Removing battery to charge

richmont · May 9, 2019

Is it absolutely necessary to remove the battery from a '72 Commando to charge it ? It is a gel type which weathered our 19 days of below zero in Fem with the lowest being minus 26 F. I started it a month or so ago and it seemed fine. When I went to start it yesterday it was dead. I have been having lots of health issues is why so long between starts.

CanukNortonNut · May 9, 2019

It is probably the safest way, but if you can get the alligator clips to the terminals with out touching anything else then give it a try . If you leave your bike for long periods then take the fuse out. I have found that there is a small parasitic drain on the system and long sits without charging is going to drain the battery.
Cheers
Thomas

Craig · May 9, 2019

I leave mine (AMG type) on smart charger all the time unless I’m on it ... use the alligator clips as it still set up as positive ground and you can have issues with permanent tail attached to battery .....

Lineslinger · May 9, 2019

Deltran Battery Tender....unplug it and cap it when riding and leave it connected when in the garage. Also comes with a charge indicator that can be plugged in to check status of battery sitting or running.
Its wired directly to the battery with a fused link.

gortnipper · May 9, 2019

Lineslinger said:
Deltran Battery Tender....unplug it and cap it when riding and leave it connected when in the garage. Also comes with a charge indicator that can be plugged in to check status of battery sitting or running.
Its wired directly to the battery with a fused link.

This is what I do, and it works a charm. If you have a positive earth, then if you use it as is then the hot prong is exposed, so it is best to clip the leads and flip them around so the hot tip is encased in rubber and wont short against the frame.

richmont · May 9, 2019

Thanks to all that offered their thoughts on this.

Torontonian · May 10, 2019

Or you could use the original electric shaver auxiliary plug to charge up the old girl. Then have an electric razor shave in the mornin' at your campsite. It's a Gent's life.

jbruney · May 10, 2019

I've eyeballed that plug for years considering doing that. 38 of them and still haven't come to a decision on it, but soon or I'll run out of time I think. I shall endevour to persevere.

Niagara850 · May 11, 2019

You can charge it in the bike. Just don't let the clips short to anything or use a connector cord like Gortnipper shows. Mine comes with a cover so it doesn't short when not in use. Check the cutoff voltage on the charger to voltage that the Zenier diode bleeds off. If it is higher than the Zenier (13.5-15v - they vary) the charger will never shut off. That's the my case for my charger so I also pull the fuse.

Stephen Hill · May 11, 2019

If you leave the fuse in place, with a zener in the circuit, the battery will never charge up fully, and if it is an automatic charger, never shut off. Remove the fuse, which isolates the battery from the zener, and the battery will fully charge, and then the charger will knock back to a maintenance or float charge.

Stephen Hill

maylar · May 12, 2019

If your fuse is the stock inline type, you can remove the fuse and connect the charger to the fuse holder wire and the other lead to ground.

Some day I'm gonna make a plug to fit the accessory socket.

concours · May 12, 2019

As previously mentioned, Why, in the world wouldn’t anyone/everyone simply wire one of these, to top up the battery occasionally, run accessories (phone charger!!) Cheap as chips. INDUSTRY STANDARD, (SAE) so lots of interchangability.

http://products.batterytender.com/Accessories/Ring-Terminal-Harness.html

http://products.batterytender.com/Accessories/USB-Charger-QDC.html

Tornado · May 12, 2019

Have heard it's the aged 2MU capacitor that develops slow current drain to battery while parked up.
Had not heard of the Zener affecting trickle charging. Will check that next time I juice her up.

marshg246 · May 12, 2019

If you have a PODtronics, you'll have about 0.5ma draw. The bridge rectifier/Zener should be about the same. The Zener will limit the voltage to the proper charging voltage so with a lead-acid or AGM battery its no issue. Other types of batteries, in my opinion, should not be used since the charging system was not designed for them. A leaky capacitor can also draw some current if it becomes partly shorted. All of this is easy to see with a ammeter with a low enough range. So, removing the fuse when the bike is going to sit is a good idea as is removing it when charging.

Removing battery to charge

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