for you? Mine died yesterday so I am trying to determine the best unit to buy.

Randy - RPM

[rktmanfj]

Randy,
         How is this battery working out for you? Mine died yesterday so I am trying to determine the best unit to buy.

Randy - RPM

Well, the FJ has gotten minimal riding this summer (due to injury), and it had been sitting idle for over a month when I went over to do some rally prep last weekend.  The ol' gal started up like we went riding yesterday.

I never pulled the battery last winter, and the storage is unheated, so I have to say that it's (at least so far) doing just as well as the WestCo did.    It had a good long life...   http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=2456.0

[simi_ed]

I did a Shorai LFX18L1-BS12 LiFePO4 battery a few weeks ago.  Very interesting, but a bit pricey.  It's an 18 AH battery, with 270 CCA (vs 220 max for 14 AH).  It's 8 lbs lighter! and smaller (!) than the OEM battery.  It comes with foam blocks to fill the battery box.  One upside seems to be the elimination of the hot start phenomena.  I got mine at batterystuff.com (no affiliation, etc).  

Food for thought ...

[rktmanfj]

I did a Shorai LFX18L1-BS12 LiFePO4 battery a few weeks ago.  Very interesting, but a bit pricey.  It's an 18 AH battery, with 270 CCA (vs 220 max for 14 AH).  It's 8 lbs lighter! and smaller (!) than the OEM battery.  It comes with foam blocks to fill the battery box.  One upside seems to be the elimination of the hot start phenomena.  I got mine at batterystuff.com (no affiliation, etc).  

Food for thought ...

Ed, is that a Lithium-Ion battery?

[FJmonkey]

I did a Shorai LFX18L1-BS12 LiFePO4 battery a few weeks ago.  Very interesting, but a bit pricey.  It's an 18 AH battery, with 270 CCA (vs 220 max for 14 AH).  It's 8 lbs lighter! and smaller (!) than the OEM battery.  

Ed, is that a Lithium-Ion battery?

I am gonna guess YES on that based on information provided. Wonder what it cost??? Ed?

[simi_ed]

181 delivered.