Battery dead after 2.5 days? Normal?

3064 Views 38 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Bad Doggie, 2 d ago

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · 11 mo ago

Hello. I have a 22 Indian Super Chief Limited with 400 miles or so on it. I had been charging it on the tender for the past week. I rode it Saturday and Sunday for about 200 of those miles. I have a battery tender but I had it on my other bike for Monday and Tuesday (haven't bought an additional one yet as I may sell the other bike, a Scout). So after just 2.5 days, the battery appears to be dead. Will not start today. I've connected it back to the tender but it's been about 20 minutes and I'm still charging.

I searched the forum for batteries and see folks from older posts, or older bikes, or going longer and still not happy---like battery failing after 6 days.

Is this normal with the Super Chief? I have been lucky with my Scout with virtually zero problems even when off tender for 3 or 4 days. Just curious if this is normal on the recent Super Chief limiteds.

Guess I May need to put in a real battery rather than whatever they've put in.

Thanks.

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

Baron58

· #2 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
Hello. I have a 22 Indian Super Chief Limited with 400 miles or so on it. I had been charging it on the tender for the past week. I rode it Saturday and Sunday for about 200 of those miles. I have a battery tender but I had it on my other bike for Monday and Tuesday (haven't bought an additional one yet as I may sell the other bike, a Scout). So after just 2.5 days, the battery appears to be dead. Will not start today. I've connected it back to the tender but it's been about 20 minutes and I'm still charging.

I searched the forum for batteries and see folks from older posts, or older bikes, or going longer and still not happy---like battery failing after 6 days.

Is this normal with the Super Chief? I have been lucky with my Scout with virtually zero problems even when off tender for 3 or 4 days. Just curious if this is normal on the recent Super Chief limiteds.

Guess I May need to put in a real battery rather than whatever they've put in.

Thanks.

Battery is toast.

Dealerships install the batteries. Dealerships have batteries sitting on shelfs for sometimes months to years. Once a AGM battery drops below 12 volts it starts to deteriorate. Then they simply do a quick charge to get the bike out the door. Some people including myself have had zero issues with batteries on these bikes. They are quality batteries, but because they sit uncharged at some dealerships, the go bad and you get stuck with them.

During riding season, I never put the battery on a tender. But I also make sure to ride no less than once a week.

Reactions: 3

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · #3 · 11 mo ago

Baron58 said:
Battery is toast.

Dealerships install the batteries. Dealerships have batteries sitting on shelfs for sometimes months to years. Once a AGM battery drops below 12 volts it starts to deteriorate. Then they simply do a quick charge to get the bike out the door. Some people including myself have had zero issues with batteries on these bikes. They are quality batteries, but because they sit uncharged at some dealerships, the go bad and you get stuck with them.

During riding season, I never put the battery on a tender. But I also make sure to ride no less than once a week.

Thanks for the response. My dealer is about 1+ hour away. Not sure I'm going to save this up for the 500 mile visit to discuss. May just buy a battery locally and throw it in there I guess. Bummer. Thank you for the info.

Baron58

· #4 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
Thanks for the response. My dealer is about 1+ hour away. Not sure I'm going to save this up for the 500-mile visit to discuss. May just buy a battery locally and throw it in there I guess. Bummer. Thank you for the info.

Batteries Plus sells a good replacement Duracell battery for our bikes. Plus, they have a warranty as well. Some dealerships warranty the batteries, some don't. I don't know what the official Indian/Polaris policy is.

But your bike is new enough something should be done.

Reactions: 3

Skidmore111

· #5 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
Hello. I have a 22 Indian Super Chief Limited with 400 miles or so on it. I had been charging it on the tender for the past week. I rode it Saturday and Sunday for about 200 of those miles. I have a battery tender but I had it on my other bike for Monday and Tuesday (haven't bought an additional one yet as I may sell the other bike, a Scout). So after just 2.5 days, the battery appears to be dead. Will not start today. I've connected it back to the tender but it's been about 20 minutes and I'm still charging.

