battery charging whilst attached to bike

[Cheerfulgrin]

I've searched and read a few threads that say charging whilst still on the bike should be fine. Thing is, my battery doesn't seem to charge if it's still attached to the bike, it charges happily when off the bike.

Is this quite common or could it be an indication of a short on the bike or something?

I have disconnected the hand grips and cig lighter socket just in case these where causing a problem but it still didn't charge.

Thanks
Rob
____________________
--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[orac]

does your bike have an alarm, most good trickle charges - optimate and alikes dont feed much more than 0.9amps and thus may not have enough guts for the battery and the alarm.

all this is going to depend on the alarm situation and the type of charger. failing all that you may have an electrical fault. put an ameter between the +ve termal on the battery and + wire to the bike, should be next to nothing (check your haynes for actual value).
____________________
Current rides - 2016 Triumph Street Triple Rx, 1994 Suzuki Bandit 400 VM, TGB 204 Classic 125cc
"with nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

[Stonefly]

I regulary use an optimate to trickle charge my battery whilst still connected to the bike. I also have an alarm fitted, and have never had any problems.
____________________
Current......Kawasaki ZZR1200 C2H and Kawasaki ZZR600 E7
Previous....Yamaha FS1E, Honda SS50, Suzuki AP50, BSA Bantam D14, Honda CD175, Honda CB250N, Kawasaki Z250A3, Yamaha RD250E, Kawasaki Z400, Kawasaki Z500, Kawasaki GPz550, Honda NTV600, Kawasaki GT750, Kawasaki Z1000R, Kawasaki GPX250

[Cheerfulgrin]

It doesn't have an alarm, other than the dog who lives here, so won't be that.
It's not an Optimate, it's a halfords maintenance charger which kicks out 750 milliamps.

I don't have a Haynes manual, I don't think they do them for hyosungs, but I'll check between positive terminals and post result.
Should I be checking amps while ignition is off and not running?
Thanks for the quick reply
____________________
--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[Cheerfulgrin]

I checked between battery and bike positive terminals and when turning the ignition on got a reading of 0.1 amps which went down to 0.06 once it had Settled down.

I should probably mention the bike is outside whilst charging and it's been pretty cold here, maybe that's effecting the battery charging whilst on the bike?
____________________
--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[Stonefly]

My bike is always outside and i have had no problems with trickle charging. Sounds like you may have a small drain to earth somewhere. Check all your electrical connections for corrosion. It dont take much for a crusty connecter to cause a drain.
____________________
Current......Kawasaki ZZR1200 C2H and Kawasaki ZZR600 E7
Previous....Yamaha FS1E, Honda SS50, Suzuki AP50, BSA Bantam D14, Honda CD175, Honda CB250N, Kawasaki Z250A3, Yamaha RD250E, Kawasaki Z400, Kawasaki Z500, Kawasaki GPz550, Honda NTV600, Kawasaki GT750, Kawasaki Z1000R, Kawasaki GPX250

[doggone]

There probably are some risks to components especially if it is very low.
I remember putting a 6 amp charger on Mothers' car when it had gone completely flat and the LCD display thing showed strange and broken characters, it was OK with jump leads and no permanent damage.
There's also a slight risk of a direct short causing a fire which would be less hazardous if the battery was off the vehicle.

However taking a battery off and refitting is not without risk from shorting/dropping/spilling.

[reckless_b]

just going through my monthly battery charging routine, six bikes and two optimates, three batterys checked and charged, all still fitted to the bikes, should be ready to swap over to another two by now, doesn't take much more than an hour for any of them.
____________________
40 years on the road on and sometimes off bikes with a very recent OFF

[J.M.]

Disconnect the negative lead. Connect (+) multimeter to battery (-) terminal and the (-) multimeter lead to the negative lead. Measure amps. Should be 0, or very close to it, if no accessories are attached. Is it?
____________________
2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[orac]

it will show 0.1 with ignition off and 0.6 with ignition on.

it does sound like there is a current leak somewhere, does the battery go flat often?
____________________
Current rides - 2016 Triumph Street Triple Rx, 1994 Suzuki Bandit 400 VM, TGB 204 Classic 125cc
"with nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

[Cheerfulgrin]

it does go flat quite often if i dont use it, takes about 3 days and then it wont start up. If i use it daily it tends to be ok.

when i got the battery i was broken down so couldnt charge it before use, which probably hasnt helped much. the fella in the garage said it should be charged overnight before use, but i didnt have a charger back then, so it just got charged by me riding it every day.

its been totally flat a few times which has probably knackered it, i think a new battery will be in order soon but would prefer to eek this one out for as long as i can, at least till the freezing weather has gone.
____________________
--Current Bike: '98 Hornet CB600F
--Previous Bikes 2012 Hyo GT250R - 2010 YBR125 - Back in '91:Suzuki 50cc moped & Honda CB125T Superdream
--CBT -Feb '11, Theory -Nov '11, Mod 1 -Jan '12, Mod 2 Feb '12

[J.M.]

Fix the electrical problems before replacing the battery, otherwise you'll risk ruining the new battery.
____________________
2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[neil.]