P500 Batteries keep dying

[Cyborg]

Have a 2016 P500. Bought it 6/6/2016. Had to replace battery 2/5/2019 (just shy of 3 years old). Had to replace battery again 6/1/19, and then again 10/31/2020, I have a battery charger / tender that I will hook it up to periodically. I had the machine out and ran it around the yard for about 15-20 minutes about a month ago. Went to charge it today, and meter on NOCO charger showed less than 25%. Meter hadn't moved after 3 hours. So, I thought maybe there's a issue with meter - let's see if it will start. It would not. Hooked NOCO jump box to it, and it fired up and ran fine with plenty of power and headlights were bright. Hooked it back up to charger and still won't take a charge. I've got an appointment with dealer for annual service on Thursday. The only add-on electrical accessory is a KFI Winch.

This continuous battery replacement is getting frustrating and expensive. Any ideas as to the problem? Could the winch be draining it like this just sitting there?

 

[Admin]

 

[Mudder]

Not exactly like your issue, but I did have to replace the voltage regulator at 3 yrs, it was overcharging and fried the battery, would not take a charge. Maybe put a $30 switched breaker on the winch power, turn it on only when winching to rule that out.

 

[trigger]

You have a parasitic draw from somewhere. I had the same problem with a Popo Scrambler, went through about 4 batteries in 10 yrs. I just keep it on a tender whenever I'm not riding. Lawn tractor too.

 

[Jerryg]

You need to check your charge coil and rectifier.

 

[NitroxDiver]

Do you have a stereo on your machine? I have found the stereo will kill the battery in about 2-3 weeks. I wired up a switch to the radio memory wire and turn it off when I park the machine for an extended time.

 

[HUCK]

Easy to check for a parasitic draw . With some charge in the battery , disconnect the hot side cable , turn off the lights and touch the cable to the battery post , if it makes even the tiniest spark you have a short somewhere .

 

[HBarlow]

Have you purchased and installed oem Honda batteries or a substitute?

Some battery chargers will destroy a small battery if left connected. I don't know anything about the brand of battery tender/charger you named. I have used Deltran battery maintainers for years. A Deltram will not damage a battery.

If you have a multimeter, even a $10 meter from Harbor Freight, disconnect the red + lead from the battery, select current not voltage on the meter, and connect the meter's red lead to the + terminal of the battery and the meter's black - lead to the red + lead of your Honda. Any parasitic current draw will flow through the multimeter and can be measured.

 

[alloutdoors]

I'm reasonably confident the solution is in one of the posts above.

 

[Olaf]

I have the same problem right now and was going to post it. I'm back on the charger and disconnecting the winch its had a small drain on the battery ever since I put it on now the battery tender can't bring it back. If I figure something out I post my solution but I'm guessing it's my winch solenoid.

 

[100Acre]

Ditto my 500 battery stays kaput and I’ve replaced already as well.

 

[HUCK]

I have the same problem right now and was going to post it. I'm back on the charger and disconnecting the winch its had a small drain on the battery ever since I put it on now the battery tender can't bring it back. If I figure something out I post my solution but I'm guessing it's my winch solenoid.

Never saw a tender bring one back . Put it on a real charger . Tenders are made to keep a battery up not bring up a dead one .

 

[DG Rider]

Is there any furniture moving by itself or scratching in the walls? Paranormal activity has been known to drain batteries.

 

[hallic]

Any cold spots in the room? Lights flickering on and off?

 

[alloutdoors]

This will give you a good idea on how to get started, how to check parasitic battery drain - Google Search

 

[Olaf]

Has anyone here checked for battery drain mine is at 0.4 mili amps when checking to the main hot connection it remains at 0.4 when adding the winch and battery tender lead. Doesn't seem like enough to kill the battery after 2 or 3 days. Voltage while running was 14.45 so I basically figured out nothing but as the original poster says these batterys are getting expensive and I must add wont turn over a 1 cylinder engine when it's cold outside so I have to bring the battery inside.

 

[NitroxDiver]

Has anyone here checked for battery drain mine is at 0.4 mili amps when checking to the main hot connection it remains at 0.4 when adding the winch and battery tender lead. Doesn't seem like enough to kill the battery after 2 or 3 days. Voltage while running was 14.45 so I basically figured out nothing but as the original poster says these batterys are getting expensive and I must add wont turn over a 1 cylinder engine when it's cold outside so I have to bring the battery inside.

Are you reading .4 A or .004 A ? .004 is 4 mA and .4 is 400 mA If it’s 400 mA that’s a pretty good draw. What other accessories do you have? Lights or stereo?

 

[Olaf]

I have a very small discharge, multimeter is set to mA reads 000.4, when set to uA I believe it read 41. I have reverse, rear, front, interior lights, and a winch.

 

[trigger]

A Deltran Battery Tender Jr. and never think about it again. I'm running dual batteries and I know when I walk in the garage that green light means I have two fully charged batteries. FWIW

 

[KYhillbilly]

If you have a wireless winch controller it will drain it rather quickly. I have an isolator switch on mine to prevent this.

 

[Olaf]

If you have a wireless winch controller it will drain it rather quickly. I have an isolator switch on mine to prevent this.

That's what I was concerned with, the wire normally sparks when I connect to the battery for some reason it's not now. Either way it's going away and I'll get a second battery.