Battery

[angus]

Left my 1982 gs 850 gl lying for a few months (the battery was new) but when I went to try start it nothing.Took the battery out and discovered 1 of the cells was destroyed.When I bought the bike it had a few wires going to the + on the battery and I just cleaned and replaced bad connections.Since then I have got the haynes manual and from what I can see there should only be 1 or 2 wires to the + on battery is this correct.I`m starting to think the extra wires are taking a constant drain from the battery and that`s what destroyed the cell.Any help would be great.Conan

[tkent02]

It might be a drain on the battery, but that won't hurt the cell. What hurts it is letting the battery discharge and especially letting it stay that way. Charge it up once in a while and the battery will last years.

If the battery drains too fast, disconnect it while the bike is not in use.

[rustybronco]

One of the cels was destroyed or dry?

[tom203]

When you get a replacement battery, you can check for a "drain" load with your handy multimeter. You should trickle charge battery occasionally when bike is idle - once a month is good.

[angus]

Battery

When I replace the battery how do I do the drain test.The cell in the battery was completely white.Conan

[tkent02]

The completely white is a bad sign. Can't remember technically what it is, but it means at least some of the plate material is no good anymore. It usually forms from sitting in a discharged state for some time. That battery will not last as long as it would normally have, but treated right it may last a few years.

[Guest]

The completely white is a bad sign. Can't remember technically what it is, but it means at least some of the plate material is no good anymore. It usually forms from sitting in a discharged state for some time. That battery will not last as long as it would normally have, but treated right it may last a few years.

The battery cell Sulfated. Why that bad I don't know. Might have been a bad cell to begin with?

[tkent02]

Sulphated, that's it. It happens from sitting at a low charge or being completely discharged. Once it's there it can't really be fixed, but if it's minor the battery will work at a reduced capacity for a while.
Don't let it discharge too far again!