Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > battery care

[rob holmes]

I'm putting my 748 away for the winter this weekend, whats best to do. Disconnect battery and leave or buy a battery conditioner and leave it on all winter?

[keefer]

give it a charge up then put it in the house to keep it warm.
strange I know but just avoid it getting very cold when its not got allot of charge in it, That should do it

[NBs996]

Keep it away from the cold and don't let it discharge.
A battery tends to lose the will to live if it gets fully discharged, which it may do if left on the bike in the cold with no trickle.

If it's kept in the house then, just like any other battery, it'll bleed a bit of charge but nothing significant. You could put it on an optimate in the house to ensure a full charge when your bike comes out of hibernation but I don't think that'd be necessary.

but what do I know!

[Shazaam!]

In order to maximize the life of any sealed lead acid battery you should try to do the following:

* Always keep the battery charged.
* Avoid deep discharges of the battery.
* Use the correct charging voltage and current.
* Keep the battery temperature below room temperature.

The factor that affects life expectancy the most is operating temperature of the battery. The lower the temperature during storage the lower the corrosion rate of the battery’s internal electrical grid components.

Of course, the chemical reaction that provides starting power is temperature dependent so any battery will have less power available when cold. So storing at a lower temperature is good for the battery but it will have difficulty starting the bike over the winter.

A stored battery will self-discharge slowly. I recommend leaving the battery in place but disconnecting it from the bike to avoid any parasitic current drain. Then occasionally connect your battery conditioner to bring it up to full charge.

Granted, the cold battery won’t be as capable in starting the bike, but it’s not a good idea to be starting it during the storage period anyway.

[rob holmes]

thanks guys, i think i will charge and remove from bike and store in a cupboard in the garage as the garage does not really get cold.