quick battery charger Q

[drew]

82 GS 400

Just bought myself a "Trickle Battery Charger - Automatic Charger/Maintainer with Float-Mode Monitoring" rated at 1.5A. Pretty sure I bought what I need...

The charger came with a detachable lead that would suggest to me that I can leave it attached to the battery for easy attachment.

Here's the dumb question: the manual says when charging with the battery attached to the bike, to attached the negative to the frame via an alligator clamp (also provided). Can't I just attached the positive lead to the positive post, and the negative to the negative?

Thanks guys,
Drew

[ruddy]

Yes you can.

[fgh]

Yes, you can and I've always attached mine that way. They say to attach the negative to the frame to avoid igniting any hydrogen gas with a spark. Batteries do release hydrogen as they charge and there can be sparks and heat created at the negative terminal. I do however always connect the charger to the battery and then plug it in. If I were attaching one to my bike I would put eyes on the end on the leads and attach them with the cable bolts.

I do caution you that putting your battery on a constant charger, even a trickle charger, may cause sulfite accumulation on the plates. I've heard that many people who store their bikes for a prolonged period of time have attached "Battery Tenders" and returned to find the battery as good as the day they put it up. If you've got a charger that does the same as the "Battery Tenders" it'll probably be OK to plug it in every time you return home. If your charger supplies a constant current then you should only use it when the battery gets low and only until the battery is fully recharged.

I can't offer you my own experience with "Battery Tenders" or trickle chargers as I ride both my machines several times a week here in Florida.

Have you been having problems with the battery going dead after you park the bike? How long does it take?

[drew]

fgh - thanks for the info. The battery hasn't gone dead on me yet - I just bought the bike and haven't ridden it far yet as there's a couple little things I need to pick up for it first (seat lock / mirror) and I've been working like a dog for the past week and haven't had a chance. When I got the bike inspected before I bought it a couple weeks ago the mechanic did a charge test and said the charging system was failing (needed 5000rpm before it would generate even 12.8 V) - and suggested an interim fix would be to plug it in after every ride.

I've been reading a lot on the forum here this past week about different replacement R/R's (Electrex / Honda versions) - but need to confirm whether I need an R/R, stator, or both before replacing them.

This being my first bike, and as I haven't been able to get my hands on a manual yet, I'm a little clueless as to where to begin - needless to say, this forum has been a godsend.

While I'm firing out really dumb questions, what is the proper was to remove the battery from my bike so that I can attach the eyes to the posts? Do I remove the positive that sneaks out the left side and attached to the R/R so that the battery will slide out the right?

[fgh]

Don't know the procedure for battery removal on your bike. I think I've got your situation wrong. I was thinking the lead on the charger was detachable from the charger and could be permanelty mounted on the bike. If this is the case I would attach the wires to the battery by crimping on a couple of electrical connectors and putting the bolts that hold the bikes cables to the tbttery through them. Then when I was ready to ride I would coil up the lead and leave it under the seat.

[drew]

fgh - you've got it right, the lead is detachable.

My question is how I attach the eye-holes already attached to the detachable lead from the charger to my battery.

When I remove the side-panels on the bike I can easily access the (-) post (right side of bike), but can't slide the battery out the right side as the (+) post is attached to short red wires on the left side of the bike. I can't access the (+) post of the battery as it is behind a metal part of the frame on which the R/R and stator are mounted (on the right side).

The only way I can see that I could detach the battery, and allow me to slide it out so I can get the detachable charger lead on it is to unscrew the red wire going from the (+) post (which I can't reach) to the stator (which is easily accessible on the left side of the bike).

Is this the right way to do it? Thanks again for the help.

[dodger1]

Drew, do a search here for "manuals online" - SqDancerLynne has a post there with info.

[fgh]

Well I guess the Suzuki designers weren't inclined to make an easy to service bike that year. On all the models I've had the battery was accessable under the seat or behind a side cover. If your can find a manual it might tell you what method of removal the designers had in mind. Sometimes though you've just got to use your own judgement and aptitude to figure it out. I wish I could be more explecite but I'm just don't know your bike. Hopefully you can find a manual or another board member with experience on your model.

[twr1776]

Hope this helps

My tender lead wire is now hidden behind the plastic part of the rear fender. I started with the connecting end of the wire and electrical taped it to a frame cross member (tape that also so there are no sharp edges touching the wire) and leave enough room for tucking the wire but not enough room for it to fall out and get caught on anything. I then ran the wire back to the battery and trimmed it for size. I installed new smaller ring terminal leads. I attached them to the battery between the nut that the hex head bolt uses and the underside of the battery terminal. This left the top with room for the two ring terminals that were originally there and the additional ground wire I ran from the rectifier direct to the ground. Now all I do when I get home is untuck the wire and connect it to my tender. I do not have to take the seat or sidecovers off to do this. I am not familer with your models set up but there should be a way to do this. Once you get your charging issues out of the way you should notice when you connect the tender after a ride it will go over from charge mode to charged immediately or in less than a minute. Then you will know that the dreaded charging issues are all over for you. Good Luck