Can I use a trickle charger to charge my battery up?

[GREENI3]

My battery is currently at 7 volts when it should be at 12 volts.

Can I use a trickle charger to get my battery back up to 12v?

[pepperami]

Yes I do all the time! .... I`ve got three bikes in my garage in various states of repair and only two batteries so I am always chopping and changing batteries and recharghing using my trickle charger.
I find that normal chargers can be a bit harsh on bike batteries.
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[CaNsA]

do "trickle" chargers not just fully charge the battery then "switch" to trickle mode?

[Easter Bunny]

yes but will take about a day and a bit!
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[GREENI3]

Thanks for clearing that up.

As long as it charges the battery, I'm not too fussed how long it takes.

[pepperami]

[Easter Bunny]

A trickle charger does exactly that a trickle of current much better for the battery.

Look at the ampage on the charger, divide the ampage of the battery by it and you roughly get the time it takes to charge, most trickle chargers are 0.5 amp, most batteries 12ah this combination would take approximately 24 hours to charge from empty
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[pepperami]

[Kickstart]

[CaNsA]

[GREENI3]

[Kickstart]

Hi

A fully charged 12V lead acid battery should have 12.7V. When effectively fully discharged it should still manage 11.9V. Sulfation will kill a battery and starts when it is below about 75% charged (giving about 12.4V).

If it is showing 7V then it is very knackered, which suggests either the voltage reading is wrong or that the bike doesn't need a battery to run (although a good chance it will cause problems having a dead battery - common one being that it will blow bulbs regularly).

Pretty much zero chance that a battery that flat can be saved.

All the bes

Keith
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[GREENI3]

Quick update.

Went for a 9 mile ride today just to see if it would charge the battery.

It was 6.99v yesterday and I tested it after the ride and got 7.5v.

Is this a sign that it can still be charged up?

It's my own fault really that the battery has got to the state that it's in now.
I only use it every Saturday for work which is a total distance of 2 miles there and 2 miles back. And start it up for about 5 mins on a Wednesday.

If I'd realised the battery would suffer as a consequence, I would have gone out on it a lot more.

If I have to buy a new battery then so be it, but I bought a trickle charger off ebay last night so when I'm not using it I can leave it on that so it won't discharge itself.

Btw, as I only usually use it on a Saturday, how long should I leave it on the trickle charger for during the week?

And can I leave it on trickle charge whilst the battery is still connected to the bike?

[CaNsA]

Buy a new battery, and keep it on the trickle when the bike is not in use.

solved.

[stirlinggaz]

or buy a DECENT charger, that will diagnose your batteries general condition & charge up a deeply discharged one.
the better ones can be left connected.
as your only doing 2 miles, then the battery is not going to get charged up that way.
i've recovered a few batteries at 7 or 8v, but most chargers wont touch them & at that low a voltage, you might need to get a new battery AND a charger,
cheers,
GAZ

[Kickstart]

Hi

Suspect the battery has lost that charge already. You might get away with it but it is very unlikely

All the best

Keith
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[GREENI3]

Ye I'm guessing it has as well tbh.

After going for a ride yesterday it was 7.5v, then about 3 hours later it had dropped to about 7.25v.
Started it up for 5 mins, after that it was something stupid like 6.5v.

Looks like a new battery is on the cards

So when I buy a new battery, how long do I have to charge it for before connecting it up to the bike?
As I've heard that you can't just whack the new battery in without charging it before hand.

And since I only use it for the once a week trip to work and the odd trip out, how long would I have to leave it on trickle charge for between each time I take the bike out?
As I don't want the new battery to end up like the one I've got at the moment.

[chris-red]

It isn't a a 6v bike is it?
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[Kickstart]

Hi

You can just lob the battery on but it will shorten the batteries life.

You should charge them for a few hours (how many is open to debate) on a trickle charger before use.

All the best

Keith
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[GREENI3]

[GREENI3]

Yet again took me about 10 kicks for it to turn over.

Checked the voltage and it was 4.5v! Surprised it even started.

Whilst out on the ride I realised it has lost quite a bit of 'ooompf' in acceleration.

Could this be linked to the current state of the battery?

[Aivaras55]

Sorry for bothering, but do you need to take off batter from moto before charging? I tried but my right panel screw is stuck.
Ok I managed to get it off. Now charging with trickle charger, gonna leave for like 15 hours.

[GREENI3]

I got the trickle charger today, put the battery on it.

Whilst it was on trickle I checked the voltage and it was 12.5v and as soon as I took it off trickle it started to dramatically fall so it obviously can't hold a charge and it seems I was right to have bought a new battery.

I tested the voltage of the positive and negative terminals on the trickle charger itself and it read 19v.
Is that the normal voltage output for a trickle charger?

[stirlinggaz]

nope thats not normal for a trickle charger, should be 12.5-14.5v.
sounds like you have a faulty multi-meter? or charger,
cheers,
GAZ

[lozzypop1]