Ninja 250r 09 Cannot Start - Need Help (SOLVED!)

[goodbadugly]

************************************************************ SOLVED *******************************************************

12/8 9:26PM EST - SOLVED --For more details look at the end of this POST.

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Ninja 250r 09

I am posting after reading over 30+ threads. I know my problem is similar to all those people, but very few had pictures,videos, or details on how they fixed it. And I dont want to take a risk and make things worse. Thats why I am asking for help from experts over here, I hope someone can help me here.


Scenario

Last weekend (Nov 27) I tried to start my bike but it didn't because the battery was very low. Since I didnt started for about 2 weeks because of the weather (NYC). And I think the battery went really low because of my alarm, I have a Gorilla 7017. So I read about push start and tried it but I was unable to put it in (2nd Gear) I tried it with 1st gear about 12 times, but unsuccessful. In the end I jump started with my van and I successfully started. I kept it running for about 15min and took it for a spin and ridden for about 20 mins. Next day I started for a check and it started it right away.

Aal was well till this Sat (Dec 4). I try to start it without using choke lever at first, I could hear it start normally half way but it didn't because it was cold, since I didn't started for 5 days. Next I put the choke lever up all the way and push the start button. It STARTED but for only 10 seconds, then it turned off. The way it sounded I can tell because the bike was still cold. Then I thought maybe if I give it a little throttle in addtition to the choke lever it will start up. But I think this is what made it worse, when I click start it with a little throttle it was about start but then I heard clicking.


Here are pictures and videos.

Battery was okay but a little lower than normal I think:



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In this video I tried to start normally. Before I start I honked to see if it sound normal, you can tell by the sound that its a little lower than normal. And you can hear the clicking noise I was talking about,

Link to original page on YouTube.
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Next I took off the seat to see where the sound is coming from and where the solenoid is located.

Link to original page on YouTube.

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Located the Solenoid:


Took off the battery power to reach Solenoid, so I can take the plastic off:





Yes I tried replacing the FUSE. I used one from the van (spare one) it was 30 Amps but the actual size was smaller. Everything light up...still clicking noise.



Plug the battery back on.



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Here I attempted to start the bike with a screwdriver as some people suggested.



After 2 trys the battery went low:

Link to original page on YouTube.

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So I charged the battery with the jumper cables+van. Mean while I attempted to start while its connected to the van battery. When hit start it blow off the black negative cable off the battery on the van. Plugged it back on and let it charge for about a 2 mins.



In these two pictures you can see the difference charging before and after.




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Now after charging I attempt to try the screwdriver again. Maybe I am not doing it right. You can see sparks when I touch it with the screwdriver, so I know that the power is reaching the soleniod.

Link to original page on YouTube.


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I hope this is enough details for some who can help me. I would appreciate any help and I thank you in advance. I will try to check back every 30 mins.

PLEASE HELP


-AL

************************************************************ SOLVED *******************************************************
************************************************************ ****** *******************************************************

In my situation the solution was to recharge my battery using a trickle charger, since my battery was discharged to 10.39 volts. I bought one from Amazon for $45 by brand Battery Tender.(http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sim_auto_1).
Since I dont have my own garage I took out my battery to charge it. Remember to disconnect the negative terminal first and wher your putting it back connect the postive terminal first. I put it charge around 11PM untill the next evening 7pm. Even though it was done about 80%next morning around 8:30am, since the green light was flashing.
I put the battery back on and tried to start it. Ofcourse I put the choke lever to the max, since thats how you suppose to start it. Mine didnt start it right away, since the bike and the weather was cold (28 °F). But it sounded right when I was starting, I heard absolutely no clicking noise like before. Mine started like this:
Try 1: Start about 15%
Try 2: Start about 60%
Try 3: Start 100% but turned off after about 5 seconds
Try 4: Start 100% but turned off after about 8 seconds
Try 5: Start 100% and made me happy!

ofcourse I gave about 10 seconds on each attempt.

I had it running for 10 mins and while I waited I wished only if it was summer Then I took it for a spin in 28° F, it was really hard to resist. Tested all the way to top gear, tested signals and high beam, turned it off and on to see if Aal was well. Everything was good!
I hope this thread could be useful if someones else has the same problem. Make sure to check other pages of this thread for more pictures and videos.

This video I recorded after having the bike run idle for 10 mins.

Link to original page on YouTube.

After taking it for a spin the bike startup right away.

Link to original page on YouTube.


CREDIT
This was not possible if I did not get help from the following people: Alex, g21-30, Racer x, indrish, Flying Pig, mrlmd, Sailariel, addy126, and the rest for taking the time to look at the thread.

Thank you guys. You guys RocK!...2 pts for you

One more thing

MY PRECIOUS IS WORKING AGAIN YAAAY

[Racer x]

you have a dead battery. Have you tried replacing it with another?

[indr]

If you're going to be replacing and have the money, consider a lighter and smaller battery.
http://www.fullspectrumpower.com/
http://www.antigravitybatteries.com/

[ride2rideagain]

+1 your battery is done

[goodbadugly]

Thanks for the reply. If it's the battery then how come it didn't start while the jumper cables were plugged via van. This way the power is coming from van battery+bike battery. Also I let it charge for a while then unplugged it, everything was still lighting up after 5mins. Also if you look at the miles it's only 1381, from which 650 are mine.... Can the battery die that quickly

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by indrish

If you're going to be replacing and have the money, consider a lighter and smaller battery.
http://www.fullspectrumpower.com/
http://www.antigravitybatteries.com/

Thank you indrish. If few more expert say it's the battery then I will take your suggestion. But I have question, these batteries they say are compact and light, but do they last as long as any other standard one? Will they be able stand my alarm?

