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1 yr old Interstate battery won't take charge, any chance to fix it?

  • Gdailey2112
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  • 82 KZ1100D1
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18 Dec 2019 07:42 #815565 by Gdailey2112
I have a one year old Interstate battery that won't take a charge, ...is there any chance to fix it?? Plates/cells possibly fused or welded together?? Any/all help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

1982 KZ1100D1

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18 Dec 2019 08:18 #815567 by TexasKZ
If it died suddenly, there is probably no way to save it. If it is still under warranty, I would take it back for replacement,
If it died from disuse, a sophisticated smart charger MIGHT be able to bring it back to life.
I have bought a bunch of Interstate batteries for bikes and four-wheeled vehicles, and had great luck with them, but that doesn't mean they don't make a clunker now and then.

1982 KZ1000 LTD parts donor
1981 KZ1000 LTD awaiting resurrection
2000 ZRX1100 not ridden enough

www.kzrider.com/11-projects/620336-anoth...uild-thread?start=24

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18 Dec 2019 09:33 - 18 Dec 2019 09:37 #815571 by old_kaw
I bought a battery for a XS1100 I rescued a few years ago. By the time I got the bike in ride-able condition, the battery was no good. I then tried to return it to the Advanced car parts store I bought it from (just under a year later), I was informed it only had a 90 day warranty. I was told that had I spent more on their even more expensive battery, the 1 year warranty might have covered it. Haven't gone into the store since.

1981 Kawasaki Kz1000K1
Located in the Saint Louis, Missouri Area.
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Last edit: 18 Dec 2019 09:37 by old_kaw. Reason: typo's

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  • slmjim+Z1BEBE
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19 Dec 2019 08:39 #815607 by slmjim+Z1BEBE

TexasKZ wrote: If it died suddenly, there is probably no way to save it.
... If it died from disuse, a sophisticated smart charger MIGHT be able to bring it back to life. ...


Agreed on both counts.

Yuasa USA used to manufacture for Interstate, as well as Sears Die Hard; don't know if they still do. We had many flooded wet cell batteries produced by Yuasa USA experience sudden failures in the 1990's and early 2000's, often less than a year after being activated. We now only buy batteries made in Japan or Taiwan. We've never had any of them die suddenly, only gradually with years of use as one would expect.

Even fully charged batteries develop sulfation, but very slowly. Lead acid batteries gradually self-discharge by their nature if left idle. As the charge drops, sulfation accelerates. If allowed to sit in a discharged state, sulfation will more rapidly permanently destroy the battery's ability to accept a charge. Some advanced chargers have processes wherein the charger will apply charging energy in a manner intended to recover from sulfation. Charger manufacturers claim the process works if sulfation is not too severe. If the window for recovery has been exceeded by allowing too much sulfation to occur from sitting in a discharged state, the battery becomes an acid-filled paperweight.

Best practice is to not allow sulfation to form to begin with by routine maintenance charging and/or operating the vehicle regularly.

Quality advanced chargers that have the sulfation recovery charging algorithms as a feature often exceed the cost of a new battery. They're well worth it if one has multiple batteries to maintain.

batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulf...nd_how_to_prevent_it

www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/chargin...lfation-go-away.html



Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

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A Rider looks at your odometer and tags.

1973 ('72 builds) Z1 x2
1974 Z1-A x2
1975 Z1-B x2
1993 CB 750 Nighthawk x2
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19 Dec 2019 08:48 #815608 by TexasKZ
I am using an earlier version of this one, that does not have the test function. It is expensive, but I am sure it has saved me money in the long run.

smartercharger.com/collections/vehicle/p...-4-3-test-and-charge

1982 KZ1000 LTD parts donor
1981 KZ1000 LTD awaiting resurrection
2000 ZRX1100 not ridden enough

www.kzrider.com/11-projects/620336-anoth...uild-thread?start=24

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21 Dec 2019 07:02 - 21 Dec 2019 13:12 #815695 by old_kaw
As slimjim pointed out, sulfation is the battery killer. I have seen claims of battery rejuvenation devices that apply a small ac wave into the battery to try to remove the sulfation, but have never tried them. Nothing beats a fresh / new cell to bring things back to life. The Charger Texaskz pointed out looks interesting, and even with the miniaturization of modern circuitry , looks to be a lot of features packed into a tiny case. Then adding in ~4.3 amps of charge current to boot with all of the features.. That's some tiny stuff. lol

1981 Kawasaki Kz1000K1
Located in the Saint Louis, Missouri Area.
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Last edit: 21 Dec 2019 13:12 by old_kaw. Reason: hmmmmm

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