What would kill an Odyssey battery within a year?

[c00k1e]

Dealer has just replaced my Odyssey with a standard battery as they say the Odyssey wouldn't take any charge!
What would kill an Odyssey?

[Dezrae]

a)it could be from a bad batch of batteries from the factory

b)could have been over charged ????? do u leave your bike on a battery charger when parked in garage when not riding it? what sort of charger is it?is it a trickle charger ???

[c00k1e]

a)it could be from a bad batch of batteries from the factory

b)could have been over charged ????? do u leave your bike on a battery charger when parked in garage when not riding it? what sort of charger is it?is it a trickle charger ???


I dont have it on trickle charge. I got it because I dont have electricity in my garage and the BMW battery doesnt hold a charge as long as the Odysey.
I am just hoping it isnt something else wrong with the bike

[dshealey]

I dont have it on trickle charge. I got it because I dont have electricity in my garage and the BMW battery doesnt hold a charge as long as the Odysey.
I am just hoping it isnt something else wrong with the bike

Most of us who have used Odyssey batteries have had EXCELLENT results with them. And you are right, they hold charge MUCH longer than standard "wet" lead acid batteries.

If you have a multimeter than can measure milliamps available, disconnect one battery lead (safest to do the negative one) and measure the current flowing with the ignition off. It should be only a few milliamps. There are small drains on the battery even with the ignition off, such as the alarm system, clock, etc., but these are very low.

You did not by chance turn the igniton all the way to the left into the "P" position did you? That would be very noticeable though, as that leaves the center tail light and little park bulb in the headlight on.

As I have said before, I have an old Odyssey I took out of the bike before a long trip, it sat on my garage floor for MONTHS, but still started my lawn tractor easily when the tractor's battery died completely. It is still in the tractor, never charged (except when the engine is running), and starts the tractor readily every 3-4 weeks when I need to use it. That battery had been used in the LT for about 3 years, thought it was losing capacity, later found I had an alternator issue (charge indicator light connection) which was causing my bike to sometimes charge, other times not.

You definitely either got a bad battery to start with, or there is something draining it.

[dshealey]

Just saw that your LT is a '99. There was an issue with early '99s in that the radio had a software problem and would drain the battery even when it was turned off. There was a service bulletin about it, and BMW replaced the radios when found. There was a way to check the firmware version posted on the old Yahoo site, but that has disappeared now. Don't know if anyone knows the procedure and what you should see, unless a dealer can find the old SB.

[c00k1e]

Just saw that your LT is a '99. There was an issue with early '99s in that the radio had a software problem and would drain the battery even when it was turned off. There was a service bulletin about it, and BMW replaced the radios when found. There was a way to check the firmware version posted on the old Yahoo site, but that has disappeared now. Don't know if anyone knows the procedure and what you should see, unless a dealer can find the old SB.

You ,ay be onto something here. The previous owner didnt have any of the recall/SB jobs done, that one os a new one to me. Also I have seen the radio show odd things on the display when the bike was out of juice

[mjordans2000]

I assume your dealer knows the Odyssey needs a fairly robust charger to get it going again if it's discharged below 4 volts. I thought mine was dead until I read here trickle chargers wouldn't do the job and I put it on my larger charger.

[bmwmick]

Dealer has just replaced my Odyssey with a standard battery as they say the Odyssey wouldn't take any charge!
What would kill an Odyssey?

Have your dealer print SI 61 001 00(001) It describes the software mismatch.
Your battery drain with all accessories OFF should be in the 4ma range.

[strsout]

I assume your dealer knows the Odyssey needs a fairly robust charger to get it going again if it's discharged below 4 volts. I thought mine was dead until I read here trickle chargers wouldn't do the job and I put it on my larger charger.

I second here.
I had my Odissey with 3.22v few weeks ago and like yours wasn't taking charge from my BMW charger, them folowing instructions from people here (thank you :) ), I use my car charge, with 10A, to charge the battery for about 2 hours.
Then after that I put back the BMW charger and so far the battery still good.

Why don't you ask for your battery back and do the test?

[Zotter]

See the support section of the Odyssey web site (http://www.odysseyfactory.com/support.htm). The owners manual has info on how to 'recover' a depleted battery. It's only 8 pages - nice quick read.

Cliff's Notes version: Big charger, high amperage for a short while (couple hours), then finish off with lower amperage charger.

[airborneod]

I just replaced mine as well, almost exactly 1 year old. I kept it on a trickle charge and it would read 13.1 volts. When they load tested it it would drain off rapidly. I found it because my ABS lights would flash. They replaced the battery with another Oddessy. Mines a 2003, no more problems..

[tmgs]

Dealer has just replaced my Odyssey with a standard battery as they say the Odyssey wouldn't take any charge!
What would kill an Odyssey?


i had one replaced within a year as well, not sure why it died.

Tom

[Spenceer]

I suspect that vibration may be a problem. I live on a gravel road about 2 miles
from the paved hiway. The washboard surface is VERY rough. I have replaced 3 batteries in the past 2 years. I mounted the last battery on some foam rubber.
I have 2 ATV's which have had no battery problems in the past 3 years. The mounts for those are not as ridged as th LT mount. See what happens.

[c00k1e]

Thanks all.
I will get the battery back from BMW and try the suggestions. I will also check the radio mod.
Cheers

[slmorley]

Odyssey motorcycle batteries come with a full two year warranty I believe. Maybe you can get warranty replacement.

[OlsonBW]

I suspect that vibration may be a problem. I live on a gravel road about 2 miles
from the paved hiway. The washboard surface is VERY rough. I have replaced 3 batteries in the past 2 years. I mounted the last battery on some foam rubber.
I have 2 ATV's which have had no battery problems in the past 3 years. The mounts for those are not as ridged as th LT mount. See what happens.

The civilian Odyssey battery that we use is a repackaged military batttery which is expected to be abused in war time situations. When not in use it is made so that it is ready to go after sitting on the shelf for two years (assuming it was charged up before put on the shelf).

From personal experience it survived and is still being used over 80,000 miles and six years after someone in a Jeep rammed me from behind and totalled my 2000 GoldWing. I took it out of the wrecked one and put it in my other motorcycle. Then when I bought a new motorcycle I moved the Odyssey battery to there. It is still going strong. I only charge it with a 12v6amp battery tender when I'm going to be off of it more than three weeks. I believe the new battery tenders needed are 12v5amp chargers. Bigger (stronger) chargers work too.