Integra Battery dead in 13 months

[Guest Arni]

After being parked overnight, my 750D Integra started first press as usual. Drove 10 miles without incident. Parked for two hours. Then wouldn't start. Not enough power in the battery to turn over the engine.

 

Put in a new battery, and checked that it is charging when engine running. All seems ok.

 

What gives?

[Guest bonekicker]

Is your bike not still under warranty?? or maybe consumables are not covered!!! in that case Robert that's just hard luck--just grin and bear it--not much more you can do ??? 

[ste7ios 469]

In general a lead acid battery will give us its maximum lifetime (approx. 5 years) when it's always FULLY charged. That stops sulphation which is the #1 cause of premature aging...

 

City riding, short distances between rides, alarms etc are some factors that affect charging...

 

I also suspect that the low rev engine of NC doesn't help. The maximum output of a generator is in about 4K - 5K RPM. So...

 

The warranty covers only manufacturing defects. Not failures caused by usage like sulphation.

http://www.yuasa.co.uk/info/quality-assurance/warranty-explained/

[Juggler 107]

You should disconnect battery from bike when not used more than two weeks, charge it, and park bike in warm place (or bring battery to warm place). Or use battery tender. Otherwise any battery will die very fast because of deep discharging.

[embee 7,288]

I don't think it gets cold in Hong Kong where Arni is.

 

Batteries can fail catastrophically, it's not common but can happen. If you have the time you can charge the battery, leave it to see if it holds charge, do a fast discharge test on it etc etc. If you need the bike and you're sure the charging system is working OK then the practical solution might well be simply fit a replacement as you have done. Do check the terminals are clean and tight, and I'd suggest check the condition of the main 30A fuse in the starter relay, plus the relay connections are tight and clean. Has it had a replacement starter relay fitted by any chance (recall)?

Edited November 22, 2016 by embee

[Jeffprince 4,923]

This thread has prompted me to connect the CTEK battery conditioner/charger at last. Been putting it off. Thanks!

[ste7ios 469]

As Murray said, be sure that your charging system is healthy.

 

I don't know how is the weather all year in HK, but in August the humidity is terrible! I would have my mind for corrosion!

[embee 7,288]

5 hours ago, ste7ios said:

I don't know how is the weather all year in HK, but in August the humidity is terrible! I would have my mind for corrosion!

That's a very good point.

[Guest Arni]

Embee, there was a recall?

Speculation I have is that this pre-sealed battery could have been sitting on the shelf for some time before being fitted to my bike. The replacement was stored dry until the day it was fitted, when the acid and water mix was added, meaning it was really new.

But I am concerned about the low-revving engine, a number of short journeys and permanent halogen headlight, sidelights and rear light, plus lots of brake use here in Hong Kong. So what I'm going to do is fit the same type of very bright LED sidelights that I fitted to my UK car as daylight driving lights. Then I will fit an override switch for the headlight. Technically I am supposed to have a headlight on all the time, but this mod will meet the needs of safety, if not the letter of the law, and will dramatically reduce the daylight electrical load.

[embee 7,288]

There was a recall on a variety of Hondas for potentially faulty starter relays, I can't remember dates/details but it affected certain NC750 bikes. Someone might come up with the details or you could try a search for starter relay recall.

 

The DCT bikes actually have a higher output alternator than the manuals I believe, presumably because the engine typically runs at lower rpm for a city type journey. It should be up to the job. You could do a quick check just to see if it holds a decent voltage at idle with lights etc on. Certainly if you are in any doubt the headlight is one of the bigger consumers, 55W on dip, 4 and a bit amps, so an LED daytime system instead would help.

[MGR1 40]

On 23.11.2016 at 20:26, embee said:

There was a recall on a variety of Hondas for potentially faulty starter relays, I can't remember dates/details but it affected certain NC750 bikes. Someone might come up with the details or you could try a search for starter relay recall.

 

The DCT bikes actually have a higher output alternator than the manuals I believe, presumably because the engine typically runs at lower rpm for a city type journey. It should be up to the job. You could do a quick check just to see if it holds a decent voltage at idle with lights etc on. Certainly if you are in any doubt the headlight is one of the bigger consumers, 55W on dip, 4 and a bit amps, so an LED daytime system instead would help.

 

The starter relay recall affected some models only (like my 2015 Integra). Honda decided to change all relays of a certain manufacture due to 2-3 incidents where the relay caught fire.You can check your own vehicle here, just enter the full VIN.