My 4 year old Dynavolt battery is slowly dying and is the shortest time that a battery has lasted. Previously 8 & 6 for Deka and 6 for a Rev Plus now no longer available in Brick size. Did a bit of research and ended up looking for a Motobatt. Tried a couple of local battery stores and they would only supply ones in yellow and wouldn't order me a black one. They also tried pushing different brands, as in Deka or Predator.  I went back to another store that I had bought my 2 Deka's from and they had a Black one in stock. 

When I picked it up I got the following explanation. The MBTX30U is the standard yellow battery, if you want a black one the number is MBTX30UHD. The HD does not stand for often assumed Heavy Duty it stands for Harley Davidson. Apparently yellow batteries are not popular with the Hardley Dangerous riders. There are black ones available on Ebay but due to the lack of HD in the part number you could possibly get a yellow one. I haven't divulged to my 75 that she is getting Hardley  part by proxy, it's also black with orange writing.
Merry Christmas regards Martin.

I got two black ones and a yellow one here. But then you didn't really want to know that!

Two different part numbers but the writing is light grey on black.

What you do want to know is that the battery is about 10-12mm taller than stock, so you'll need to make a new overflow bottle holder as per Gary and two new hold-down bolts in 6mm stainless steel as per me Seriously though, I did just that. I threaded both ends of a piece of stainless rod, one to 25mm and one to 8mm, then wound a nut onto the short end and locked it down fairly tight. I put the assembly lengthways in a vice so that the nut was up against the jaws and proceeded to show it a negative amount of mercy with a three-pound lump hammer. Once the end of the rod was peened over, I punched it four times at ninety degrees to ensure the nut really wasn't going to come off.

Rinse and repeat for the other side. Took about twenty minutes in total. Along the way I also figured out that when the threads in the battery tray finally give up, there's enough metal to run an 8mm tap through them. Alternatively I could get another battery tray but there's no fun at all in that

Dai did they have different numbers? And is the writing orange on the black ones?
Merry Christmas regards Martin.

Ah soddit. Crossed post and edit. Post redited to add the missing bit back in.

I spose you gave it a long smart charge? Maybe it's gone early cause of the lockdowns resulting in it being sitting longer than usual and more than usual, it has for me anyway. I think the smart charge gives it multiple charges and discharges to knock the white stuff off due to being idle too much. 

My mottobatt's a bit too tall too, I just bent the bracket a bit at the battery edge. Yellow is a horrible colour, but it came with the brick when I got it.

All my Motobatts are black. They go straight from the box to the black spray can so no coloured writing on the side - couldn’t bring myself to buying the HD version.  
So far the paint hasn’t melted the case.

Cheers

I've got a trickle charger mounted to the garage ceiling to keep it topped up. When that didn't do the job I hit it with the 6 amp charger. It charges up to 12.7 but within 2 days it drops to 12.2. As per instructions from son in law (Auto Electrician) I managed to pry off the glued on cover and inspect the water level, it could do with a top up. I'll have a play with it after Christmas.
Regards Martin.

Martin, don't get your hopes up too high.  I've just been down that road with topping up a "no maintenance" sealed battery in a portable jump box.  It seems that once you have boiled off the electrolyte the cells have pretty much gone tits up and have small chance of being revived. 

While it isn't useful in your situation, the good news I offer is that if you have a portable jump box that doesn't hold a charge anymore, you can replace the internal battery for well less than what the box cost you in the first place.  I replaced the battery in mine for a little more than a third of what a new box would cost at Harbor Freight.

Gryph Motobatt already fitted so whether I can resurrect the Dynavolt doesn't really matter. Son in law reckons he has resurrected quite a few batteries by filling and fast charging then emptying refilling a couple of times. I don't think I want play around with it that much. I might just top it up and hit it with 6 amps and give it to him if it doesn't work. If he get's it going he can fit it to his Harley clone (Hyosung 250). 
Regards Martin.

Your son-in-law must have access to acid to refill the cells.  I think dumping the old electrolyte and replacing it is the only way to get rid of the crap that forms in an old battery.

Since the recycle value is about 4-5 bucks, that old battery will make a nice Christmas present to your son-in-law.

Geez Gryph you come up with some great ideas, that means I get to keep his present. It will also at least double the power of his Hyosung if he hits the starter while going. Brick battery = 4+ Hyosung batteries.
Merry Christmas regards Martin.

Martin don't forget about the possibility that you might be finding a bottle of battery acid under the Christmas tree. It would be just what the doctor ordered.

If I get battery acid he gets tassels for his bars.
Regards Martin.

Good one. By the way I've saved a so called maintenance free battery, the level was simply too low. The sneaky sods put flat caps on, cover them with a sticker, and call them maintenance free. I like the paint it black idea, its on my to-do list now.

daveyson wrote:Good one. By the way I've saved a so called maintenance free battery, the level was simply too low. The sneaky sods put flat caps on, cover them with a sticker, and call them maintenance free. I like the paint it black idea, its on my to-do list now.

I've found that most if not all "MF" batteries come dry to us at the shop, we fill them to level with acid when needed, allow them to soak for a while since they need to absorb the liquid, we then charge them at a low rate, usually at <1 amp per amp hour of rating, and cap them off.
Voila! Now it's up to the end user to maintain a charge on the bloody things.

