How to charge your wet battery (for dummies like me)

[Blank Slate]

My own personal notes to avoid battery disasters. Hope it will help the next blank slate

1- Remove the seat.
2- Disconnect the negative (-) black,
Then disconnect the positive (+) red.
3- Lift battery straight up and out.
4- With the battery charger not connected,
Clamp the (+) red cable to positive,
Then clamp the (+) black cable to negative.
5- Let the battery charge at 2Amps or less until its charged. Anywhere from 2-12 hours.
6- Disconnect the power of the charger.
7- Remove the negative (-) black clamp,
Then remove the positive (+) red clamp.
8- put the battery back in its place.
9- Connect the positive (+) red,
Then connect the negative (-) black.

Ps: wear gloves and eye protection. Baking soda to wash away acid

[skids]

That is a lot of trouble to charge an xs11 battery. BTW, it is removed out the left side and not the top. You can connect a charging pigtail wire pair to the accessory fuse lugs but disconnect that if you want to hit the starter. I would consider using a smart charger and use it only once every couple of weeks if you aren't running the bike, and don't charge it for more that a couple of hours. Watch the battery fluids. I have heard that it is a good idea to take the battery indoors and set it on a board to do that, but I run mine in the winter.

[motoman]

My own personal notes to avoid battery disasters. Hope it will help the next blank slate

1- Remove the seat.
2- Disconnect the negative (-) black,
Then disconnect the positive (+) red.
3- Lift battery straight up and out.
4- With the battery charger not connected,
Clamp the (+) red cable to positive,
Then clamp the (+) black cable to negative.
5- Let the battery charge at 2Amps or less until its charged. Anywhere from 2-12 hours.
6- Disconnect the power of the charger.
7- Remove the negative (-) black clamp,
Then remove the positive (+) red clamp.
8- put the battery back in its place.
9- Connect the positive (+) red,
Then connect the negative (-) black.

Ps: wear gloves and eye protection. Baking soda to wash away acid

Your #3 is incorrect. batt. comes out left side AFTER you remove left side cover and remove the batt. hold down bracket.

[Blank Slate]

Your #3 is incorrect. batt. comes out left side AFTER you remove left side cover and remove the batt. hold down bracket.

Oops, these instructions are how I charhed the battery on my xs650.
Notwithstanding #3, it could help a noobie charge their old battery if they've never done so.

[ViperRon]

In number 4 that Black lead is a - negative and I do suggest that the battery be pulled but also when you put the last connection on a battery that has given any problem, I now use my for arm to shield me. Being the proud recipient of a battery bath and seeing how those plates cut through the car hood I have great respect for explosive devices. Bottles of coca cola can kill the effects of the acid also as it stopped me from becoming naked. It was too late for my tennis shoes that I walked right out of with the steaming eyelets slowly sliding off the tops of my bare feet.

[Blank Slate]

Ha, yes another mistake (-) negative

[ViperRon]

Minor thing your mistake but learn from my experience and if battery is acting up protect yourself it only takes a spark.

[motoman]

Oops, these instructions are how I charhed the battery on my xs650.
Notwithstanding #3, it could help a noobie charge their old battery if they've never done so.

Guess I missed your bantor on that one.

[tomcos67]

Battery questions????

Since there's a battery thread!!!!Only two years old. Didn't check battery since March .,.Noticed Bike didn't fire right lately. (Sluggish) But did fire.Pulled battery only ,10'volts.....water level a little low,,, still over plate's....Brought level up distilled h2.0..!Put charger on boom right to green.Charge d...zWhats with these new chargers Battery still only 10 volts!?????So brought out the old charger on wheels 2amp.My question is will she go back to twelve????? And can you add distilled water or should it have been acid.. To bring level back up...or whatever that stuff is when you buy the batteries dry...Next time sealed battery.Didn't know any better Before .com...

[CatatonicBug]

Since there's a battery thread!!!!Only two years old. Didn't check battery since March .,.Noticed Bike didn't fire right lately. (Sluggish) But did fire.Pulled battery only ,10'volts.....water level a little low,,, still over plate's....Brought level up distilled h2.0..!Put charger on boom right to green.Charge d...zWhats with these new chargers Battery still only 10 volts!?????So brought out the old charger on wheels 2amp.My question is will she go back to twelve????? And can you add distilled water or should it have been acid.. To bring level back up...or whatever that stuff is when you buy the batteries dry...Next time sealed battery.Didn't know any better Before .com...

