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Message started by oceantransistor on 08/09/11 at 11:51:18

Title: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by oceantransistor on 08/09/11 at 11:51:18

I was in a rush and forgot to take the key out last night and my new battery drained. Will it recharge once I bump start and ride around for a while or do I need to go get it recharged?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by EJID on 08/09/11 at 11:58:22

If you have the time, I would charge it. If not, you might be able to jump it, or bump it. ;D Either way, when you do get it running, run for a 30min or more ride before shutting down just to be sure it is charging.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by BurnPgh on 08/09/11 at 13:48:15

iirc you wont start charging anything until you hit 2-2.5k rpm. so like he ^ said, if you bump, be ready to bump and go consistantly, not stop and go traffic.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by verslagen1 on 08/09/11 at 13:52:50

It won't charge to full charge, you'll need to put it on a trickle overnight.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by oceantransistor on 08/09/11 at 21:46:11

Yeah I had to bump start to go to work and then to get back home but it barely charged enough to reignite the ignition when I got home tonight. What's the best way to charge it? Is there a link with specific intructions? My roommate is letting me borrow his charger. Am I going to have to remove the battery completely?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by verslagen1 on 08/09/11 at 21:49:11

go to wally world or autozone and pick up one of these...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-Battery-Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by oceantransistor on 08/09/11 at 21:55:56

I already have a charger, I just need advice on the best approach to doing it. Does the battery need to be fully removed and is there any quick way to do it?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by Gyrobob on 08/10/11 at 05:07:38

7A7670747B6167747B667C66617A67150 wrote:

I already have a charger, I just need advice on the best approach to doing it. Does the battery need to be fully removed and is there any quick way to do it?

You don't gain anything by removing the battery,... just leave it installed.

If you can select a low rate on your charger, use that.
-- If not, you can created you own low rate by putting a 2 ohm hi-wattage resistor temporarily inline with one of the charger lines.
-- You can duplicate a low-ohm resistor by clipping one of the charger cables to one end of a looooong 110v extension cord, and connecting a wire from the other end to the battery.
-- Or, even more fun, is to get a piece of wire in the shape of a staple (maybe even use a staple), stick it in both holes of the female end of the extension cord. Then when you hook everything up, clip the charger cable on one prong of the male end, and hook up a wire from the other prong to the battery. (just be sure to pull out the staple before you put the extension cord back in normal use!!) :P

For a battery that is almost discharged, you can do some damage by charging it at a high rate -- it heats up, it sulfates (coats) the plates, and if the acid levels are high, you'll spew acid out of the vent tube.

Before you do any charging, make sure the acid levels are all correct. Very important.

Like the others have said, to get the battery fully charged using the bike's charging system, you need to go for a long ride on roads where you won't be slowing down very often. How awful, eh?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by Arnold on 08/10/11 at 09:35:07

283B2C2D323F393B306F5E0 wrote:

go to wally world or autozone and pick up one of these...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-Battery-Maintainer-and-Charger/13005742

That thing is good though. I leave my battery on it all winter. I use a 2 prongs attachment that stays on the battery so I can plug it in at will without removing it. The other day I had around 10v left on my battery and it took about 2 hours to get back close to 13v.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by oceantransistor on 08/12/11 at 01:53:18

So after a couple of rides the battery seems to be charging and I no longer need to bump start the bike. I ordered the Shumacher SC-600A charger to give it a full charge over night. Here's my new issue-

The charge will not detect the battery so the connected light never turns on, all the charger does is turn on its little fan. Is this a faulty charger? I've read that the charger will not detect the battery if it has less than 1 Volt of power but I'm assuming there's no way the motor would crank if the battery were that low and it would also make no sense to make a charger that can't charge a battery that's low.

I'm assuming if I keep riding, eventually the battery will reach a full charge on its own. Is this a safe assumption?

Any knowledge on the charger or battery would be greatly appreciated.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by Arnold on 08/12/11 at 05:04:45

Can you test the charger on another battery?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by bill67 on 08/12/11 at 05:23:02

A regular battery charger works best,Get one that will do 2 amps and 10 amps.Do the motorcycle on the 2 amp over night.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by Gyrobob on 08/12/11 at 07:59:29

282326267C7D4A0 wrote:

A regular battery charger works best,Get one that will do 2 amps and 10 amps.Do the motorcycle on the 2 amp over night.

Any steady charge (1 amp, 2 amps, 4 amps, 6 amps, 10 amps, 100 amps, whatever........) will percolate the battery acid eventually because the voltage stays the same. These are old-style, lo-tech, tools that remain popular because guys remember this is what their Dad used for so many years. Using a constant voltage charger that has only two amperages is like having only two sockets in your socket set, 7mm and 14mm. They work well in some situations, but don't fit very well in many others.

The best chargers are those having a variable voltage/rate charge, controlled by a teensy computer inside, that tapers the charge way off once the battery is fully charged. These are especially good for long term storage,... like a bike in Anchorage that sits idle for 5 months at a time.

As Verslagen1 suggested, the Schumacher SEM-1562A at Walmart is one of these.

These (made just for motorcycles) are also very good http://batterytender.com/motorcycle.html

Bill67, how are you coming on that response for oil that is best for 250cc vs 650cc?

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by oceantransistor on 08/12/11 at 09:18:10

After the charger failed I put the battery back on the bike and it cranked just fine so the battery is good and the connections are good, it's a pretty clean battery. I took the battery back out to retry to charge to no avail. I'm pretty sure Schumacher just sent me a faulty charger.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by papi_ocho on 08/13/11 at 06:13:43

707C7A7E716B6D7E716C766C6B706D1F0 wrote:

I have a black and decker tender that does the same thing. I connect like instructed, wait for lights to change to charging, if no change I turn the key to ON forces the tender to recognize the change in volts and then it switches to charging. If the battery is charged it will only charge/test/moniter for a min or two. Then back to green.

Title: Re: Bump Starting a due to drained battery.
Post by Digger on 08/20/11 at 18:48:15

Lots of talk here by folks who are wondering if their battery maintainers are working properly.

The problem, as I see it, is that there is no easy way for the common man to verify that these devices are, indeed, working correctly.

Minority Opinion Here: I don't use Battery Tender-type products. I've no doubt they work well when they are working correctly. The problem is that it is difficult to verify that they are working as designed.

My solution: I've installed a "charging platform" on the ceiling of my garage:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/Chargers-1E.jpg

Line current runs into a cheap timer (like those used to turn lights on and off). The timer is hooked up to four different $20 one amp battery chargers (bought at Auto Zone). There IS one smart charger up there (my wife got it free with her Beemer (1992 R100RT) years ago); that one is connected to my Savage (my "daily rider"). The lines from the battery chargers drape down and are connected to my five bikes. The timer comes on for 30 minutes each night.

Advantages: The batteries are getting zapped each night. Thirty minutes at one amp will definitely not overcharge any of the bikes' batteries. Probably(?) cheaper than four Battery Tenders. Most importantly, I can verify myself that the timer works and that each of the individual chargers are working correctly by just a few simple tests.

Works for me!