will my bmw charger work with the odyssey?
Moderator: Moderators
-
scottybooj
- Lifer
- Posts: 1336
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 12:16 am
- Location: Long Island, NY
will my bmw charger work with the odyssey?
ok, so i'll be getting the odyssey...BUT...will the BMW charger i've been using for the past 4 years work with the Odyssey?
Scott
Black '50R
Long Island, NY
double-secret probationary lifetime member #311
Black '50R
Long Island, NY
double-secret probationary lifetime member #311
-
DJ Downunder
- Honorary Lifer
- Posts: 4776
- Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2005 3:26 pm
- Location: Melbourne
-
boxermania
- Quadruple Lifer
- Posts: 3644
- Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:37 pm
- Location: Baton Rouge, LA.....aproaching retirement
Yes.....enclosed find an article on the subject
Dan's Motorcycle Batteries
Motorcycle batteries have one thing in common, they are all too small. Even the biggest ones are too small for what they have to do. These days, it seems as though nobody believes in kickstarters anymore, so a well taken care of battery is doubly important.
A battery will loose 1% of its charge per day just sitting there doing nothing. So you can see that you just can't park it, walk away, and come back in 4 or 5 months and expect it to work. Amazingly some of them do work after that kind of abuse, but a greater number of them don't. The cure? Trickle charge the battery at least once a month.
If you don't, it's OK, I don't care. It's not my Battery!
I have found that it is best to use a 1 Amp or smaller trickle charger. Most motorcycle batteries are small and just can't take the high rate of charge that a 6 or 10 Amp charger gives. A general rule of thumb is that a battery should not be charged at more than 1/20 its rated capacity. As you can see, even a big motorcycle battery is maxed out by a 2 Amp charger. The battery should be charged till it is gassing (bubbling) freely, but then stop, don't boil all your water out! The temperature of a battery must not go over 112 degrees. If it does, the battery may be ruined. If the electrolite is below the plates add distilled water till the plates are covered and/or to the top of the fill line. Always unplug the charger before removing the leads from the battery and keep the battery away from flames and sparks. Remember all that gassing in the battery is producing Oxyhydrogen Gas. This can and will EXPLODE the battery, covering you with acid which will burn you like you will not believe. Baking soda will neutralize battery acid and water will rinse it off and dilute it. Mixing baking soda and water together works great. You can use it anywhere on the bike or yourself to remove battery acid. Keep lots of both on hand. You might also make sure the water you use IS NOT salt water. It seems salt water and battery acid combine to make Chlorine Gas which will KILL you. Something to remember !
If You Don't, It's OK, I Don't Care. It's Not My BODY!
If a battery is totally discharged, and you goof and connect the plus and minus leads backwards you can change the polarity of the battery. Plus is minus, minus is plus. I had a customer who did that. That was a fun one till I figured it out. I just drained the battery to zip, recharged it the right way... worked just fine... go figure.
Here is a trick that works maybe 60-70 % of the time...You have a battery that is almost junk, will not hold a charge. Put some Epsom salt, maybe 1/4 teaspoon, in each cell. Sometimes, not always, it will keep it going another 2-3 months. Won't hurt anything... the batterys junk anyway, but it might get you through till winter!
It's a funny thing, you can have a battery that reads 12.5 volts on a volt meter, but still will not light a small light bulb. Volts only tell you part of the story. The acid in the battery must be good. The Specific Gravity must be around 1.26 to 1.28 (in a fully charged battery) and you measure this with a hydrometer. The only trouble is this... there just isn't enough fluid in most motorcycle battery's to test with a big auto hydrometer. You must use one of the cheapy, small, 5 ball, pencil types. Oh well, at least they work and between the two you will have the whole story.
I once worked in a shop that was responsible for a fleet of about 120 trucks and cars. Part of my job was making sure the batteries were up to snuff on all those vehicles. I did a lot of battery charging, battery changing, checking fluid levels, checking voltages, and the like. I found that a battery could have a good volt reading and be bad. It could also have the right hydrometer reading and be bad. You needed to check both. Even with BOTH volts and hydrometer readings good, I had one or two that just plain would not crank. Put a new battery in and problem solved. Perhaps they were sulfated badly. I could not tell as the cases were all black. This was quite rare. One or two out of hundreds and hundreds.
On motorcycle batteries you can usually see through the cases and see the white gook, sulfate, on the plates of the battery. Once you see the sulfate, that batteries on it's way out.
Remember too. On old British bikes, like Triumph, BSA, Norton, etc. They used a POSITIVE GROUND electrical system. It would behoove you to remember this if you have to work on one !
If you don't have a trickle charger get the Missus to get you one....Valentine's day is just around the corner and what a nice gift would that make.....
Dan's Motorcycle Batteries
Motorcycle batteries have one thing in common, they are all too small. Even the biggest ones are too small for what they have to do. These days, it seems as though nobody believes in kickstarters anymore, so a well taken care of battery is doubly important.
A battery will loose 1% of its charge per day just sitting there doing nothing. So you can see that you just can't park it, walk away, and come back in 4 or 5 months and expect it to work. Amazingly some of them do work after that kind of abuse, but a greater number of them don't. The cure? Trickle charge the battery at least once a month.
If you don't, it's OK, I don't care. It's not my Battery!
