charging a dead battery

cojomo2

My bike has been laid up for the past 5 weeks and stupidly, I left the battery connected so it wont turn over now.

I want to take the battery out and charge it up and leave it be untill ill be putting it back into the bike in a couple weeks.

I have access to a 12v 4amp battery charger this weekend ..I know 4amp is a little high..but would it be ok to give it a once off charge with this or do I have to go out and buy a new charger?

Im thinking about 4 hours should be enough. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

paddy147

cojomo2 wrote: »

My bike has been laid up for the past 5 weeks and stupidly, I left the battery connected so it wont turn over now.

I want to take the battery out and charge it up and leave it be untill ill be putting it back into the bike in a couple weeks.

I have access to a 12v 4amp battery charger this weekend ..I know 4amp is a little high..but would it be ok to give it a once off charge with this or do I have to go out and buy a new charger?

Im thinking about 4 hours should be enough. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Around 1 hour on 4amp charge would do it.

More than enough to crank it.


Did you try jump starting it??

Should be easy to do if its a 4 cylinder.

V-Twins are a fcuking biatch to jump start.

Oryx

If its a sealed gel battery they can overheat if you charge them at too high amps.

cojomo2

paddy147 wrote: »

Around 1 hour on 4amp charge would do it.

More than enough to crank it.


Did you try jump starting it??

Should be easy to do if its a 4 cylinder.

V-Twins are a fcuking biatch to jump start.

Thanks Paddy. Yeah it will jump start but I wont be able to bring it out for a spin for another 2-4 weeks..its completely dead at the moment and the manual says not to store it fully discharged for any amount of time so the plan was to charge it up now and store it till I can get back on the bike...so you reckon the 4amp will do the job without screwing up the battery..cheers.

cojomo2

Oryx wrote: »

If its a sealed gel battery they can overheat if you charge them at too high amps.

Its deffo sealed( 12v 8ah).not sure if its gel..ill have to check.. Thanks

Xenophile

cojomo2 wrote: »

My bike has been laid up for the past 5 weeks and stupidly, I left the battery connected so it wont turn over now.

I want to take the battery out and charge it up and leave it be untill ill be putting it back into the bike in a couple weeks.

I have access to a 12v 4amp battery charger this weekend ..I know 4amp is a little high..but would it be ok to give it a once off charge with this or do I have to go out and buy a new charger?

Im thinking about 4 hours should be enough. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

A healthy battery should not run down after 5 weeks it should stay charged for at least three months. I suggest you buy a hydrometer they are not expensive, the specific gravity on all cells should read 1260 for a good battery. My feeling is that your battery needs to be replaced! Any good motor factor can supply you off the shelf with a battery or hydrometer.

dupeters

Sounds like you could have one or more cells down.
no amount of charging will bring these back!!

Happened me when i left the ride on lawn mower battery(which was 70 euros and 6 months old) connected over the winter. Had it on charge overnight and when i checked the cells 2 were still below 2 volts. new battery was required:mad:

cojomo2

Xenophile wrote: »

A healthy battery should not run down after 5 weeks it should stay charged for at least three months. I suggest you buy a hydrometer they are not expensive, the specific gravity on all cells should read 1260 for a good battery. My feeling is that your battery needs to be replaced! Any good motor factor can supply you off the shelf with a battery or hydrometer.

Sorry..should have mentioned..the bike has an alarm fitted..which is probably why it drained in 5 weeks..think its ok..less than a year old. Thanks

Oryx

cojomo2 wrote: »

Its deffo sealed( 12v 8ah).not sure if its gel..ill have to check.. Thanks

Don't use the 4a charger. See if you know anyone with an optimate. Less chance of damage imo. Those sealed batteries are temperamental. Once they lose a charge they never recharge fully and they don't like to be left lying up.

CJhaughey

Rule of thumb, charge at no more then 10% of capacity for small batteries.
If you are skint, basic tricklechargers can be got for very little .
http://2wheeljunkie.co.uk/battery-chargers/silverline-12v-motorcycle-battery-trickle-charger/prod_47743.html

Xenophile

Some good hints on this u tube clip. One more thing if you want to maybe buy a high rate discharge tester which puts pressure on the battery by connecting both poles. A healthy battery should hold a reading of 9 volts. If you are building up a collection of workshop tools this could be a good one to have as it will also test car batteries

rock22

Xenophile wrote: »

A healthy battery should not run down after 5 weeks it should stay charged for at least three months. I suggest you buy a hydrometer they are not expensive, the specific gravity on all cells should read 1260 for a good battery. My feeling is that your battery needs to be replaced! Any good motor factor can supply you off the shelf with a battery or hydrometer.

you can't use a hydrometer on a sealed/ gel battery