True.  Wasn't having a go at dealerships but battery manufacturers claims of maintenance free, which could trick people into assuming (myself included) that they're longer lasting sealed units. I was surprised to find flat caps under the sticker. So this one at least seems conventional, but with caps that are difficult to unscrew. Charged it, topped up the low levels with distilled water, charged it again, indicator went from red to green, and good to go again.

Although Martin's issue seems more serious than this one was. 

I managed to pry off the glued on cover and the son-in-law had a look and suggested adding 10cc of distilled water to each cell as the battery is a Gel type and the cells can dry out. He said leave it for a few days and allow the gel to absorb the water then give it a charge and see if it holds the charge. I'll give it a go nothing to lose.
Regards Martin.

Corrected info Martin: my black MotoBatt does have orange writing on it. Couldn't be assed to go out to the garage until today.

Dai seen as though you now have a Harleyesque battery have you suffered any urges. Do you have urge to add tassels, wear fingerless gloves or get an eagle tatt.
Regards Martin.

Well... it is destined eventually to be dropped into a proper V-twin. Does that count?

Actually, funny story behind that battery. I ordered one online from one of the biggest spares/accessories distributors in the UK. When it arrived, the courier had obviously dropped it at some stage and had managed to crack the base of the battery such that a small triangular area had been displaced and pushed upwards into the battery. A small amount of acid had leaked out but it appeared to have been as a result of the shock when the battery was dropped. I rang the distributor and sent them a pic of the damage as requested. As soon as they had the picture, they sent a replacement and asked if I could safely dispose of the damaged battery.

It was going to be a few days before I could get down to the disposal site, so I cleaned off the acid spatters to check if it was leaking still before pushing it somewhere it could moulder before I disposed of it. You know what the grid pattern is like under a MotoBatt; I had to push fairly hard to clean all the acid out of the grid mouldings and while I was at it, the broken plastic suddenly snapped back into place. That got me thinking. This is an AGM battery with no loose acid in it... hmmm. Grab the bicarb from the kitchen cupboard to neutralise the acid spatters, then fill the entire area with Araldite. 

Who said you can't repair a cracked battery..???

Dai good save. It depends on the V twin what's it going into?
Regards Martin.

See sig?

Another so - called maintenance free battery, this time with the cover released from its retaining tabs, rather than just a sticker removed.

Following son-in-law auto electricians instructions I added 10cc of distilled water to each cell and left it for 3 days then hit with the 6amp charger until the light came on. Let it settle for half a day and then kept checking the voltage which steadily dropped until it was reading 12.1 after 2 days. Poured in another 10cc of distilled water and let it sit for 5 days (I forgot about it) hit it with 6 amps until charged and it's now holding a charge currently at 12.8v for over a day. Time will tell.
Regards Martin.

Hi Martin,

Did you have to cut plastic to get to the cells?  I've had ones that had caps to get to. At the moment I've got one that could do with a top up, but doesn't have caps.

I had to carefully try and lift the corner with a Stanley knife once I had a corner up I just continued to work along the edge with a small screwdriver alternating side to side until I broke away all the glued spots. The cells are sealed with small rubber caps.  I just found a date on it and it's been in there since 22/12/17.
Regards Martin.

MartinW wrote:The HD does not stand for often assumed Heavy Duty it stands for H***** D*******. Apparently yellow batteries are not popular with the Hardley Dangerous riders.  I haven't divulged to my 75 that she is getting Hardley  part by proxy, it's also black with orange writing.

Seen in the local newspaper, 

Dear Agony Aunt,  



I have a friend who rides a BMW motorcycle and he has publicly stated that he is going to fit a part for a well known American motorcycle brand to it.  He does not even have the heart to share this information with his beloved moto.    


I feel that I can not longer talk with this person as the shame of knowing what he has done is just too unspeakable to mention.  It is worse than fitting white zip ties and then sharing photos of it.    


What am I to do?  Counselling and alcohol just don't work.  


Yours painfully, 


Anonymous 

Dear Painfully, 

I'm beginning to suspect that your problem is related to a deficiency of alcohol.

Thanks Martin I should give that a try too.

Dave after I fitted the foresaid battery I confessed to Izzy that the battery that I had fitted to her was for a H***** and that I would go out and buy her a yellow one. She declined the yellow one saying it would look silly she sulked a bit so I offered her a new set of Michelin shoes. She is now sitting in the garage happily waiting for them. SSD's brick Kaz and Izzy sat in the Garage side by side today discussing fashion Kaz is getting a pair of BT46's and Izzy's getting her favourite Michelins. All is right with the world.
Regards a relieved Martin,

If I did that to my brick, I'd have to rename it Harlot Daveyson.

Martin,  

Good to see all is well with the world and no storm clouds gathering over the house.  

BTW, I did not write the letter.    

Dave.

MartinW wrote:I had to carefully try and lift the corner with a Stanley knife once I had a corner up I just continued to work along the edge with a small screwdriver alternating side to side until I broke away all the glued spots. The cells are sealed with small rubber caps.  I just found a date on it and it's been in there since 22/12/17.
Regards Martin.

What is it with you 60's cats...still playing with acid.....tsk.  

Regards

Dan

Dan no real liquid in it the gel absorbs it. And what's with the cats that's 50's jive talk? I'm not that old you skallywag.
Regards Martin. .