796 starting issues after shorai battery instal

[DarkMonster620]

14.4V reading off instructions for it . .  I have the charger

BSM01 Specs

Charger current/Wattage 2S/30Wmax
Charge type & voltage CC/CV, 14.4V terminal

[battlecry]

Thanks, Carlos.  The BTs hit 14V+ pulses to start a charge but they drop below Lithium float voltage levels.   I do not think the BT is helping gitter much. 

[DarkMonster620]

dunno where he is, but, best be is to:
1. get a shorai charger if he gonna stay with shorai
2. go for a long ride at "charging" rpm
3. go back to agm/mf

bt is good "temporarily" . . .but, here it's cold when the mercury hits 78°F

[gitter]

I'm in Northern California (north bay) actually about 70miles from shorai. I have yet to go for a decent ride since I installed the battery, would that sufficiently charge it?

Also right now I'm using a battery tender plus, will that suffice for when the battery gets low? Is there any way to get the battery charger plus to charge up to 14v? I know the shorai charger is the best way to go, but I'm trying to figure out if the battery is the issue or not.

[Howie]

I don't think I would invest in a Shorai charger at this point since that battery might be toast.  Back to the Battery Tender.  It will not charge that battery fully since it will hit float at 13 and a little  or maybe less which is only about 80-90%, less actually since there is no way to balance the charge.  Depending on the exact voltage when the charger goes to float you may do much worse.  But that will be more than enough to get the bike going.  2 hours is no where enough time. 

These numbers are a general example, not for your particular battery. 
A 10 Ah battery indicates how long it will take to fully discharge the battery, for example, discharging the battery at a rate of .5 amps for 20 hour since
.5 X 20 = 10.  If your battery is only 20% charge and your charger charges at a rate of .5 amps you will need to put 8 amps back into the battery   That would take 16 hours.  If your charger charges at 2 amps the time will be reduced to 4 hours, 8 amps 1 hour.

Back to the tender.  An unknown (by me anyway) is if the internal resistance of the Shorai has any effect on when a smart charger goes into float.  Better idea is find or borrow a manual battery charger and charge for the appropriate amount of time.  Oh, a freshly charged battery will may have a surface charge, giving a wrong reading (too high).  Turning the headlight on briefly will remove the surface charge.

Once the bike is started, check the charging system.  You want to see 13.5-14.5 volts at the battery at around 3K RPM.  To test for battery drain (parasitic draw) hook a multimeter with a milliamp scale in series on the negative side of the battery.  You should read less than 50 milliamps, much less really since that is an anycar spec.  Again, 10 Ah battery, would take 200 hours to fully discharge with a 50 milliamp drain.  It would be good if someone could measure drain on their FI Monster with immobilizer so we have a real world spec.  I doubt it anywhere close to 50 milliamps, I suspect less than 10.

Oh, a good ride will be good assuming the charging system is good.

[gitter]

Checked yesterday when the bike was idling charging sits at around 13.9

[gitter]

So, at this point I'm really at a cross roads...button the bike back up and go ride the damn thing to see if it charges
( and hope it doesn't die on me) ?

Or put the stock battery back in and send the shorai back to have it tested?

[Howie]

I would have them test it so you know what you are dealing with.

[gitter]

well....couldnt help myself. Went for about a half hour ride at a...spirited pace. Voltage has been holding at 13.0 (with the bike not running) since i got home. I checked it hourly, mostly out of curiosity.

[koko64]

13V is too low for a Shorai. After a ride of 30 mins, my Shorai sits above 14V.
Put the other battery in and send the Shorai back to be tested and balance charged to 14.3V or replaced under warranty.

[gitter]

you guys are right...I should send it back to have it tested / charged. I do have to say I was excited to see it sticking at 13....compaired to 12.5....

[Howie]

Even if it hit 14.3 (which requires your charging system to put out 14.3 or more) that reflects state of charge, not how good the battery is.  The battery must be tested.

[gitter]

put the stock battery back in. Going to send the shorai back to them to have it tested as soon as they open on monday.  On a side note...is it alright if the stock battery is sitting at 12.5v? ( a slight paranoia is starting to set in)

[He Man]

thats normal operating voltage for a lead acid, doesnt mean the batt is good.

did you start the bike up? any issues?

[gitter]

Bike never had any issues starting with the stock battery, only with the shorai. Just wanted to make sure that the lower voltage was ok for the stock battery