Load Test your Battery when you don’t have a load tester …

[Sunny]

I wanted to load test my NT and GS battery for CCA / battery health, but I found no way to do it.

Charged it, took it to Auto Zone (they flatly refused to test it, even though they sell power-sport batteries), Pep Boys were hesitant but did try (their tester could not test motorcycle battery). I did not want to spend more money on a battery tester … so what to do …

Well googling lead me to the knowledge that when cold engine cranking the voltage should not fall below 10V , and if it goes below 9.6 V, then the battery is toast… so now what to do ?

So I hooked a multi-meter and had a flash of inspiration … my cell phone has slow motion video capture (1080p at 240fps, normal is 1080p at 30fps), so asked my kid to hold the camera and start recording … and started the NT … the terminal voltage was 12.6V and on cold cranking fell to ~10.4 v … could view the voltage change in slow motion in the video …

This does not give not give the exact CCA, but does give a good idea of the battery health and is little easier as the voltage change is captures on video and can be seen easily …

Thoughts?

PS: My NT battery is ~6+ years old yuasa AGM. And it was sitting for 2 days outside the NT post charging, so I believe the surface charge was gone as the battery voltage was stable at 12.6 V for last 2 days.

 

[harryhendo]

The way I've tested is 1) ignition off - voltage should be 12 or so volts. 2) engine running - voltage should be 14 volts or so. I have a simple tester that just shows these two tests, with an under or over voltage readout if reached.

 

[Camelot]

There is a Battery plus store near me ( in California) that will load test your battery for free. They usually have a good variety of AGM batteries to fit most bikes.

 

[Sunny]

There is a Battery plus store near me ( in California) that will load test your battery for free. They usually have a good variety of AGM batteries to fit most bikes.

Thanks for the tip ... I will get my GS battery checked from them ...

 

[ARKNT]

My test does not load heavy like a full CCA test. I just use the headlight as a load. On the NT just turn key on, headlamp will turn on and act as my load. I do this on my bike and ATV before putting it on a battery tender. I also record the unloaded voltage before turning on the key and then after the tender is done.
My Kawasaki Versys does not turn on the light till it cranks over so it is a bit different. The ATV I manually turn on the headlight.
So mostly I am just collecting data but it may let me see the battery health declining before it becomes a problem. It has helped on the ATV in the past.

Brad

 

[DirtFlier]

Sunny - "6+ years" is really pushing the envelope for longevity of a Yuasa AGM battery.

Modern batteries often give little or no indication of impending failure. They'll start the car or bike one day and it runs fine but the next day, the battery might not even crank the engine a half turn!

 

[Sunny]

Sunny - "6+ years" is really pushing the envelope for longevity of a Yuasa AGM battery.

Modern batteries often give little or no indication of impending failure. They'll start the car or bike one day and it runs fine but the next day, the battery might not even crank the engine a half turn!

i know, that's why I was testing it .... have started researching replacement battery and have seen a few from $40 to $150 ...

funny thing is yuasa has no factory warranty, warranty is dependent on the seller. Most batteries come with 1 year warranty only.

The only battery I saw with 3 years warranty is this lithium form Battery Plus for $150ish.

https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/battery/motorcycle/honda/nt700va-abs/700cc/2010/cyl10070

sunny

 

[mikesim]

If you have an O'Reilly Auto Parts nearby, they will test your battery and they have the proper equipment to do so. Ask them to test it at 220 CCA. Regarding the surface charge, turning on your headlamp for ~30 seconds will bleed off any surface charge. I agree with DirtFlier that a six year old battery is living on the edge.... although we have one gentleman from OZ (Macka) on the forum who still has his OE battery at ~10 years still going strong. Your static voltage and cranking voltage numbers look OK, but again as DirtFlier mentioned, modern batteries can and do fail with zero warning and as Dr. Edsel Murphy has pointed out, at the worst possible time.



Mike

 

[Warren]

12.6V for an AGM battery is marginal. At rest they should read at 12.8-13.0 V.

 

[Camelot]

My Yuasa gave me no warning with slow starting, it just went out last week, no start after sitting four days. Went to Batteries Plus and picked up an agm battery with a 1 year replacement warranty for half of what Honda wanted for another yuasa. The load test on the old battery confirmed it was toast after 3 years and 3 months of use. Took a long ride and everything is good, made a few stops, bike fires right up every time with a touch of the button.

