Swollen motorcycle battery

[iwannadie]

So, I went to ride today and haven't been out in a few months and I had Zero power not even enough to try and power the lights, horn it was like there was no battery. I hit it with a multi meter and was getting 10.x volts...

I pulled the battery out and it was really swollen, I am not sure how to describe it. The battery seems to have sections and each sections was swollen out on both sides badly, like ridges. No leaks or anything exploded that I can see luckily.

Now my question, it is a yuasa(YTX9-BS sealed date 2006) battery and I have used a yuasa battery tender(I forget the model info off hand but it is there smart shot tender or something) since day 1. I was told the battery tender was the way to go since I don't ride for long stretches and to just get home and plug it in so the battery never goes flat.

Was the tender over charging and causing it to swell up the way it is? I was told and read that the tender has stages of charging and cycles to prevent over charging. Or, could the swelling have just come with age and being in the AZ heat?

I hate to buy a brand new battery and use the tender if it is going to cause the swelling, I don't want a battery to explode on me :scared: .

 

[bjoehandley]

Does it use a typical lead acid battery, or is it a Lithium pack by some odd chance?

 

[wheeling365]

When I originally read your post I was thinking that the battery might have froze if you keep the bike outside. Dead or weak lead acid batteries will freeze if they get cold enough.

Seeing that your in AZ I'd say check the vent and/or caps on the battery. If it can't breathe it can swell as it charges due to outgassing from the acid reaction with the plates inside.

 

[iwannadie]

It is not a lithium battery.

I thought it was sealed and doesn't have vents? I am not up to terms with battery tech. at all. It is a fully sealed battery, I never had to add the acid it came ready to go from yuasa.

The bike is always garaged but I am not sure if it would ever get cold enough here to cause trouble, certainly not right now it's been in the 80s and 60s at night.

 

[kastein]

SLAs do that when overcharged (iirc) and I know they do it when heavily loaded for too long. They overheat and the plastic sags.

 

[Joshooha]

being that its on a bike it can take a lot of abuse, don't rule out that maybe a plate broke or shifted, that can easily cause swelling. I would suggest you find what the manufacture recommends for care for your battery.

 

[iwannadie]

being that its on a bike it can take a lot of abuse, don't rule out that maybe a plate broke or shifted, that can easily cause swelling. I would suggest you find what the manufacture recommends for care for your battery.

They recommend plugging it into the tender like I was doing ha.

I emailed Yuasa and waiting to see if they respond.

 

[iwannadie]

Speak of the devil they just responded. Kind of canned email and not that helpful sadly. They need an optimaJim kinda guy on the forums ha. I was hoping for more insight as to the swelling not just the battery being old and failed. I wasn't sure just age could cause a battery to swell but I dunno.

"What we have found out over the years is that in your region that
customers are only getting 2-4 years out of their batteries. The use of
the battery along with high heat will put a strain on the battery causes
it to wear faster, based off the age of your battery it is well taken
care off. Basically what you have is a battery that is near or the end
of its life cycle.

They way you are maintaining your battery with the tender is great, not
a lot of people do that. The best thing that you can do to extend the
life of the battery if all possible is to have your bike in garage or
shed that might be cooled by fans or ac.

Thank you for contacting Yuasa Battery Technical Support."

 

[87manche]

It doesn't need to be on the tender all the time. What Ken said is true. Overcharge an SLA battery and they bulge.

put the tender on a 7 day timer and only run it for a few hours everyday.

 

[iwannadie]

It doesn't need to be on the tender all the time. What Ken said is true. Overcharge an SLA battery and they bulge.

put the tender on a 7 day timer and only run it for a few hours everyday.

Well, the tender is supposed to know not to over charge. It is supposed to cycle all on its own and not need disconnected to prevent over charging. It is a tender and not a trickle charge after all and the selling point is that it will cycle the charge rate to keep the battery at optimal capacity.

 

[87manche]

Well, the tender is supposed to know not to over charge. It is supposed to cycle all on its own and not need disconnected to prevent over charging. It is a tender and not a trickle charge after all and the selling point is that it will cycle the charge rate to keep the battery at optimal capacity.

does your tender have a temperature sensor?

because if it doesn't it can't actually judge when the battery is fully charged. It's simply charging to a preset voltage, and depending on your temperature/battery that may be too much.

as the tender people already told you, because people in your locale are not getting good battery life.

 

[87manche]

This is a proper battery tender/maintainer:
http://www.navstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=1635

 

[iwannadie]

does your tender have a temperature sensor?

because if it doesn't it can't actually judge when the battery is fully charged. It's simply charging to a preset voltage, and depending on your temperature/battery that may be too much.

as the tender people already told you, because people in your locale are not getting good battery life.

I don't think it has a temp sensor. It is not the cheapy wall plug in type though it is a stand alone box, I figured I was good since they claim it is for long term battery storage. I did buy a battery tender brand one for a car battery that I made sure has a temp. sensor. I may have to look into a new one for the bike later on.

I guess I will see how the next battery goes, the previous lasted since 06 so it's not like it killed it quickly.