Battery making loud, high pitched beeps

[DonaNobisPacem]

I took off the stock Yuasa YTZ10S battery from my T7 since the charge was running low, and hooked it up to my battery charger. All of a sudden it makes this really loud, really high pitched beep that I've never heard before. And it's not the constant hum of something like coil whine, it starts really loud then fades within a couple seconds. I'd estimate that this repeats 2-3 times a minute, but I can't say for sure since I unplugged it the moment I found the source of the noise to be the battery itself and not the charger like I initially thought.

 

Anybody here had this happen to them before? Is this normal or should I be worried?

[Dougie]

38 minutes ago, DonaNobisPacem said:

I took off the stock Yuasa YTZ10S battery from my T7 since the charge was running low, and hooked it up to my battery charger. All of a sudden it makes this really loud, really high pitched beep that I've never heard before. And it's not the constant hum of something like coil whine, it starts really loud then fades within a couple seconds. I'd estimate that this repeats 2-3 times a minute, but I can't say for sure since I unplugged it the moment I found the source of the noise to be the battery itself and not the charger like I initially thought.

 

Anybody here had this happen to them before? Is this normal or should I be worried?

Does it sound like steam coming from the caps or vent if you have one? Doesn’t sound reassuring either way. Has it had any damage off road?

Edited September 15, 2023 by Dougie

[BikeBrother]

Connected to the wrong polarity or wrong charger?

For AGM battery yuasa says dont use constant current charger. Smart chargers are ok.

General Charging Procedure - Yuasa

---

Common information for all types of chargers. 1. Check the electrolyte-levels in all the cells. If these are below the tops of the separators, top up with...

 

[DonaNobisPacem]

43 minutes ago, Dougie said:

Does it sound like steam coming from the caps or vent if you have one? Doesn’t sound reassuring either way. Has it had any damage off road?

 

No, it sounds like a really annoying electronic beep. No damage as far as I can tell.

 

31 minutes ago, BikeBrother said:

Connected to the wrong polarity or wrong charger?

For AGM battery yuasa says dont use constant current charger. Smart chargers are ok.

General Charging Procedure - Yuasa

---

Common information for all types of chargers. 1. Check the electrolyte-levels in all the cells. If these are below the tops of the separators, top up with...

 

 

Made sure it's connected right, though I'll have to look into the charger. The one I have here is just a generic one that can also be used for car batteries. I might have to look into a more modern/specialized charger if that's what's causing this phenomena.

[Dougie]

Can you start the bike? Take it for a good ride? I know it’s not best practice to allow the stator to do all the charging but a good ride may sort it then you could use a modern battery discharge tester to see if it’s wrecked. 

[DonaNobisPacem]

On 9/16/2023 at 6:14 PM, Dougie said:

Can you start the bike? Take it for a good ride? I know it’s not best practice to allow the stator to do all the charging but a good ride may sort it then you could use a modern battery discharge tester to see if it’s wrecked. 

 

I took the battery off the bike before I plugged it in for safety and peace of mind, and when I plopped it back it all ran good. I also checked the voltage with a multimeter before I put it back and it looked fine, albeit a bit on the low side which is obvious since that's the primary reason I went through the trouble of trying to get it charged in the first place. Unfortunately I don't have the time to take it for a long enough ride out, but I have ordered a proper charger with the hopes that that will resolve everything.

[winddown]

Without meaning to sound anal, if I haven't ridden my bike for a week or so I start it up and run it up to full temperature, keeping the revs above 2000 most of the time.  This flushes any oxygen from the coolant as well as giving the battery a boost.  If it's one thing motor vehicles hate it's sitting idle for weeks and months on end.

[DonaNobisPacem]

Finally got my hands on a modern smart charger, the NOCO Genius 5 to be specific, and the battery doesn't make a sound when hooked up to it. Although, I might have uncovered another issue since the charger is reporting a full charge with the battery at only 12.4-12.5v. I'm currently trying out the repair mode, but that brought back the beeping.

[DonaNobisPacem]

Here's a recording I captured for reference.

https://youtube.com/shorts/jkVnUh5NyDc?si=LKrIWyxIspqTbg6r

[mcbrien]

12.4 /12.5 is a full charge. 13.5 is normal when engine is running.

[DonaNobisPacem]

6 minutes ago, mcbrien said:

12.4 /12.5 is a full charge. 13.5 is normal when engine is running.

 

Do you have a manual backing that up? All the documentation I've found points to 12.7 being the full charge. Even the battery itself has a warning that it must be charged when it hits 12.4 and below.

[mcbrien]

No I don't. I'm just going by experience. I also think that noise is gas escaping from battery . Your cooking that battery.

[williestreet]

I personally think the noise is from charging at too high a rate.

Batteries should not be charged at a rate any higher than 10% of the rated capacity.

If you have a 10amp battery max charging rate is 1 amp/hour.

 

Car chargers sold around here usually have low setting around 10amps.  Not sure what your original charger had for a rate?

I assume the Noco genius 5 is a 5 amp charger? Which if so, is charging at 5 times the maximum recommended rate.  Would check the charger specs to  confirm charge rate.  

Since the battery is so small the brain in the charger probably can't calculate the capacity properly and is stopping at slightly less than full charge.

 

I would have no issue using a 2amp charger in a pinch, but small batteries on bikes can be quickly damaged by charging at too high a rate.

 

I agree with Mcbrien as posted above.  High charge rate causing pressure buildup inside battery and therefore noise.  

Also our battery might be labelled as a YTZ10S, but if you look at the specs it is actually only a 9amp battery.  Max charge rate is 0.9amps. 

 

I believe repair mode involves high and low charge rates to remove sulfation.  Personally I think the high charge pulse is causing the beeps.  Don't do it, get a properly sized charger, max 1amp/hour.

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by williestreet

[DonaNobisPacem]

1 hour ago, williestreet said:

I personally think the noise is from charging at too high a rate.

Batteries should not be charged at a rate any higher than 10% of the rated capacity.

If you have a 10amp battery max charging rate is 1 amp/hour.

 

Car chargers sold around here usually have low setting around 10amps.  Not sure what your original charger had for a rate?

I assume the Noco genius 5 is a 5 amp charger? Which if so, is charging at 5 times the maximum recommended rate.  Would check the charger specs to  confirm charge rate.  

Since the battery is so small the brain in the charger probably can't calculate the capacity properly and is stopping at slightly less than full charge.

 

I would have no issue using a 2amp charger in a pinch, but small batteries on bikes can be quickly damaged by charging at too high a rate.

 

I agree with Mcbrien as posted above.  High charge rate causing pressure buildup inside battery and therefore noise.  

Also our battery might be labelled as a YTZ10S, but if you look at the specs it is actually only a 9amp battery.  Max charge rate is 0.9amps. 

 

I believe repair mode involves high and low charge rates to remove sulfation.  Personally I think the high charge pulse is causing the beeps.  Don't do it, get a properly sized charger, max 1amp/hour.

 

 

It's a 5amp charger, but it's also one of those smart chargers that can automatically regulate voltage and current based on the built in sensors to avoid over/under charging. At least that's what it says on their spec sheet, and from multiple user reviews I've read about it. It also functions as a trickle charger. For what it's worth I did closely monitor the battery throughout the process and other than the noise, I didn't discover anything off about it like leakages or heat buildup.

 

For now, after finishing the repair cycle and letting it sit for an hour, the voltage now reads at a much healthier 12.66v. I'll leave it be overnight and hopefully it keeps the charge by tomorrow morning. If it turns out I've ruined the battery then at least I now have an excuse to put a lithium replacement in.

Edited September 26, 2023 by DonaNobisPacem