Triumphrat

NoDice · 03-21-2008

I bought a "sealed" Yuasa replacement battery for my T'Bird. I say "sealed" because it comes with the acid separately... you add it, charge it and THEN seal it.

So, I read the instructions a week or so ago, then lost 'em. I DO remember it saying something to the effect of "add the acid, loosely place the cap strip on, charge, then seal the caps". So, of course, I am.

Problem is: the battery says charge at 1.2 amps. My trickle charger is rated at 6 amps. I can hear the battery lightly bubbling as it sits... is this a problem? I know the charger will go into "maintenance mode" when it's fully charged, but is the higher amperage going to damage my battery??

Help appreciated!

Baltobonneville · 03-21-2008

My guess is that you should remove the battery from that charger immediately, put it in the bike, and hope that you haven't cooked it.

Then buy yourself a Battery Tender or similar low-current charger.

NoDice · 03-21-2008

The unit I'm using is an actual "battery tender (brand name)"... I've used it countless times at work for "car" type batteries. Is my Yuasa that different?

MarkBartels · 03-21-2008

The plates in a motorcycle battery are much smaller that a car battery and are more prone to warping if charged at too high amperage.

Mark

jbfla · 03-21-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoDice

I bought a "sealed" Yuasa replacement battery for my T'Bird. I say "sealed" because it comes with the acid separately... you add it, charge it and THEN seal it.

If you can add water or acid, it's not really a sealed battery. A true sealed battery has no holes in the top, and has no drain/overflow tube.

If your charger puts out a constant 6 amps, you will cook the battery.

However, most chargers start off at the higher amp rate, then taper off to a lower amperage as the battery becomes charged.

The battery should be OK, but you may have shortened its useful life.

Get a smaller capacity motorcycle charger (1.25 -1.5 amps): Battery Tender, Optimate, or Yuasa make good units.

jb

NoDice · 03-21-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbfla

If you can add water or acid, it's not really a sealed battery. A true sealed battery has no holes in the top, and has no drain/overflow tube.

If your charger puts out a constant 6 amps, you will cook the battery.

However, most chargers start off at the higher amp rate, then taper off to a lower amperage as the battery becomes charged.

The battery should be OK, but you may have shortened its useful life.

Get a smaller capacity motorcycle charger (1.25 -1.5 amps): Battery Tender, Optimate, or Yuasa make good units.

jb

makes sense... although my battery has no drain tube. it is intended to be built and then permanently sealed. I think in most cases they are sold by the dealer ready to be installed; I just bought mine from the factory.

jbfla · 03-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoDice

makes sense... although my battery has no drain tube. it is intended to be built and then permanently sealed. I think in most cases they are sold by the dealer ready to be installed; I just bought mine from the factory.

NoDice, my apologies. I've never encountered a do-it-yourself, sealed, wet cell battery... only familiar with AGM and gel sealed batteries.

I keep learnin' something new every day.

jb

NoDice · 03-22-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbfla

NoDice, my apologies. I've never encountered a do-it-yourself, sealed, wet cell battery... only familiar with AGM and gel sealed batteries.

I keep learnin' something new every day.

jb

Not at all... it's got me a little confused as well. I always assumed that "sealed" means the user would never touch it. I'm just going with the common sense approach... we'll find out today how well that works

NoDice · 03-23-2008

Well, for anyone concerned... the battery came out just fine. I left it on the charger in "maintenance mode" until installing it yesterday. It cranked wonderfully and preformed just as it should. I did happen to notice while in the local bike shop, that all the chargers they sell are from >1-2 amps... I think that's ideal for most applications.

Diego · 03-23-2008

>>> "I did happen to notice while in the local bike shop, that all the chargers they sell are from >1-2 amps... I think that's ideal for most applications."

Yes. Most motorcycle batteries are rated for no more than 1.2 to 1.5A of regular charging, though some can be quick-charged at 4 or 5A for short periods of time...usually no more than an hour. Car batteries can take much more, so an automotive type charger is just not the thing to use on a cycle.

Note also that you don't want to jump-start a motorcycle for much the same reason, especially from a larger vehicle. It's less about the rest of a bike's electrical system than it is the battery itself: a large battery that's fully charged can dump way too much current through a dead MC battery, occasionally even resulting in an explosion.