 

[Sunny]

Well, I just found that CCA is Cold Cranking amp at 0F and Machine Cranking Amp is at 32F ... and my understanding (and experience) is that it is more difficult to start the engine when its cold outside... so the Cranking Amp delivered at 70F should be much better + the engien oil is more fluid etc.

So this leads me to the question that when the Auto Shop tells me CCA, is it the CA at the current outside temp or some algorithm in the tester is adjusting the reading to show CCA.

Well, I did go for a 200-mile ride with friends and had multiple starts and stops, the battery worked fine. It was between 65F and 75F for the ride …

But I did feel a slight hesitancy on the firs cold start ... so yes, looks like the battery is due for a replacement.

My battery will miss Macka’ record by a hairs width … right now riding around with a jump pack

 

[Macka]

For mikesim and Sunny, my original Yuasa battery is now well over 12 years old.
The bike is kept on a tender but is on a timer.
It only receives charge for 1 hour, twice per day.
Due to extended "Covid Lockdown" the bike has not been started since June.
Last time that I tested the battery was on the 7th of May this year and it was capable of 202CCA at that time.
I am expecting it to die at any time but as a mechanic, I want to see just how long it will last!

Macka

 

[Sunny]

For mikesim and Sunny, my original Yuasa battery is now well over 12 years old.
The bike is kept on a tender but is on a timer.
It only receives charge for 1 hour, twice per day.
Due to extended "Covid Lockdown" the bike has not been started since June.
Last time that I tested the battery was on the 7th of May this year and it was capable of 202CCA at that time.
I am expecting it to die at any time but as a mechanic, I want to see just how long it will last!

Macka

Hi Macka: what load tester do you use?

I agree with your timer idea as I feel that me keeping the NT on a tenderer 24x7 kind of degraded the battery. So I gave away my tenderer and now I have a Noco 10A charger that I use to top of the battery. I just plug it in 1 hr before I am planning to ride and it tops off the battery.

Thoughts on this: KONNWEI KW208 12V Car Battery Tester, 100-2000 CCA Load Tester Automotive Alt... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MPXGSGN/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_M470A9T5Q2J60X2SSKDD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 via @amazon

Sunny

 

[mikesim]

Well, I just found that CCA is Cold Cranking amp at 0F and Machine Cranking Amp is at 32F ... and my understanding (and experience) is that it is more difficult to start the engine when its cold outside... so the Cranking Amp delivered at 70F should be much better + the engien oil is more fluid etc.

So this leads me to the question that when the Auto Shop tells me CCA, is it the CA at the current outside temp or some algorithm in the tester is adjusting the reading to show CCA.

Well, I did go for a 200-mile ride with friends and had multiple starts and stops, the battery worked fine. It was between 65F and 75F for the ride …

But I did feel a slight hesitancy on the firs cold start ... so yes, looks like the battery is due for a replacement.

My battery will miss Macka’ record by a hairs width … right now riding around with a jump pack

You are correct that CCA is "cold cranking amps that is based at 0ºF. MCA is actually "marine" cranking amps and is used for marine batteries at 32ºF. Most battery testers commonly test at CCA, but some are capable of testing MCA as well.

Mike

 

[Macka]

Sunny: I use an OEX Battery Tester with inbuilt printer so that I can staple the test result to my customer's invoice.
They don't have to take my word that they need a new battery as they have the proof in front of them.
Many will say "but it starts just fine every morning". That may be true, but park the car for a week and it will not start or one morning it will just die!
The tester that you gave the link to should be fine for almost all batteries.
I haven't tried mine on a Lithium battery but it is good on AGM, VRLA, WET Cell/CALCIUM. It also does charging and cranking tests (with print).

Macka

 

[Macka]

Here is the printout of the last test I did on the NT battery back in May.
Macka

 

[mikesim]

The electronic tester that you use is the bees knees when it comes to testers. I have been tempted to buy one now that they have come way down in price. When they were first introduced, the price was eye watering!

Mike

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Here is the printout of the last test I did on the NT battery back in May.
Macka

The OEM Yuasa batteries are very good, they usually last a long time in normal use.

 

[Macka]

Yes Mike.
I got mine on a "Clearance Sale".
It was down from AUD$800 to AUD$199 IIRC.

Macka

 

[mikesim]

Macka, the best ones on this side of the pond are made by Midtronics. They have come down on price considerably from what they were selling for just a few years ago. I see many "other" brands made by the ChiCom's on Amazon but I hesitate to buy one of those and help to finance a potential future adversary. I still have my old load bank style tester which has served me these many years so I guess I will stay with it a while longer.

Mike