I have found that it is best to use a 1 Amp or smaller trickle charger. Most motorcycle batteries are small and just can't take the high rate of charge that a 6 or 10 Amp charger gives. A general rule of thumb is that a battery should not be charged at more than 1/20 its rated capacity. As you can see, even a big motorcycle battery is maxed out by a 2 Amp charger. The battery should be charged till it is gassing (bubbling) freely, but then stop, don't boil all your water out! The temperature of a battery must not go over 112 degrees. If it does, the battery may be ruined. If the electrolite is below the plates add distilled water till the plates are covered and/or to the top of the fill line. Always unplug the charger before removing the leads from the battery and keep the battery away from flames and sparks. Remember all that gassing in the battery is producing Oxyhydrogen Gas. This can and will EXPLODE the battery, covering you with acid which will burn you like you will not believe. Baking soda will neutralize battery acid and water will rinse it off and dilute it. Mixing baking soda and water together works great. You can use it anywhere on the bike or yourself to remove battery acid. Keep lots of both on hand. You might also make sure the water you use IS NOT salt water. It seems salt water and battery acid combine to make Chlorine Gas which will KILL you. Something to remember !
If You Don't, It's OK, I Don't Care. It's Not My BODY!
If a battery is totally discharged, and you goof and connect the plus and minus leads backwards you can change the polarity of the battery. Plus is minus, minus is plus. I had a customer who did that. That was a fun one till I figured it out. I just drained the battery to zip, recharged it the right way... worked just fine... go figure.
Here is a trick that works maybe 60-70 % of the time...You have a battery that is almost junk, will not hold a charge. Put some Epsom salt, maybe 1/4 teaspoon, in each cell. Sometimes, not always, it will keep it going another 2-3 months. Won't hurt anything... the batterys junk anyway, but it might get you through till winter!
It's a funny thing, you can have a battery that reads 12.5 volts on a volt meter, but still will not light a small light bulb. Volts only tell you part of the story. The acid in the battery must be good. The Specific Gravity must be around 1.26 to 1.28 (in a fully charged battery) and you measure this with a hydrometer. The only trouble is this... there just isn't enough fluid in most motorcycle battery's to test with a big auto hydrometer. You must use one of the cheapy, small, 5 ball, pencil types. Oh well, at least they work and between the two you will have the whole story.
I once worked in a shop that was responsible for a fleet of about 120 trucks and cars. Part of my job was making sure the batteries were up to snuff on all those vehicles. I did a lot of battery charging, battery changing, checking fluid levels, checking voltages, and the like. I found that a battery could have a good volt reading and be bad. It could also have the right hydrometer reading and be bad. You needed to check both. Even with BOTH volts and hydrometer readings good, I had one or two that just plain would not crank. Put a new battery in and problem solved. Perhaps they were sulfated badly. I could not tell as the cases were all black. This was quite rare. One or two out of hundreds and hundreds.
On motorcycle batteries you can usually see through the cases and see the white gook, sulfate, on the plates of the battery. Once you see the sulfate, that batteries on it's way out.
Remember too. On old British bikes, like Triumph, BSA, Norton, etc. They used a POSITIVE GROUND electrical system. It would behoove you to remember this if you have to work on one !
If you don't have a trickle charger get the Missus to get you one....Valentine's day is just around the corner and what a nice gift would that make.....
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
This is interesting
http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
and BMW battery charger descrition
http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=1357
as well as Battery tender description
http://www.accwhse.com/batteryt.htm
Can't comment on performance but safety for use with either of the lead acid or "gel" type batteries is stated above
AS FOR ME, I currently use a battery tender junior with a 4 year old BMW sealed gel battery, which worked fine up until the late fall when it failed to turn the engine over in cold weather after a full charge - so I'll be buying a new battery this Spring.
Stephen
http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html
and BMW battery charger descrition
http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=1357
as well as Battery tender description
http://www.accwhse.com/batteryt.htm
Can't comment on performance but safety for use with either of the lead acid or "gel" type batteries is stated above
AS FOR ME, I currently use a battery tender junior with a 4 year old BMW sealed gel battery, which worked fine up until the late fall when it failed to turn the engine over in cold weather after a full charge - so I'll be buying a new battery this Spring.
Stephen
It should work just fine to keep a charge on it and to offset the slow drain by the motronic. Per the Odyssey manual: http://www.bigczone.com/odysseymanpage.JPG
'04 R1150R
-
boxermania
- Quadruple Lifer
- Posts: 3644
- Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:37 pm
- Location: Baton Rouge, LA.....aproaching retirement
Re: will my bmw charger work with the odyssey?
Of course it will!!!scottybooj wrote:ok, so i'll be getting the odyssey...BUT...will the BMW charger i've been using for the past 4 years work with the Odyssey?
I am always amazed at the amount of mystique a simple battery contains
If your battery charger has voltage on the terminals it will work.
Most chargers will charge from one to four amps, the higher the amps the
higher the heat and the potential for too hot or overcharging.
Despite the folklore, mystique and rocket science its quite simply
a battery which requires a charge............. a little bit like filling your
hot water bottle before bed
Too much or too fast the water spills on your hand and you get burnt.
-
boxermania
- Quadruple Lifer
- Posts: 3644
- Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 6:37 pm
- Location: Baton Rouge, LA.....aproaching retirement
To add fuel to the fire.....how does the alternator and the charging circuit know that if there is a lead-acid or for that matter a gel battery suplying the 12 volts to the system to adjust the charging rate?
The bike's system charges at one rate only........
The bike's system charges at one rate only........
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX