gf wants her own ride

[Blank Slate]

battery connector always comes off 1st, if you need to remove battery cables always negative cable off 1st.
I learned the hard way when I was 15, it was easier to reach the positive cable and although I knew the rules I tried pulling dad's battery by disconnecting the pos. cable, KA POW. Luckily no acid in eyes, but holes showed up in clothing after washing. Since I was trying to use the battery to jump my bike dad had me pay for a new battery.

Lol, I like the way your Dad parents. I would have gone into hiding to avoid (temporarily) a whooping

[Blank Slate]

Some things never change

Me cramming before my M1
I passed, Safety course in two weeks

[MaximPhil]

Well done Blank Slate.
Phil

[Blank Slate]

Slate,

If you're not riding, take the battery out of the bike. Check the voltage and specific gravity and charge it when necessary.

If you're only riding short distances, yes, you'll have to use a battery charger. Don't leave the battery discharged, put it on the charger. To see if it's safe to hook up the charger you should be able to see the water levels in the battery if you look at it from back by the rear fender.

If you have to remove the battery, always remove the battery Negative cable first, then you can remove the Positive cable without shorting the battery to the frame with the screwdriver or wrench as you remove the Positive cable.

ok I've been procrastinating this battery project for too long. Yesterday I went in and I snapped some pics. I cant see any water levels from any position. What would be the next step? Disconnect negative, then disconnect positive, get the battery out, and top up fluids, possibly hook it up to a charger and charge it... Am I getting warmer?

Top view



Left view



RIght view

[jetmechmarty]

Yes. Remove the negative terminal and then the positive terminal. Lift the battery straight up and out. The rubber vibration isolator may come with it. Just pull that rubber box off and put it back in the hole. You should now be able to see the electrolyte levels.

Service the battery with distilled water only. Charge at no more than 1/2 ampere.

See if you can find a date on the battery. If it's more than a couple years old, get a new one. The XS650 is pretty good at shaking a flooded wet cell battery to death. An AGM battery is a better choice.

[Blank Slate]

Thank you Marty, will do it this afternoon.

[Blank Slate]

So water levels look good even though the bike was dropped a few times by my gf and I. I noticed that the exhaust rubber tube was NOT connected to the battery hole, yikes! I'll connect it when I put it back in.

Shouldn't the next step be checking if the battery is charged or needs charging? I have the multimeter, but dont have a hydrometer to check the acid inside.

As for the date on the battery, I took a pic of the only serial number on it and cant figure out with google how to decipher it.

[Blank Slate]

huge mental hurdle overcome today. i wanna thank the patient ones on here giving me advice. yeah the manuals say check the battery, take it out, and charge it if it needs charging.... but my question was always how??? which bolt do I take out first, second, third, i need step by step, especially knowing one false move means an electric jolt or hydrogen bomb going off.

So today I got the battery out, checked the levels, now it's charging at 2amps (I know some suggested less amps but my charger's lowest level is 2amps). Just wondering how long I leave it charge because as you'll see in the pics, it appeared to be half charged when I first hooked it up and an hour later it looks almost full. i,ve heard 12 hours charging is okay, but overcharging can overheat and kill the battery

[Blank Slate]

there was a fizzing noise this morning when I went to check on the battery, 12 hours since I started charging it. Took it off the charger. Multimeter reading was 12.59. That's on the low side of healthy, but still healthy.

[Blank Slate]

I put the battery back in, the lights are brighter than ever, but the bike wont start. I tried the kickstarter 20 times and the electric 5 times. It never catches on. I read online about putting the fuel setting on PRI to open the amount of fuel, and that didn't work at all. I immediately started smelling gasoline. Then there was a fairly heavy leak of gasoline coming out of the bike. So I shut that valve and put it back to ON. Any ideas why the bike wont start with a healthy battery now?

[CaptonZap]

If you left your battery on 2 amps over night, you better go back and check the electrolyte level. That fizzing noise you heard was the water being boiled out.
Sounds like a dry battery.
CZ

[Blank Slate]

I put the battery back in, the lights are brighter than ever, but the bike wont start. I tried the kickstarter 20 times and the electric 5 times. It never catches on. I read online about putting the fuel setting on PRI to open the amount of fuel, and that didn't work at all. I immediately started smelling gasoline. Then there was a fairly heavy leak of gasoline coming out of the bike. So I shut that valve and put it back to ON. Any ideas why the bike wont start with a healthy battery now?

I notice the choke button was not attached to a bar on the carbs. So my choke was never on. I thought that would be the solution. But the bike still doesn't start up. It just makes the turning noise. Sometimes I hear a little pop noise from the mufflers.
.

If you left your battery on 2 amps over night, you better go back and check the electrolyte level. That fizzing noise you heard was the water being boiled out.
Sounds like a dry battery.
CZ

Battery read 12.69 on latest reading with multimeter so I think it's good. Water levels are top.

[IanDMacDonald]

First, your battery is shot if the highest it charged was 12.65v. You should see 13v+ easily.

Second, your float needles are probs stuck, if not your floats themselves. Go back in and check those carbs.

[Blank Slate]

First, your battery is shot if the highest it charged was 12.65v. You should see 13v+ easily.

Second, your float needles are probs stuck, if not your floats themselves. Go back in and check those carbs.

http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=30

The yuasa site says 12.5 sbove is good

[IanDMacDonald]

Yes, specific gravity @ 1.265 would be a good battery. However, charging that battery, you should see that battery charge higher than 12.6v. I'd put a hydrometer on each cell. Or, I would load test it. I do think it's shot.

But, I don't think the battery is your only issue. I think your carbs are gunked up.