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Charging my battery


Sam
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:?: WARNING: TOTAL NOOB :!:


Can anyone help me with a walk through for charging my battery please? Think it's at the end of it's life to be honest but I need it charging if possible so I can get it into the garage. Bought it 3rd hand after it had been stood for 6 months. Worked fine for about 4 days but now it's packed in.


PLEASE, don't take the mick...we all have to start sonewhere. :oops:

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No Micky taking here, I run a tight ship :thumb:

Just take the battery off , no need to take it to a garage, go get a new one and chuck it on .. easy .

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Thanks. :thumb: Well I wanted to go get it all checked over....I've got an oil leak too so wanted it fixing at the same time (my drive looks awful) I have seen batteries on ebay actually, just wanted to see if I could get a few days out of it, pay someone to do it (while I will watch and learn) then get this oil sorted too.


I'm totally new to the whole thing but extremely keen to learn.

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If charging a motorcycle battery you need to do it at lower amps than a standard car battery charger.


When disconnecting a battery (if you're replacing it) then always disconnect the earth first and reconnect it last.


IE:


1. Disconnect earth

2. Disconnect live

Replace battery

3. Connect live

4. Connect earth


That way when you are undoing the live terminal if your spanner or screwdriver touches the bodywork there's no circuit. They may only be 12v but they can pack a lot of current and a shorted battery can explode.


Batteries don't like being left in a discharged state so if yours was left like that chances are the battery needs replacing. Don't buy a cheap one, it's false economy.

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You'll be able to pick that up very easily without having to pay someone.


Your battery will be under the seat so you remove that. Then you should have a cover over the battery which you can lift open. Then follow the steps above and you're away.


Things like an oximiser or optimate are what you want for charging a bike battery but yours sounds very dead so you'll definitely want a new one. You could charge it and possibly get 3-4 days or you might get a day. Depends how buggered it is.



Edit: Google says your battery might be accessed via a panel on the LH side under the seat.

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If your battery has little caps on the cells, try adding 1/2 a Bat-Aid (no, honestly, Google it!) pill to each cell, making sure that they are topped up with distilled water so the tops of the plates are just covered. Then put it on charge overnight....I've rescued some right basket cases like this - might be good for another few months or so.

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If your battery has little caps on the cells, try adding 1/2 a Bat-Aid (no, honestly, Google it!) pill to each cell, making sure that they are topped up with distilled water so the tops of the plates are just covered. Then put it on charge overnight....I've rescued some right basket cases like this - might be good for another few months or so.

 

finally someone with some sense

To the others

before telling someone to charge a battery make sure the electrolyte level is sufficent

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If your battery has little caps on the cells, try adding 1/2 a Bat-Aid (no, honestly, Google it!) pill to each cell, making sure that they are topped up with distilled water so the tops of the plates are just covered. Then put it on charge overnight....I've rescued some right basket cases like this - might be good for another few months or so.

 

finally someone with some sense

To the others

before telling someone to charge a battery make sure the electrolyte level is sufficent

 

Most batteries these days are AGM and the fill up yourself types are phasing out.

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Anyone want any Battery Acid - I have quite a bit left over from working on 'old' bikes. Can bring to t'rally if needed.


8-)

Just don't bring it in a soft drink bottle while you're riding your moped....... :shock: . .

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If your battery has little caps on the cells, try adding 1/2 a Bat-Aid (no, honestly, Google it!) pill to each cell, making sure that they are topped up with distilled water so the tops of the plates are just covered. Then put it on charge overnight....I've rescued some right basket cases like this - might be good for another few months or so.

 

finally someone with some sense

To the others

before telling someone to charge a battery make sure the electrolyte level is sufficent

 

Most batteries these days are AGM and the fill up yourself types are phasing out.

which may be the case but if someone is asking about how to charge a battery that would show a level of their knowledge is limited .

i Bear the scars from a battery exploding from a low electrolyte battery plates warping under high charge

 

280954336951.thumb.jpg.a7517a69f27b5cca8c3c1da3a064e72a.jpg

280940961951.thumb.jpg.097a6580e408267964d02d41a5570438.jpg

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Anyone want any Battery Acid - I have quite a bit left over from working on 'old' bikes. Can bring to t'rally if needed.


8-)

 

I read somewhere that battery acid has now been declared a substance which requires a licence to handle. Since Joe Public is unlikely to hold such a licence dry batteries will now have to be taken to a garage to be filled. So technically you'd risk prosecution taking it to a rally to be shared.


Silly really as we've all used it for years but I agree with the caution voiced here about the dangers of batteries. I've seen several accidents but usually caused by shorts rather than the electrolyte itself. However, we live in world where people do silly things and don't want to take responsibility for their actions, so regulations step in.


Of the batteries I have there's only one that you can still check the level of, the rest are all sealed. The one I have is about 20 years old so my guess is fewer and fewer batteries are in use which can be topped up.

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Thanks. :thumb: Well I wanted to go get it all checked over....I've got an oil leak too so wanted it fixing at the same time (my drive looks awful) I have seen batteries on ebay actually, just wanted to see if I could get a few days out of it, pay someone to do it (while I will watch and learn) then get this oil sorted too.


I'm totally new to the whole thing but extremely keen to learn.

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on .

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Anyone want any Battery Acid - I have quite a bit left over from working on 'old' bikes. Can bring to t'rally if needed.


8-)

 

Ahh , I remember when everyone took acid at rallies 😵

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Thanks. :thumb: Well I wanted to go get it all checked over....I've got an oil leak too so wanted it fixing at the same time (my drive looks awful) I have seen batteries on ebay actually, just wanted to see if I could get a few days out of it, pay someone to do it (while I will watch and learn) then get this oil sorted too.


I'm totally new to the whole thing but extremely keen to learn.