I searched the forum for batteries and see folks from older posts, or older bikes, or going longer and still not happy---like battery failing after 6 days.

Is this normal with the Super Chief? I have been lucky with my Scout with virtually zero problems even when off tender for 3 or 4 days. Just curious if this is normal on the recent Super Chief limiteds.

Guess I May need to put in a real battery rather than whatever they've put in.

Thanks.

Not sure whats going on with these newer models but I have read numerous post about batteries going dead after sitting for just a few days...sounds to me that there is some form of parasitic draw with these new Indians.
What brand battery is in yours?
Another thought...a battery tender is designed to maintain your battery-not to charge it when its very weak or dead.
I would buy or borrow (if you dont already have one)a battery charger,disconnect your battery terminals,and charge it on a low amp/hour rate for over night,then connect it and see if it works,then I would check it with a volt meter,and see if something is drawing it down.

Reactions: 2

Troll31

· #6 · 11 mo ago

Make sure your connections are good.

Reactions: 2

Hijinx1812

· #7 · 11 mo ago

Troll31 said:
Make sure your connections are good.

I was having issues with my battery, too. That’s what the issue was!

Reactions: 1

smartmike

· #8 · 11 mo ago

Polaris batteries have a 6 month warranty. I can tell you my local dealer wishes they could have batteries sit on the shelf, however as soon as they get them they are out the door.

Hijinx1812

· #9 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
Hello. I have a 22 Indian Super Chief Limited with 400 miles or so on it. I had been charging it on the tender for the past week. I rode it Saturday and Sunday for about 200 of those miles. I have a battery tender but I had it on my other bike for Monday and Tuesday (haven't bought an additional one yet as I may sell the other bike, a Scout). So after just 2.5 days, the battery appears to be dead. Will not start today. I've connected it back to the tender but it's been about 20 minutes and I'm still charging.

I searched the forum for batteries and see folks from older posts, or older bikes, or going longer and still not happy---like battery failing after 6 days.

Is this normal with the Super Chief? I have been lucky with my Scout with virtually zero problems even when off tender for 3 or 4 days. Just curious if this is normal on the recent Super Chief limiteds.

Guess I May need to put in a real battery rather than whatever they've put in.

Thanks.

Intact customer connect. They’ll set it up with your dealer to test your battery and get a new one if needed. Definitely a pita if your dealer is far away but a new free battery is worth it!

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · #10 · 11 mo ago

Thanks for the info. I have checked the connections and I THINK they were ok but I went ahead and tightened them anyway. I disconnected the trickle charger and instead have connected the charger I have.

Question: The owner's manual speaks of a battery charging port. I know I don't have the type of charger necessarily but I can't find that. I do have the tender charger cord like was on my Scout, but I do not see this port mentioned in the Owner's manual. Is that not on the super chief limited?

Hijinx1812

· #11 · 11 mo ago

It’s on the bottom right hand side of the bike under a plastic flip cap. Start at your seat and follow it straight down.

Reactions: 1

Baron58

· #12 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
Thanks for the info. I have checked the connections and I THINK they were ok but I went ahead and tightened them anyway. I disconnected the trickle charger and instead have connected the charger I have.

Question: The owner's manual speaks of a battery charging port. I know I don't have the type of charger necessarily but I can't find that. I do have the tender charger cord like was on my Scout, but I do not see this port mentioned in the Owner's manual. Is that not on the super chief limited?

One big mistake a lot of motorcycle owners make is using the wrong charger and tender. Most motorcycles including Indian, use AGM batteries (Advanced Glass Matt) instead of Lead Acid batteries like your typical car. A Car/truck battery tender will not charge or maintain an AGM battery properly (they think the battery is good when it isn't) and this causes the battery to fall below the safe voltage threshold and causing it to be damaged. So make sure the battery tender and or charger is designed for AGM batteries.

Reactions: 1

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · #13 · 11 mo ago

Hijinx1812 said:
It’s on the bottom right hand side of the bike under a plastic flip cap. Start at your seat and follow it straight down.

