Battery Charging

[DianeinNM]

I bought a charger for my battery that's apparently been dead over the winter. Charged it up, took off the clips and decided to attach the rings so I can just attach it to the charger without taking off the side of the bike. Took me a few minutes and then I hooked it up to make sure it works. Then the charger showed "charging" again!

Does this mean in those few minutes it got that discharged? Or maybe the charger just shows that light at first so you think it's doing a good job?

I figure at this point I can:

1. Buy a meter to check the actual condition of the battery.

2. Buy a new battery, figuring this one's a goner.

3. Charge it, start it a few times, let it sit and see if it still works in the morning. If it does, I can ride it to work, right?

4. Other.

I have limited $$ for this, but I also figure doing stuff right is usually cheaper than trying to be cheap, in the long run. What do you guys think?

:-) Diane in NM

[alantf]

Firstly, make sure you're not using too powerful a charger, or you'll damage the battery. A 2A charge (max) overnight will do the job. I should have mentioned that you should get yourself a cheapo meter. After the charge, disconnect the charger, and let the battery sit for ½hr to 1hr (to get rid of the surface charge.) Then test the battery voltage. You can do this at the point where the leads to the battery went, where you connect the charger. A good battery should read around 12.7v or higher. Keep us informed. Do this before you spend big $$$ on a new battery.

Remember, if you do need to buy a new battery, eventually, ignore whatever the salesman migh tell you about the battery being already charged, & give it the 2A overnight charge. If you don't do this, the new battery will have a very short life indeed.

[mrlmd1]

First off, you need an electrical voltage meter to tell what is going on with your battery. Your charger does not read voltage, so it tells you nothing.
A fully charged battery should be 12.6-8V. If you charge it up to that and let it sit overnight and it still reads that in the morning, it is probably OK, but the only way to tell the condition of a battery is to load test it. Charge it fully, then test it by bringing it to any battery dealer or auto parts dealer or garage, they will do it for free (after all, they would like to sell you a new battery).
If your battery sat for months in a discharged state, it may be dead from sulphation and may not survive being restored or recharged. Do not buy chemical additives sold to try and restore the battery, they don't really work or work only very temporarily, but you might invest in a battery desulphator to try and reverse that. But for the size and expense of these bike batteries, unless you need that for other batteries you have, it's not worth the expense as they cost almost as much as a new battery in this size.
Alantf's advice is what I have been preaching on here for years - heed it.

As an aside, starting the bike IS a load test - I think the starter for this bike draws something like 60 amps. So if you charge it over night and the bike starts in the morning, that's a good sign. Do not start the bike multiple times. Do not expect the battery to recharge at idle speed. These bikes have a very puny electrical system and the output at idling even for 15 min will not replace what you have drawn out of the battery to start the bike and keep it running. In order to get a significant charge out of the alternator/magneto/generator (whatever you want to call it), you need to be running at 2500-3500rpm at least, so if the bike starts, go for a 15-20 min. ride. Then let the bike sit 4-6 hrs, and if it starts again, your battery may be OK.

[dentheman]

With my smart charger (actually a 1.5 amp maintainer), I can charge the battery until the charger shows fully charged, then later hook up the charger again and it will show charging for up to 30 minutes. Since the charger senses overvoltage to tell when the battery is charged, once the battery has a chance to 'normalize' after charging, the battery voltage will be a little less than the cutoff for the charger, so it will show charging again. This is normal for a smart charger even if the battery is good.

However, if your battery sat dead over the winter, there is a chance that it is bad. I would charge it, ride it for a while, let it sit over night, and see if it starts in the morning without the starter sounding bogged down, as a first test.

[OldNTired]

Originally Posted by DianeinNM

I bought a charger for my battery that's apparently been dead over the winter. Charged it up, took off the clips and decided to attach the rings so I can just attach it to the charger without taking off the side of the bike. Took me a few minutes and then I hooked it up to make sure it works. Then the charger showed "charging" again!

Does this mean in those few minutes it got that discharged? Or maybe the charger just shows that light at first so you think it's doing a good job?

I figure at this point I can:

1. Buy a meter to check the actual condition of the battery.

2. Buy a new battery, figuring this one's a goner.

3. Charge it, start it a few times, let it sit and see if it still works in the morning. If it does, I can ride it to work, right?

4. Other.

I have limited $$ for this, but I also figure doing stuff right is usually cheaper than trying to be cheap, in the long run. What do you guys think?

:-) Diane in NM

With the charger/keeper that I have, the charging light is on even when unplugged from the 120VAC line.
But, I agree with what dentheman told you as far as what to do now.
And I agree strongly with those who told you to buy a meter.
You will use it for more than this, the longer you have this (or any) bike.
You don't need an expensive one. To be honest, even though I do have
a costly one, the one I use most in the garage was one I got on sale for $3.00!
The price made me feel a lot better when I let the smoke out of it
not long ago.

[DianeinNM]

Thanks, everyone. I took off the charger and checked voltage. It was 12.8, so I started the bike (YAY!) and let it run for a couple of minutes. I figure if I get home this evening and it's still charged I can leave it on the charger overnight and ride it to work (a half hour drive at speed) with a reasonable expectation that it'll still be charged to come home.

Sound reasonable?

:-) Diane

[dentheman]

Originally Posted by DianeinNM

Thanks, everyone. I took off the charger and checked voltage. It was 12.8, so I started the bike (YAY!) and let it run for a couple of minutes. I figure if I get home this evening and it's still charged I can leave it on the charger overnight and ride it to work (a half hour drive at speed) with a reasonable expectation that it'll still be charged to come home.

Sound reasonable?

:-) Diane

If the battery is not being charged by the bike or is not holding a charge, this technique will turn around and bite you at some point. Probably halfway between work and home.

If the battery and charging system are good, you should not have the worry of not making it to your destination always in the back of your mind. Try what I previously mentioned when you don't have to go anywhere the next morning, for reassurance if nothing else.

When I first bought my used Shadow I wasn't sure of the battery condition, so I charged it over and over again. But now that I know it starts every time without using the charger, and the starter motor turns over with pep, I no longer worry about it.

[mrlmd1]

You have to check the voltage at least a half hour to an hour or more AFTER you disconnect the charger, in order to let the "surface charge"dissipate. Checking it immediately after disconnecting the charger would give you an inaccurate reading of battery voltage.
With the bike running at at least 2500-3500 rpm, measure the voltage at the battery terminals. If your charging system is functioning normally and the battery is OK, you should get a reading between 13.5-14.5 volts. If the battery voltage before you start is normal and the charging voltage is normal, then you lucked out and you won't need a new battery. Just make sure you ride it for a half hour or more once a week at least.
Like I said before and you better listen - do not start the bike and let it idle for a few minutes because you are depleting more energy out of the battery to start it than you are replacing into it at idle. You will only be able to do that a few times before the battery does not have enough capacity to start the bike and then you're in the same place as the start of this thread, but maybe you won't be able to resurrect the battery next time.

[DianeinNM]

Wow, thanks! With all your help, I've checked my voltage at various times, known to keep the bike running while I stopped for a breakfast burrito (just in case it was borderline and hadn't charged up much on the way there) on my way to work, got there and back with a new confidence, and checked the voltage when I got home. The battery seems fine, and the charging system is working admirably. Voltage on return home was 12.85

I also have the equipment I need to keep it that way, a charger in case I'm going to be off it for more than a week, and a voltmeter to know what's going on.

Thanks to all, and I'll keep hanging out here until I have my next question.

:-) Diane

[Water Warrior 2]

Diane, how long does the bike run stationary while you grab your breakfast ?