Remove vent caps when recharging battery?

[Anonymous]

Hi people,
In my Haynes it says that I am supposed to remove the vent caps from the battery when recharging. It may seem like a stupid question, but are the vent caps the small yellow plugs that you take out when you refill the battery with destilled water? There are no other caps on the battery...
Am I really supposed to remove those yellow plugs? What if some acid splashes out?

Oh yeah. The last time i recharged the battery it made noises, as if it was cooking...It had only been charging for 3-4 hours.

Hope someone has had some experience with this. I have been seaching on the site, but I could not find anything...

I am looking so much forward to spring, it snowing here right now.
Cheers,
Kroisos...

[Anonymous]

If your battery is not vented then you must remove the caps (or a couple at least) It gives the gas, that is created from charging, a place to go. If your battery made a cooking sound then it is more then likely that you have boiled your battery and it may no longer be servicable. See how long it holds a charge, you may have to get a new one.

[billp]

Re: Remove vent caps when recharging battery?

"Oh yeah. The last time i recharged the battery it made noises, as if it was cooking...It had only been charging for 3-4 hours."


At what rate were you charging the battery? 2.0 amps or less is a good idea.

bill

[Alan Schlosser]

If you're charging with a trickle charger, say 1 to 1.5 amps, you shouldn't have to remove the vent caps. I don't think I'd charge it at any higher rate that say, 2 amps. If it sounds like it's cooking, you may be using too high a charge rate.

[Anonymous]

definitely go with the trickle charger and leave it on for a while, the vent will be a little black plastic knob on the top side of the battery, make sure you put distilled water up to the levels and charge her up, after you are done see if it is holding the charge with a multimeter or on the actual trickle charger its self. if you want to be safe use some rubber gloves while taking off the vent caps when you fill it. but if there isnt a charge or too low of one then you probably have a dead cell and you need to get a new battery. If it dies after running your bike then you got more problems then the batter.

[argonsagas]

Re: Remove vent caps when recharging battery?

Hi people,
In my Haynes it says that I am supposed to remove the vent caps from the battery when recharging. It may seem like a stupid question, but are the vent caps the small yellow plugs that you take out when you refill the battery with destilled water? There are no other caps on the battery...
Am I really supposed to remove those yellow plugs? What if some acid splashes out?

Oh yeah. The last time i recharged the battery it made noises, as if it was cooking...It had only been charging for 3-4 hours.

Hope someone has had some experience with this. I have been seaching on the site, but I could not find anything...

I am looking so much forward to spring, it snowing here right now.
Cheers,
Kroisos...

In order...

1 Remove the battery from the bike. Do NOT charge it while on the bike.

2 If the battery case is translucent (you can see shades of light through
the case) then look for the fluid level in each cell.

3 Put the battery on a solid setting where it cannot be knocked over

4 Remove ALL the yellow plugs

5 Fill each cell to proper level with distilled water

6 Set on trickle charge (maximum 2 amperes per hour, preferably less)
and let it charge overnight

7 Disconnect the charger from the power source, then disconnect the
cables from the battery.

8 Check battery voltage...preferably use a digital voltmeter.

9 After an hour check and record the voltage. (There should be a small
drop since last check)

10 After a minimum 6 hours check the voltage again. There should be
no significant voltage drop

If there is a significant drop at -9- or -10- , or if the voltage at -8-
is 12 volts or less, you need a new battery


Charging a battery generally causes a loss of hydrogen, which comes from the water in the battery.

The higher the charge rate, the higher the water loss rate. The most common reason batteries fail (apart from old age or freezing) is failure to keep them topped up with water.


Re-read -7- The order for disconnection is to avoid sparks at the battery when disconnecting the cables. A charging battery emits hydrogen gas,
as mentioned above, and it is very highly flammable.

The same applies if you use jumper cables....the negative cable goes to the frame, NEVER the battery, and the frame connection is always the first to be removed.

[Anonymous]

I can't recall the source of this info, so you may wish to confirm this on your own: I remember reading that you should only add distilled water to a fully charged battery, unless the electrolite level is so low that it doesn't cover the plates or show "minimum" fill level.

[argonsagas]

I can't recall the source of this info, so you may wish to confirm this on your own: I remember reading that you should only add distilled water to a fully charged battery, unless the electrolite level is so low that it doesn't cover the plates or show "minimum" fill level.

This makes sense, because a heavy charge rate can cause a large and rapid gas formation, which is flammable and explosive, and the lower liquid level leaves more room for gas expansion.

Much better to avoid a heavy charging rate on a run-down/depleted battery.

It really is essential to refill the cells before charging, and to use a slow charge to help a depleted battery to recover. This is because the plates become sulphated over time, and if not submerged in liquid, they become inactive and the bare parts die.

Exposed/dry plates contribute nothing, but they do detract from the overall performance of the battery.

Once refilled, the acid mixes with the water and the electrolytic action begins to work on the materials again during the charging process, sometimes restoring an otherwise poor battery to reasonable usability.

You add nothing except water. You do NOT add acid except when the battery is brand new.


Just as a matter of interest, distilled water is preferred because there are no natural or added chemicals in it that might react in some unwanted fashion inside the battery.