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on .

 

There's a receipt with my bike where someone paid £60 for a battery and an additional £60 for fitting it. :shock:

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Thanks. :thumb: Well I wanted to go get it all checked over....I've got an oil leak too so wanted it fixing at the same time (my drive looks awful) I have seen batteries on ebay actually, just wanted to see if I could get a few days out of it, pay someone to do it (while I will watch and learn) then get this oil sorted too.


I'm totally new to the whole thing but extremely keen to learn.

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on .

 

There's a receipt with my bike where someone paid £60 for a battery and an additional £60 for fitting it. :shock:

I've bought bikes for less than that !

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Thanks. :thumb: Well I wanted to go get it all checked over....I've got an oil leak too so wanted it fixing at the same time (my drive looks awful) I have seen batteries on ebay actually, just wanted to see if I could get a few days out of it, pay someone to do it (while I will watch and learn) then get this oil sorted too.


I'm totally new to the whole thing but extremely keen to learn.

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on .

 

There's a receipt with my bike where someone paid £60 for a battery and an additional £60 for fitting it. :shock:

 

It wasn't C. U. Cummins and Sons Motorcycle Dealers to the Terminally Stupid, was it?

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I don't know for sure but wouldn't Halfords fit a battery for free ? ( maybe they don't touch motorbikes )

 

No.

 

Yeah I thought so , never mind.

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I don't know for sure but wouldn't Halfords fit a battery for free ? ( maybe they don't touch motorbikes )

 

I would like to think any reputable/decent garage would stick a battery on for free if you'd bought it from them though. £60 is properly taking the piss.

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I don't know for sure but wouldn't Halfords fit a battery for free ? ( maybe they don't touch motorbikes )

 

I would like to think any reputable/decent garage would stick a battery on for free if you'd bought it from them though. £60 is properly taking the piss.

 

When I worked in a bike shop I would fit batteries for free just for something to do . Occasionally I would get a tip which meant a free lunch

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When I worked in a bike shop I would fit batteries for free just for something to do . Occasionally I would get a tip which meant a free lunch

 

What was that on Bob?


My zx6r is a pain in the testicles - side panels off, seat off, petrol tank off (propped up at a minimum), frame brace off and then finally the battery is accessible. It's probably best part of 1/2 hour all in and there's an awful lot of plastic clips and semi-rigid fuel pipe to knacker in the process - not to mention dropping the tank.


No chance I'd offer it as a free service.


FYI - when I ran Halfords stores (prob about 5 years worth) the battery fitting "course" was half a morning of some bloke showing how it is done in a car park (on an easy car too).


Now, I ran a few stores and in each one I had to foot hefty repair bills when one of the "qualified fitters" guffed it up by: not using a memory saver on a rover (ecu recode), failing to secure the battery clamp or terminals (smashy-smashy, sparky-sparky), or the trusted favorite - putting it on the wrong way round. :shock:


In a garage you pay for their expertise, in Halfords you pay for the insurance against a f**k up.

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When I worked in a bike shop I would fit batteries for free just for something to do . Occasionally I would get a tip which meant a free lunch

 

What was that on Bob?


My zx6r is a pain in the testicles - side panels off, seat off, petrol tank off (propped up at a minimum), frame brace off and then finally the battery is accessible. It's probably best part of 1/2 hour all in and there's an awful lot of plastic clips and semi-rigid fuel pipe to knacker in the process - not to mention dropping the tank.


No chance I'd offer it as a free service.


FYI - when I ran Halfords stores (prob about 5 years worth) the battery fitting "course" was half a morning of some bloke showing how it is done in a car park (on an easy car too).


Now, I ran a few stores and in each one I had to foot hefty repair bills when one of the "qualified fitters" guffed it up by: not using a memory saver on a rover (ecu recode), failing to secure the battery clamp or terminals (smashy-smashy, sparky-sparky), or the trusted favorite - putting it on the wrong way round. :shock:


In a garage you pay for their expertise, in Halfords you pay for the insurance against a f**k up.

 

On mine it's seat off and you're at the battery. Literally a 10 minute job for someone with 0 mechanical knowledge or skill. Charging £60 for mine was a total insult to whoever paid for it.

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When I worked in a bike shop I would fit batteries for free just for something to do . Occasionally I would get a tip which meant a free lunch

 

What was that on Bob?


My zx6r is a pain in the testicles - side panels off, seat off, petrol tank off (propped up at a minimum), frame brace off and then finally the battery is accessible. It's probably best part of 1/2 hour all in and there's an awful lot of plastic clips and semi-rigid fuel pipe to knacker in the process - not to mention dropping the tank.


No chance I'd offer it as a free service.


FYI - when I ran Halfords stores (prob about 5 years worth) the battery fitting "course" was half a morning of some bloke showing how it is done in a car park (on an easy car too).


Now, I ran a few stores and in each one I had to foot hefty repair bills when one of the "qualified fitters" guffed it up by: not using a memory saver on a rover (ecu recode), failing to secure the battery clamp or terminals (smashy-smashy, sparky-sparky), or the trusted favorite - putting it on the wrong way round. :shock:


In a garage you pay for their expertise, in Halfords you pay for the insurance against a f**k up.

What bikes ? No idea it was years ago . Your bike sounds well complicated. On my GSXR its just seat off , undo terminals , remove the rubber strap and lift out . I don't remember any being difficult. I used to fit screens , engine bars , huggers , grips , anything easy . Better than trying to sell Arai helmets to people who start with " what's your cheapest helmet " or knob heads trying to get refunds on Sidi boots that squeak . A favourite dinner money earner was to quickly run ally and stainless parts over the polishing wheels for a bright finish . I don't think people realise how easy it is to polish stainless steel to a lasting chrome like shine .

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