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Battery Tester Recommendation

bicyclenut said:
Other option was the Topdon BT100, Kirk from N. Illinois BMW Club reviewed this one vs Snap-on in a video he posted, both work similar, Topdon costs much less than Snap-on.
Click to expand...

I received the Topdon BT100 tester a couple of days ago and got it out today.

My bike battery right off of charge passed the "battery test." But it failed miserably the "cranking test." Despite the bike starting in less than one second, the battery voltage dropped below 8 volts - fail. I had read elsewhere that if a battery drops below 10v when cranking, it's bad. According to the Topdon manual, dropping below 9.5v is "Very Bad - Replace ASAP."

The Topdon tester has already paid for itself. My bike battery is five years old and might have been pushed another year, but then again it could very likely have failed in some motel parking lot who knows where. I will now replace it at my leisure without all the hassles and extra expense of having it fail on a road trip.

Harry
 
AKsuited said:
I received the Topdon BT100 tester a couple of days ago and got it out today.

My bike battery right off of charge passed the "battery test." But it failed miserably the "cranking test." Despite the bike starting in less than one second, the battery voltage dropped below 8 volts - fail. I had read elsewhere that if a battery drops below 10v when cranking, it's bad. According to the Topdon manual, dropping below 9.5v is "Very Bad - Replace ASAP."

The Topdon tester has already paid for itself. My bike battery is five years old and might have been pushed another year, but then again it could very likely have failed in some motel parking lot who knows where. I will now replace it at my leisure without all the hassles and extra expense of having it fail on a road trip.

Harry
Click to expand...

Did you disconnect the battery from the bike to perform the test?
 
36654 said:
Did you disconnect the battery from the bike to perform the test?
Click to expand...

No, I didn't pull the battery.

For the "battery test," I really wasn't able to determine the CCA rating of the OEM battery. Anyone know what it is? The "battery test" result is dependent on what CCA you enter. When I try CCA = 230, which is what a replacement Yuasa is rated at, it fails. If I enter CCA = 180, it passes. I'd have to pull the battery to find that CCA number.

But the more important test it would seem to me is the "cranking" test. Of course the battery must be hooked up for that test. You choose that test from the menu and then you start the bike. It displays the voltage while cranking the motor, which would seem the more important test. That's the test my battery failed rather dramatically - the voltage was actually less than 7 volts.

One time last season I fired up the bike and it cranked slowly and barely started. That's what got me interested in testing this battery. That and it is five years old.

Harry
 
AKsuited said:
For the "battery test," I really wasn't able to determine the CCA rating of the OEM battery. Anyone know what it is? The "battery test" result is dependent on what CCA you enter. When I try CCA = 230, which is what a replacement Yuasa is rated at, it fails. If I enter CCA = 180, it passes. I'd have to pull the battery to find that CCA number.


Harry
Click to expand...

230 for a OEM 2016 R1200RS battery.
I just checked the parts fiche, the GS and RS battery has the same part number.
Battery.jpg
 
Lee said:
Did you order from Amazon?
Click to expand...

Yes, Lee. And thank you for the CCA number. Using 230 as CCA, my battery fails that test (the "battery test") and then fails badly the cranking test. And yes, I have a battery on my Amazon wish list already, which is the Yuasa Battery YTZ14S.

Amazon claims that is the wrong battery for my 2015GS, but Yuasa says it is the correct one, and an Amazon customer answered my question and said it was the right one.

Harry
 
AKsuited said:
Yes, Lee. And thank you for the CCA number. Using 230 as CCA, my battery fails that test (the "battery test") and then fails badly the cranking test. And yes, I have a battery on my Amazon wish list already, which is the Yuasa Battery YTZ14S.

Amazon claims that is the wrong battery for my 2015GS, but Yuasa says it is the correct one, and an Amazon customer answered my question and said it was the right one.

Harry
Click to expand...

Do you have a foam filler block in the battery box of the GS?
 
36654 said:
Harry,

According to this Yuasa website, you should install the bigger battery in Lee's picture

https://www.yuasabatteries.com/batt...e=bmw&vehicle_year=2015&vehicle_model=r1200gs
Click to expand...

I wondered about that larger battery.

I'll have to look at the instructions in the owner's manual for swapping out batteries and make sure that larger one will fit. I agree the Yuasa site says that I can use the larger one, but I'll double-check.

I see that larger battery is available on Amazon, is cheaper, is made in the US, and is "fresh pack," so you add the acid and know exactly how old the battery is from that point in time. It does look like the better choice.

Thanks!

Harry
 
I think they used the small battery for the GS and the larger for the GSA. That allowed them shave a little more weight off the factory specifications. They are interchangeable afaik.
 
AKsuited said:
I wondered about that larger battery.

I'll have to look at the instructions in the owner's manual for swapping out batteries and make sure that larger one will fit. I agree the Yuasa site says that I can use the larger one, but I'll double-check.

I see that larger battery is available on Amazon, is cheaper, is made in the US, and is "fresh pack," so you add the acid and know exactly how old the battery is from that point in time. It does look like the better choice.

Thanks!

Harry
Click to expand...

Our batteries were replaced when they were less than 2 years old.
The service manager mentioned BMW called for a taller battery as a replacement and a foam spacer was removed to make room for it.
 
AKsuited said:
I see that larger battery is available on Amazon, is cheaper, is made in the US, and is "fresh pack,"
Click to expand...

I have that same battery on my Amazon wish list.
Another one on my list is https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00AC6X...olid=3HTAG12ESS9U8&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
It's the same dimensions as the tall one in my picture in the earlier post.
I don't know if one is better than the other.
There may be a chance of getting a old battery with it being sealed at the factory?
 
Lee said:
I have that same battery on my Amazon wish list.
Another one on my list is https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00AC6X...olid=3HTAG12ESS9U8&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
It's the same dimensions as the tall one in my picture in the earlier post.
I don't know if one is better than the other.
There may be a chance of getting a old battery with it being sealed at the factory?
Click to expand...

Based on the weight, there's a difference. The G-series battery is ~12-lbs. I'm making WAG assumption that density is proportional to capacity
 
36654 said:
Based on the weight, there's a difference. The G-series battery is ~12-lbs. I'm making WAG assumption that density is proportional to capacity
Click to expand...

Thanks
In the past I have seen plenty of errors when Amazon shows weight and dimensions.
Hopefully battery dimensions are accurate.
 
I replaced my original battery with the Yuasa GYZ16H last December when she started to crank a bit slower in the cold weather. Best price I found was from Chaparral.
 
36654 said:
Do you have a foam filler block in the battery box of the GS?
Click to expand...

Yes. I just pulled the battery and there was a foam filler block and the battery was as pictured in Lee's photograph, the smaller one.

So now it's time to choose. I'll likely get the larger Yuasa, the larger one in Lee's photo. I may look at other choices as well.

Harry
 
Lee said:
Thanks
In the past I have seen plenty of errors when Amazon shows weight and dimensions.
Hopefully battery dimensions are accurate.
Click to expand...

And some of those Amazon reviews don't even match the item being reviewed.


Harry
 
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