Just a quick question. 09 Ultra with 103 & 255 cams, for a while now, mostly when hot, bike would be hard to start like it would turn over maybe twice and then pause then it would turn over a few more times and finally fire but with a struggle. Bike is always on a tender. So I took battery to dealer to have it tested. It showed 12.69 volts and 245 CCA. the print out said to replace. What should the CCA's be on a strong battery? It also has compression releases on it.
Battery & CCA
- Thread starter Trek
- Start date
Hoople
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I wouldn't look at the CCA as a measure of quality on a used battery. Cold cranking amp measurements have a large hole in it. By definition it is the amperage (at 0*F) the battery will put out for 30 seconds while keeping each cell voltage above 1.2 volts. So on a 12 volt battery which has 6 cells, that's 1.2 X 6 or just 7 volts of post voltage.
Some honest companies may use a higher voltage but the universal standard is 7.0 volts on a 12 volt battery.
In your case, what good is 245 amps if it's at 7 volts because at that voltage the starter won't be turning the engine. The CCA would be something worthwhile if it was a rating at 9.8 or 10.0 volts, but at a rating of 7 volts it's totally useless. (except to compare 1 battery to another)
A stock late model 96 engine draws appox 145-150 amps while cranking when the engine is cold. And lets say for example your battery has 245 CCA. That would lead me to believe that I would be able to crank the engine non-stop for appox 48 seconds. But that's not going to happen because once the battery posts voltage falls to appox 9.8 volts, cranking speed will be very very slow.
Add increased starter current draw if the engine is hot, plus the late model bikes "phase up" while cranking and that needs good high cranking RPM.
If your trying to measure what's left of your battery in life, forget the CCA rating. Just load test the battery with a carbon pile. Load it to 175 amps and start your stop watch. When battery post voltage drops to 9.8 volts, stop your watch. How many seconds went by. That is the real world starting power that your battery has. The longer the better but I would like to see at least a solid 15 seconds for those times when the engine may be flooded etc.
You can use a CCA rating to compare 1 new battery to another new battery,
but I think that's about it.
Some honest companies may use a higher voltage but the universal standard is 7.0 volts on a 12 volt battery.
In your case, what good is 245 amps if it's at 7 volts because at that voltage the starter won't be turning the engine. The CCA would be something worthwhile if it was a rating at 9.8 or 10.0 volts, but at a rating of 7 volts it's totally useless. (except to compare 1 battery to another)
A stock late model 96 engine draws appox 145-150 amps while cranking when the engine is cold. And lets say for example your battery has 245 CCA. That would lead me to believe that I would be able to crank the engine non-stop for appox 48 seconds. But that's not going to happen because once the battery posts voltage falls to appox 9.8 volts, cranking speed will be very very slow.
Add increased starter current draw if the engine is hot, plus the late model bikes "phase up" while cranking and that needs good high cranking RPM.
If your trying to measure what's left of your battery in life, forget the CCA rating. Just load test the battery with a carbon pile. Load it to 175 amps and start your stop watch. When battery post voltage drops to 9.8 volts, stop your watch. How many seconds went by. That is the real world starting power that your battery has. The longer the better but I would like to see at least a solid 15 seconds for those times when the engine may be flooded etc.
You can use a CCA rating to compare 1 new battery to another new battery,
but I think that's about it.
Jennmarr
Junior Member
Thanks Hoople! I have been turning wrenches on things mechanical for most of my life. I think that is the clearest, most concise explanation of the CCA rating I have ever come across.
Well that was more info than I bargained for but well worth it. I did replace the battery and took the bike for a nice ride to get it good and warm shut off multiple times and seems to be turning over much better with no lag. That was the original battery with 4 years under it's belt so I'm thinking it was probably time. I was hoping I would have got more time out of it but why take a chance and get stranded somewhere. Thanks for the input everyone.
Hoople
Account Removed
Jennmarr
Junior Member
Glad it helps. You should hear my views on Politics!!
I would love to. Maybe someday we will get a chance to have a cup of coffee together. Keep up the good work.
