Battery Life for a PCX 150

[Joan & Jack]

My wife and I purchased our 2013 PCX 150 a year ago. We live near Daytona Beach. It is her bike, but I use the PCX on a 24 mile commute anywhere from 2 to 3 times per week. I alternate with a 2012 Suzuki Burgman 400. I felt this to be a good way to keep both bikes humming.
Three weeks ago, with some schedule changes, I had an interval of 6 days where I didn't ride the PCX. When I went to ride it - not enough battery to start the engine and the battery required a jump start. Last week, a similar schedule, and yesterday morning the same thing - not enough juice to get it started.
Before I run out and get a new battery I wanted to ask if the factory batteries are known to be that short lived? The only electrical modification I did was install a cigarette adaptor outlet in the under seat storage compartment (as shown on this forum - thanks). I have only used it a few times and only while the bike was running, and this outlet has not been used in for several months.
I don't have an electric meter /tester. Thoughts, suggestions, comments. If I need a new PCX battery - any recommendations?
Thanks, Jack

[stryder123]

I have a 2013 PCX150 that I bought in 2012. The battery is still going strong in it.

[iceman]

Perhaps it's the charging circuit itself at fault, but most people with battery problems seem to have old or faulty batteries or a drain somewhere. I wonder if the uprated 2014/5 PCX battery would be a better solution than the older less powerful one - if the cost is not much more (other people seem to rate 3rd party batteries)

I'm not sure the charging circuit in the older models will be sufficient to feed the new batteries, or just be a waste of the extra performance.

[strkngfang]

Ours have sat for as long as two straight weeks in the winter months without starting or riding & they always just fire right up. 6 days shouldn't have any ill effects???

[Alibally]

Ours have sat for as long as two straight weeks in the winter months without starting or riding & they always just fire right up. 6 days shouldn't have any ill effects???

Same here.

[Joan & Jack]

Thanks everyone for the input. I went to our Honda dealer this morning. The charging system was fine but the battery was the issue. Not doing well at holding a charge. Not a good showing for the battery mfg, especially after babying this battery for a year. You win some .... well, you know the rest. Jack

[iceman]

Was it replaced under warranty or did you have to purchase a new one?

[Joan & Jack]

Only warrantied for 6 months. I purchased a new one - same mfg. It is only warrentied for 6 months. The service manager said these are premium batteries and typically provide service for 4 years. I will only be fooled once, if this one dies next year. I am beating that it will provide good service. Thanks, Jack

[katschamne]

Mine is a year old and I have had it sit for over a month with no issues. You could always install a battery tender and put it on a trickle charger in between rides. I bought one at Walmart for $16http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-XM ... p/15140193

[Mel46]

My wife's pcx battery is the original that came with her bike back in 2012. It is still running fine. Mine, on the other hand, is having problems. I purchased my pcx in May of this year. I thought that it might be the items I had added to my bike. Since I am working on my bike right now, I decided to just pull the battery and put it on the battery tender. Once the light on the battery tender went to green, I unplugged it. Two days later I connected the battery back up to the battery tender and darned if it didn't need charging again! Interesting thing about that is that the battery is still on the shelf, not on the bike. I am beginning to think Honda got a bad batch of batteries.

[Joan & Jack]

That's a good point and was my feeling when I started this post. Maybe a number of PCX owners were having this problem. So far, you are the only person with a shared experience.

[DAB]

My wife's pcx battery is the original that came with her bike back in 2012. It is still running fine. Mine, on the other hand, is having problems. I purchased my pcx in May of this year. I thought that it might be the items I had added to my bike. Since I am working on my bike right now, I decided to just pull the battery and put it on the battery tender. Once the light on the battery tender went to green, I unplugged it. Two days later I connected the battery back up to the battery tender and darned if it didn't need charging again! Interesting thing about that is that the battery is still on the shelf, not on the bike. I am beginning to think Honda got a bad batch of batteries.

Mel, Check out how your tender should work. For mine it is supposed to charge with a very low amperage as soon as it's connected, even if it's been disconnected for a few seconds. It then goes through a routine of charging for 10 minutes and then monitoring the voltage. It goes through this routine for X times(cant remember exactly) and finally goes green or red.

[Mel46]

I put my battety back in my bike finally this evening and when I turned over the engine it had a problem getting enough juice to tutn it over, and it kept stalling once it would catch. I put the battery on the charger for an hour and then tried. The bike started right up. Mind you, this bike ha been sitting torn down for a week so I expected it to hesitate when starting. However, the battery has been off and on the charger several times during the week. It should have been fully charged. That reminds me that I talked to the dealer about it today and he confirmed that there have been cases even on their newest Hondas that had dead batteries straight from the factory. As he pointed out, they have no idea when they get the bikes as to how long the batteries were on the shelf at the original manufacturer. He also said that Honda is just like most manufacturers now in that they are trying to save money be cutting corners and outsourcing their parts.

[iceman]

Mel, you say you purchased it May this year, that would make it the 2013 model? I wonder if anyone will report problems with the new style batteries in the 2015 models - they are extra A/hr ones than those fitted to the 2013's.

[Mel46]

The battery that comes in it is a 6.3 mah battery. If I bought a replacement and wanted to up the capabilites of it, I wonder what would fit in the space, keeping in mind that it has to be sealed since it is on its side.

[Coolerman]

I bought a new PCX 150 in March 2015 and had no battery problems until this Spring 2016. I put two different high quality chargers on the battery and within minutes, both chargers showed fully charged. Well, the battery would only crank the motor for 5-10 seconds. The original battery, made in Vietnam is shot. I'm now in search of a replacement because I believe the warrantee is only for 6 months. Suggestions welcomed.

[iceman]

Hi quality chargers? Good ones should do some kind of load test and de-dulpate as part of the initial process (optimate 5 for example). Just because a battery holds volts does not mean it holds capicty (high amp/hours).

[Coolerman]

My best charger is a BatteryMinder, which does de-sulfate. I doesn't load test a battery as I thought those were usually separate test equipment. I took the battery (GTZ8V) to a shop that has those testers and I'll get a reading early next week. I think I already know the answer.

[Mel46]

Progress report: I replaced the battery in my bike and it has run great since then. It has even sat most of the winter and still cranked right up without being charged first. I tried to replace the bad battery with one that had higher amp/hours but there is a size limit, and none of those would fit, so I went back to the same amp/hr as came in the bike.
As my dealer pointed out to me, those bikes that have 2013 on them were probably assembled then as well, and have sat for that many years before purchase. The dealers probably charge them ever so often but otherwise it just sits. Prior to the battery being installed it, once again, may have sat on a shelf for an extended amount of time. If there is a weakness in the battery, it will eventually show up because batteries, by their very nature, will drain some at all times. Bad plates can only last so long before they start to break down.
I read an article recently in which they mentioned the new Lithium batteries for motorcycles. I wonder if they have some that would work on our scooter? That would be the way to go. They hold their charge longer and will give you as much starting power when old as they did when they were new...and then they will quit, rather than giving less and less cranking power as time went on.

[Joan & Jack]

Update: My second battery, purchase from Honda, died in a year. Last September, I went to Batteries Plus and purchased their battery, spec'ed for the PCX. So far so good. When I was not riding the bike during weeks in the winter, I would put my Stanley Fatmax trickle charger on it. My new strategy is: if I don't ride the bike during a week, I put the charger on it. We will see if the longevity will be better. Jack