I found an old 5yr + battery at the back of my garage with 5.6v remaining (it is a 12v) It has been on the standard charger for three days and still showing as charging I will see if it has picked up any more juice tomorrow I reckon it is for the recycling centre but thought I woild try and revive it
I think that's dead A battery with a 100% state of charge would typically show 12.7 volts when measured at the terminals (under no load) A battery with a zero % charge is anything below 10.05v. I'll tell you a tale about batteries. Years ago I was in a Land Rover indi parts supplier and workshop. Was talking to the owner (comparing parts prices, as you do) and the phone rings. He picks up the phone with an apology to me, and the conversation goes like this "Hello.. . Oh yes, you think your battery is failing? Right, well what I suggest is you get a drop test* done, and if that shows its a weak battery come on in and we'll sort you with a new one." *Drop test.. You put a gauge over the terminals and it tells you the strength (for want of a better word) of the battery. The faster it fails, the weaker it is. Anyhoo, we resume the conversation. Discussing parts is like ladies doing shoe shopping... You know how it is. 5 minutes later, phone rings again. He answers... " Okay. Right. You've done that. Right. Yeah," (he's going red in the face now) "yeah, come on in. We gots plenty in stock...." Phone goes down and he literally falls down on the floor behind the counter laughing. After the wheezing has stopped I ask what's so funny. Guy told him " I did what you said. I dropped the battery and testing it like that cracked the casing and the acid has leaked out. I think I need a new one."
I have two batteries and one Optimate, can I charge one battery for a month and then swap to the other battery for another month before swapping back again? Will this keep the batteries topped up over winter without causing any detrimental affect to both batteries?
That's useful to know. I was wondering what I would do when my son leaves his bike here for storage. You can get the extra hookup leads.....
Putting my Optimate Lithium charger through its paces tonight Haven't used the bike for two weeks Thought I had better check the Lithium battery i bought couple of months ago. Oh dear 2.6v !!! The tracker I have installed has totally drained it The charger has completed the 'save' cycle and is now in 'charge' mode Will let you know if the battery is saved tomorrow hopefully
Fingers crossed it ressurects it! Be interesting to see how it goes. Scary just how quickly the tracker flattened the battery though
Charger was indicating charge finished Battery has its own. Ba health indicators, pushed the button and all three lights come up showing a full charge I think it lives! Will check the voltage this afternoon when it has settled
Hopefully you got away with it @Red Thunder! Try it for starting a couple of times though, you don't want to get caught out when on the road.
Tested the battery this evening which is a couple of days after it was charged and read almost dead and it read 13.6v which is the same when new Will install andcturn it over a few times I have a volt meter I can fix up to the wiring harness so this should inspire me to completing that little job
I hope no-one minds me reviving this thread. I am looking for some advice on maintaining my batteries and thought this would be a good place to put it. OK I now have five bikes - 3 Bonnies and two Sprint RS's and I am having a shed built at the moment to house them but I am not currently planning to have electrickery wired in plus, even if I did have I wouldn't want to have to buy five battery chargers. So the question is, what is a good maintenance cycle for bike batteries? I hope to be able to use my bikes throughout the autumn/winter/spring whenever the opportunity and weather permits. What is roughly the maximum time a bike can sit without running and still not need it's battery charged, assuming there hasn't been any extreme cold weather to kill the battery? One of my Bonnie's is alarmed as is one of my Sprints the rest aren't so I guess the two with alarms will be the most critical from a charge maintenance point of view. From what I have been told I gather that flat batteries can kill both Bonnie's and the sprag clutches of Sprints and I don't want to harm any of them if I can avoid it.
A note for people that charge via accessory sockets. I discovered after winter that the connectors had become loose. A simple fix, just disconnected power and levered the contact surfaces out a little in the socket and on the plug. Hope this helps, I first noticed when I saw none of the right hand lights on the optimate were on (no idea what they all mean, but normally see something lit!), when I twiddled the plug the lights came on.
Given your situation I would bring the batteries into the house and rotate the charger or run an extension cable outside. Well charged batteries will resist the cold and top off the bike you plan to use next.
I agree with the guys that running power to the garage would be ideal, You just know you will won't to work on them and have a radio on or need power tools ect ect or maybe some heating in the winter, also Optimates also come in Duel setup' which means one between two bikes https://www.motorbikereviews.co.uk/review-of-tecmate-optimate-3-x2-twin-battery-optimiser-sae/
I use this set-up as the nearest electrical hook up is over 50meters from my bike Alfie https://www.optimate.co.uk/products/optimate-solar-20w-promo Also available at Sportsbikeshop https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/404071
Yes sir! I believe any of the current crop of smart chargers will do, and they will be worth their weight in gold.
I run older bikes (15-20 + plus years) and Optimates are fine, well made with long leads. I just leave them charging all winter. No idea if the more modern bikes may have issues but I assume Optimate will have designed their kit to support any modern bike issues. Don't buy the cheap (£20) Oxford one. Very short, flimsy leads. I have one and it's free to a good home if anyone wants to come and pick it up.