Only EVER add distilled water. The water evaporates over time, and distilled water has no dissolved solids to leave in there when it evaporates. The acid never goes anywhere. However, the acid WILL lose its acidity over time. Average is 3-5 years per battery (YMMV), and the AGMs don't last any longer. They just cost more.

[TopCatGr58]

Since there's a battery thread!!!!Only two years old. Didn't check battery since March .,.Noticed Bike didn't fire right lately. (Sluggish) But did fire.Pulled battery only ,10'volts.....water level a little low,,, still over plate's....Brought level up distilled h2.0..!Put charger on boom right to green.Charge d...zWhats with these new chargers Battery still only 10 volts!?????So brought out the old charger on wheels 2amp.My question is will she go back to twelve????? And can you add distilled water or should it have been acid.. To bring level back up...or whatever that stuff is when you buy the batteries dry...Next time sealed battery.Didn't know any better Before .com...

Hey Tom,

Your new charger is one of those "smart" chargers that are set to NOT charge when the voltage gets too low.....~10 volts because it thinks that it might have a dead cell! I experienced the same thing with a NEW Sealed AGM type battery this past year that I let get drained down to 8 volts. I learned to put the battery in PARALLEL with another GOOD battery so that the charger would see 12 volts, and would send the charging current, and the weak battery then came up to 11 volts just an hour later, and was then able to put it on the charger alone. It finally came up to 13.2 volts right after charge, then settled back down to ~12.7 or so. It still has plenty of starting power. But it was only drained for a week or so.....yours was drained for possibly several months which can allow for heavier sulfating of the plates, and charging won't be able reverse all of it...that's what eventually kills a battery. Keeping it well charged keeps the SULFURIC ACID at it's highest reactive level and the least amount of lead sulfate on the plates.

T.C.

[motoman]

Hey Tom,

Your new charger is one of those "smart" chargers that are set to NOT charge when the voltage gets too low.....~10 volts because it thinks that it might have a dead cell! I experienced the same thing with a NEW Sealed AGM type battery this past year that I let get drained down to 8 volts. I learned to put the battery in PARALLEL with another GOOD battery so that the charger would see 12 volts, and would send the charging current, and the weak battery then came up to 11 volts just an hour later, and was then able to put it on the charger alone. It finally came up to 13.2 volts right after charge, then settled back down to ~12.7 or so. It still has plenty of starting power. But it was only drained for a week or so.....yours was drained for possibly several months which can allow for heavier sulfating of the plates, and charging won't be able reverse all of it...that's what eventually kills a battery. Keeping it well charged keeps the SULFURIC ACID at it's highest reactive level and the least amount of lead sulfate on the plates.

T.C.

That process sems to work for you as there IS no true smart charger out there yet.........just the name .

[Orange4]

Yeah. That's a complicated way to charge. I regularly top up my battery because it almost never has a float charge after riding. It needs a float to survive long term which takes a few hours at least.

I save all that work and leave the battery in the bike and hook the positive clamp to the solenoid nut under the right side cover. It has a wire that goes straight to the battery. The negative clamp I hook up to a bare engine bolt because the battery is grounded to the engine.

If you have a good, long vent tube property routed there is no reason the battery should have to come out of the bike. It gets charged in there all day when you are riding.

Always use a good quality automatic charger or put your manual charger on a timer so if you forget about it you won't "boil" it dry.

[motoman]

Yeah. That's a complicated way to charge. I regularly top up my battery because it almost never has a float charge after riding. It needs a float to survive long term which takes a few hours at least.

I save all that work and leave the battery in the bike and hook the positive clamp to the solenoid nut under the right side cover. It has a wire that goes straight to the battery. The negative clamp I hook up to a bare engine bolt because the battery is grounded to the engine.

If you have a good, long vent tube property routed there is no reason the battery should have to come out of the bike. It gets charged in there all day when you are riding.

Always use a good quality automatic charger or put your manual charger on a timer so if you forget about it you won't "boil" it dry.

.........and at a one amp charge rate.

[Bikes]

In number 4 that Black lead is a - negative and I do suggest that the battery be pulled but also when you put the last connection on a battery that has given any problem, I now use my for arm to shield me. Being the proud recipient of a battery bath and seeing how those plates cut through the car hood I have great respect for explosive devices. Bottles of coca cola can kill the effects of the acid also as it stopped me from becoming naked. It was too late for my tennis shoes that I walked right out of with the steaming eyelets slowly sliding off the tops of my bare feet.

I saw a battery lift the hood off an Chebbie Vega, back in the day......what a mess...always have had respect for batteries since then....