The weekend showed how weak the battery has become.
Having had to use the dbPower unit on four separate occasions during the day in Belgium was the giveaway.
We are in the second winter of this problem where the battery isn't strong enough to start the bike.
In the summer it charges and holds that charge and although I keep the dbPower unit to hand I rarely have to use it.
But in winter it barely has the power to turn the engine over. It's simply "clunk". The lights come on though and that probably doesn't help.
So what to do? Being a fair weather biker nowadays I won't be using the bike that often until the new year.
Do I get a new battery sooner rather than later? It might end up freezing away in the garage. I have a garage in a block away from the house with no power, so a trickle charger is no use either.
I have been looking at a replacement though.
A Motobatt with a high cranking power should be around £75. So unlikely to break the bank. But when to get it?
Looks like January then. The MoT runs out in early February. Mmmm.
A few years ago when I had a similar situation with the GS I was able to jump it from the car. Then I had the FIAT Punto. The Insignia specifically says never to jump from it. I have used dbPower on it though when its 🔋 went tits up.
I did buy a large solar panel. It proved to be totally useless.
Yep, once your battery is dead, there's little hope of bringing it back. If it's the original battery, and your 2nd winter with this problem you've been lucky.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to ride much this winter it'd be best to buy a new AGM battery now, otherwise wait til Spring if you can or your new battery will inevitably die.
Any chance of running a solar panel/battery tender from the roof of the garage to Pepe?
I'm not planning to use the bike that often. The battery may even be the original and be 5 years old. If I can get away with the dbPower to start it on the few times it will go out, then Springtime will be new battery time.
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