Is this normal for a Ducati ?

[ryanhorton1973]

Hi. I have another flat battery on my 696 Monster ! The battery is only 6 months old and I was surprised it has gone flat as the bike has only been standing in the garage for about 3 weeks. Is this usual for a Ducati or should I be looking for the source of the power drain? I have invested some money in an Oxford Oximiser charger but can't pick it up till next week so hopefully I can then leave the bike plugged into the mains so it trickle charges as it needs it. Has anyone else had this issue or is it common ? Any help / comments appreciated !

[Nickj]

Battery that new ought to be good for that long.

[BluprintZ]

I had a similar problem last Sunday, after a 140 mile trip up to Lancashire.
Hit the starter button and zilch, so took the battery off and put it on a slow charge for ten hours, it's been ok since.
It's been mentioned on the Triumph forum, that if the battery volts drop below 12.5v, then it won't start on the button.
I fitted the optimiser leads to the battery before i went up North, so i'm wondering if they could have caused a drain on the battery?
I removed them when i took the battery off the bike to charge it and as i mentioned, it's been ok since!

G ; )

[rac3r]

How was the battery charged when you got it?

[Dookbob]

cant see how fitting the optimiser leads to the battery would cause a power drain, If there is nothing plugged into the socket. I fit the same leads to all my bikes, and car for that matter, and never experienced a problem. Some security devices will run the battery down pretty quick though, which could be Ryanhorton,s problem.

[ryanhorton1973]

Not sure how the battery was chraged as I bought it from a general motrobike repair shop rather than taking a wheelbarrow full of money by the ducati dealership ! The guy in the shop said it was ready to go so I took it home wired the bike up and it started first time with no worries and had, up until now been fine. The digital display shows 11.3 volts and a multimeter reads 12.11 volts but I am guessing there is not enough current in the battery to turn the engine over (just a clicking sound when the starter button is pushed).
It may be time for a new paint job as the bike is in pieces now but will have to decide before it goes back together again after fitting the (hopefully) charged battery with the charging leads permanently attatched.

[utopia]

.... should I be looking for the source of the power drain? .....

Well you might as well check whether there is a drain. Its easy enough....disconnect battery negative lead and connect your ammeter between the lead and the battery. With everything switched off the reading should be zero (0.1mA max)...anything more and you've got a short somewhere.
Unless of course, you have an alarm fitted.

I've had permanent charging leads fitted for a few years, with no problems.
If you fit the socket somewhere near the top yoke, you can also use it to run those wrap-around/detachable grip heaters. Maybe a GPS charger too, I wouldn't know.

[BluprintZ]

cant see how fitting the optimiser leads to the battery would cause a power drain, If there is nothing plugged into the socket.

I put that bit in, as that was the only thing i had done, battery wise, before the problem with the flat battery.
I had a load test done and the result was that the battery was borderline, it's three years old, so it may well be due for replacing in the not too distant future.

G ; )

[rac3r]

Like with mobile phones and other things you have to charge the battery for around 12 hours the first time even though it may be fully charged after only a few hours.

[BigOz]

Hi Ryan,

I had my 696 standing in a garage for at lest that long during the winter and it struggled but did start even at -2 Celcius with the 2 year old original battery.

[ryanhorton1973]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. Have connected the battery back to the bike and monitored it for over two hours and could not see any significant drain on it so I am guessing it was not fully charged when I first installed it on the bike. Still waiting for the imminent arrival of the Oxford charger (things take a bit longer over here than in the UK!) so as soon as it arrives I can decide on whether the bike gets a new paint scheme (if it starts after charging the battery) or remains in Sterilgarda colours (if it needs another new battery !)