Charging a Motorcycle Battery.

[James Andrews]

I have a Suzuki "Let's II" 30cc scooter.  The battery in it is horked, so I went online to Amazon to and bought a replacement.  I figured get the battery plug it in and be able to start it without using the kicker and thus killing myself in the process.  The battery I ordered came in this evening. I opened the box to find the battery, and another box.  Inside the other box was 6 containers of electrolytic fluid for the battery.  Because the amazon product info was in Japanese I did not realize the battery came uncharged in a un-usable state.

I now need to figure out how to charge this battery.  Luckily it came with some english instructions.  In those instructions there are 2 charging methods.

a) Charge at a constant current:

    Charging current 0.1C (sub10)A (see attachement).

    Charging Time 12-13hrs

b) Charge at a constant voltage:

    14.4V for 12V limited current 0.3C(sub10)A.

    12-18hr charging time.

I've never made a charging circuit, and I am not sure how to limit the battery to 0.3C(sub10)A  I don't even know what the "C" represents, so  it is a little confusing.  Any help here would be appreciated.

Thanks,

James

[Akiba]

C is the total charge capacity. If you have a 20 A-hr battery, then C would be 20. If the max charge is 0.1C for constant current, then you’d charge at 2A and it would theoretically take 10 hours to charge. If you do constant voltage at 14.4V and 0.3C, then you’d be charging at 6A.

As for a charge circuit, unless you’re really motivated about doing a battery charger circuit, I’d just get a charger:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B0016G8EFA/ref=s9_simh_bw_p263_d0_i4?pf_rd_m=AN1VRQENFRJN5&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1JTJY7G1DZWT7AWQ0QKN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467129476&pf_rd_i=2017304051

 

 

Akiba

FreakLabs Open Source Wireless

Web: http://www.freaklabs.org

Shop:http://www.freaklabsstore.com

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[AbH Belxjander Draconis Serechai]

AC Current maybe?  I did electronics for a short time and never developed any real library of knowledge but I did make a charging circuit for DC and only remember the AC to DC rectification and how to make it consistent

Motorcycle and car batteries are DC right?

[James Andrews]

Thanks Akiba, that's good information to know either way.  I may just get a charger, was hoping not to spend any more money on this.  I'll ask my neighbor if he has a charger, he's always fiddling with his bikes, so he might.

And AbH yes automotive/motorcycle/boat batteries are DC voltages

James

[MRE]

Well.. if you only need to charge it once (and really, you only need to get it up enough to start it once... then let it idle a while. If you ride frequently, and have a good alternator on the bike, it should reach full charge pretty easily.)

You could simply find a 12V *DC* wall transformer or power supply with a no more than 5 amps output. You COULD use an old PC psu rigged to do the job.

I charged my car battery on a 12 volt psu for radio gear. It was meant to power up CB radios normally installed in cars and trucks. Takes overnight, but works just fine.

Not that this only gets you up to about 10 volts. You may need the kicker to start. And you should def go on a long ride to charge up the battery fully.

[MRE]

Also, is possible that once you 'fill er up' you will get some good action out of the battery. Certainly not full charge, but perhaps enough to get it going with a bit of help from the kicker. All you need is one good start.

By the way, all unsealed batteries are shipped this way. Even the ones at Wallymart. Some poor schlep has to fill them up every week before putting them on the shelf. Otherwise, if one fell of the truck it would be a nasty mess to clean up.

[James Andrews]

Well part of the problem is the carburetor needs to be cleaned, the bike starts with the kicker just fine, but it won't stay running for more than 30-40 seconds.  I was hoping to have a charged battery so I could work on the carburetor and not have to constantly try and kick start it.   Thanks for the advice though.

I had no idea the ones at wal-mart came that way either.  Never thought of it beyond, hey put battery in car, connect properly, start car. So they must have some kind of charging system out back too then.  

On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 12:36 AM, MRE <epre...@gmail.com> wrote:

Also, is possible that once you 'fill er up' you will get some good action out of the battery. Certainly not full charge, but perhaps enough to get it going with a bit of help from the kicker. All you need is one good start.

By the way, all unsealed batteries are shipped this way. Even the ones at Wallymart. Some poor schlep has to fill them up every week before putting them on the shelf. Otherwise, if one fell of the truck it would be a nasty mess to clean up.

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[Torsten Wagner]

Just wonder, if the scooter has a kick-starter, one just might
install the empty battery start the scooter manually and let the
alternator do its job.
Not sure for the ratings. The alternator might be above the given limits.

Other then this, I second MRE idea to use a 12V _DC_ wall-plug to give
just some initial charge to the battery to start the scooter.
However, make sure the wall-plug can deal with a greedy battery.
Uncharged batteries will take as much current as they can get (at
least in the range we are talking about). However, some wall-plugs
simply go down, if the battery ask for more then what they can offer
(You basically shorten the wall plug). In the best case, the voltage
just drops down and you will not really charge the battery. In the
worst case the wall plug will take damage (including a nice smelly
little puffy clouds). If you have access take a power supply with a
current limiter function. Lab-supplies offer those.

Whatever you do, check voltage and current at the beginning.

Other then this, as Akiba said, getting a dedicated charging unit
might be the most safe way. You might go to a petrol station or a car
workshop and ask them to charge the battery for you. Its either a
favor / free service or done for very little money.

Totti

[Andrew Zaborowski]

On 13 November 2012 16:33, MRE <epre...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well.. if you only need to charge it once (and really, you only need to get
> it up enough to start it once... then let it idle a while. If you ride
> frequently, and have a good alternator on the bike, it should reach full
> charge pretty easily.)
>
> You could simply find a 12V *DC* wall transformer or power supply with a no
> more than 5 amps output. You COULD use an old PC psu rigged to do the job.
>
> I charged my car battery on a 12 volt psu for radio gear.

Wouldn't both of these just overheat and then burn and/or shut down?
I don't think most normal power supplies have current limiting and the
5A is just a rating telling you to not connect sinks that may take
more.

Cheers

[AbH Belxjander Draconis Serechai]

Or do what my dad did and add a lightbulb to the circuit so nothing fried...

He never really explained that to me

[MRE]

I had no idea the ones at wal-mart came that way either.  Never thought of it beyond, hey put battery in car, connect properly, start car. So they must have some kind of charging system out back too then.  

Yeah the automotive shop guys usually get stuck with that task.

Because.. you know... no one goes to walmart to get their car worked on anymore ;)

[James Andrews]

i use to let them change my oil, but that was about it.  I could get tires cheaper from the guy down the street balanced and installed, and he's rotate them for free a year later.

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