Thanks for the tip. So it turns out mine is on the left side of the bike when sitting on the bike. The cap was up exposing the battery charger so I didn't know what I was looking for exactly. But I did find it. Thank you.

Reactions: 2

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · #14 · 11 mo ago

Baron58 said:
Battery is toast.

Dealerships install the batteries. Dealerships have batteries sitting on shelfs for sometimes months to years. Once a AGM battery drops below 12 volts it starts to deteriorate. Then they simply do a quick charge to get the bike out the door. Some people including myself have had zero issues with batteries on these bikes. They are quality batteries, but because they sit uncharged at some dealerships, the go bad and you get stuck with them.

During riding season, I never put the battery on a tender. But I also make sure to ride no less than once a week.

You are correct that it is toast, I believe. I have a Schumacher charger that says it is good for multiple battery types including AMG. I let it charge the battery for a few hours. It came back green (finished) but also with the red smiley face indicating still not strong. It won't start. I am going to buy a new battery tomorrow rather than wait until July 1st when I will see the dealer.

TheRamblinMan

Discussion Starter · #15 · 11 mo ago

Baron58 said:
One big mistake a lot of motorcycle owners make is using the wrong charger and tender. Most motorcycles including Indian, use AGM batteries (Advanced Glass Matt) instead of Lead Acid batteries like your typical car. A Car/truck battery tender will not charge or maintain an AGM battery properly (they think the battery is good when it isn't) and this causes the battery to fall below the safe voltage threshold and causing it to be damaged. So make sure the battery tender and or charger is designed for AGM batteries.

I have a Schumacher that specifically states it is good with an AGM or what they call standard batteries. It is 10amp. Do you tend to find these don't work? I saw the owner's manual talks about a 2amp charger.

Baron58

· #16 · 11 mo ago

TheRamblinMan said:
I have a Schumacher that specifically states it is good with an AGM or what they call standard batteries. It is 10amp. Do you tend to find these don't work? I saw the owner's manual talks about a 2amp charger.

You don't want a charger to put out more than 2.0 amps per hour. Because that will overcharge the battery and damage it. It can be less than 2 amps but not more

Smoothbassman

· #17 · 11 mo ago

I had this happen with my challenger. Dealer replaced the battery and it happened again with the 2nd battery. I decided to purchase my own battery from the auto parts store and problem solved. No more dead batteries. I can leave it for weeks off the tender and it still starts up every time.

Baron58

· #18 · 11 mo ago

Smoothbassman said:
I had this happen with my challenger. Dealer replaced the battery and it happened again with the 2nd battery. I decided to purchase my own battery from the auto parts store and problem solved. No more dead batteries. I can leave it for weeks off the tender and it still starts up every time.

Yep. And this is what most people don't get. It's not the bike draining the battery, its simply bad batteries from the get-go.

Reactions: 1

jerrman

· #19 · 11 mo ago

I think any battery that is gone after 2 1/2 days is just a bad battery. No way it shouldn’t start if it was good to begin with, even after a week or two off a tender. I would agree it may be related to how long the battery was on the shelf before install. I believe they have a date on them. Keeping a battery on a tender is not a bad idea, but that may only get you out the garage door and not protect you from trouble on the road (i.e. bike will start, but battery won’t hold the charge after an overnight off the tender). Happened to me on the road with a year + battery. Started right up in the morning, rode about 250 mi. The next morning, nothing. Replacement battery from a nearby Polaris parts dealer came with the comment, “those OEM batteries are crap.” Although I didn’t check, I’d guess the manufacturing date and the install date were very different. Net, new battery, no issue since.

Reactions: 2

Skidmore111

· #20 · 11 mo ago

Smoothbassman said:
I had this happen with my challenger. Dealer replaced the battery and it happened again with the 2nd battery. I decided to purchase my own battery from the auto parts store and problem solved. No more dead batteries. I can leave it for weeks off the tender and it still starts up every time.

Just for my own curiosity,what brand battery is Polaris using on the Indians?

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