Thanks

-AL

[Chubbs032]

cuz its dead....there's no defibrillator for it

[Racer x]

The motorcycle battery is a very weak battery.They only last a couple years under the best conditions.If you battery has a dry cell. It will not flow current. Be careful there are ways of damaging diodes if you hook things up wrong or get a voltage spike.

The reason the bike will not crank with jumper leads hooked up is .You have both leads on the battery.
It is best to hot shot a bike from a car with the car not running . Hook the red lead from the plus side of the car battery to the plus side of the motorcycle battery. Then hook the black lead from the negative side of the car battery to the chassis of the bike . bypassing the battery. it should crank.

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by Racer x

The motorcycle battery is a very weak battery.They only last a couple years under the best conditions.If you battery has a dry cell. It will not flow current. Be careful there are ways of damaging diodes if you hook things up wrong or get a voltage spike.

The reason the bike will not crank with jumper leads hooked up is .You have both leads on the battery.
It is best to hot shot a bike from a car with the car not running . Hook the red lead from the plus side of the car battery to the plus side of the motorcycle battery. Then hook the black lead from the negative side of the car battery to the chassis of the bike . bypassing the battery. it should crank.

Thanks. Since most of you said I will get one. Any suggestion to which and where, I live in NYC. Buy it online or store?... Autozone?... What about these compact battery that indrish suggest?

Oh and what about this solenoid that some people case was..... Not my case

[indr]

Originally Posted by goodbadugly

Thank you indrish. If few more expert say it's the battery then I will take your suggestion. But I have question, these batteries they say are compact and light, but do they last as long as any other standard one? Will they be able stand my alarm?

Thanks

-AL

I was hoping you'd buy one of them and answer those same questions for me so i can buy one.

From what i've read, they offer more cold cranking amps than lead/acid batteries and can be left on the bike without a trickle charger longer than LA batts.

Going over the FAQ on one of the sites:

1)These battery do not have as high of an Amp Hour Rating as the typical Sealed Lead Acid battery. These batteries are generally more powerful relatively speaking but have a lower "Amp Hour" Rating...The Amp Hour rating in the simplest form is the "capacity" of the battery to store and produce energy. Amp Hours do not come into play with the normal starting of a vehicle, so they are not as important in the application of starting the vehicle which is the focus of our battery... lightweight with high power for starting. But Amp Hours do come into play if you have accessories that you want to run when the vehicle is turned "off" such as a GPS or if you forget to turn off your ignition and the battery is draining. These battery will run these accessories fine even if the bike is off, but it will not be for as long as a SLA battery.

[Flying Pig]

Charge a motorcycle battery with a motorcycle-rated battery tender (no more than 1.5 amps). Using a van battery will work temporarily for jumping purposes, but it isn't an ideal way to charge your battery.

You should also consider investing in a cheap digital multimeter so that you can test how much voltage your battery has at any given time, which will allow you to know if it is truly weak or not.

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by indrish

I was hoping you'd buy one of them and answer those same questions for me so i can buy one.

From what i've read, they offer more cold cranking amps than lead/acid batteries and can be left on the bike without a trickle charger longer than LA batts.

Going over the FAQ on one of the sites:

Nice attempt to have me test a batteryfoe you... Hahaha. Ofcourse I will do research before I buy... Just waiting for more opinions from experts.

If I end up buying that then I will let you know the outcome.

Thanks

[mrlmd]

Most motorcycle batteries are the AGM maintenance-free sealed types, made like that so they don't spill out acid all over the place when you dump the bike over. You have a dead battery, from disuse and the cold weather. Starting the bike by jumping it and running the bike for 15 min will NOT charge up a dead battery. These bikes have very puny charging systems, just a little more than needed to replace what you use to start the bike. You need to put it on a 1.5-2 amp (no higher) battery charger for maybe 6 hours to charge it up fully again. Charge up your battery fully first and see how it works, you may not need a new one. The only way to test whether a battery is good or bad is to put it on a load tester after it's fully charged up and any battery shop or Autozone or NAPA store or garage should test it for you for free. If you do need a new battery and buy an AGM type, be warned - IT MUST BE FULLY CHARGED UP BEFORE FIRST USE OR IT WILL FAIL PREMATURELY - it will never able to be charged up to full capacity again if you try to start the bike one or two times without charging it up first. If the guy in the battery store fills it with acid and says it's all good to go, it's not. If you don't charge it up fully first, you will be back there in a week or so buying another new battery.
Invest in a small 2 amp battery charger, or a trickle charger to keep on when you are not using the bike for a few weeks and the weather is cold. Stop ripping apart your bike looking to solve an obvious simple problem or you are going to cause some real damage that will be difficult to diagnose.
And if you ever jump a bike from an automobile, make sure the car is off - the alternator output of a running car will fry the electronics on just about any bike.
Lastly, all these bikes are coldblooded and need some choke to start, that's normal operating procedure, especially if it's cold outside. There seems to be some macho thing of trying to start the bike without the choke and that's wrong, that's not how it's designed, the choke is an enricher circuit and is supposed to be used when starting a cold engine.

[indr]

Another: http://www.testsycl.com/

It's got a thread going on ADVR: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=629665

[addy126]

It's all about the battery. I use the Gorilla alarm system regularly. Went out last week and found that my 250 wouldn't catch. Hooked up the Battery Tender and in a few hours it was good to go. Battery is 2 years old and I'm most probably going to replace it in a couple of weeks so I'm not left stranded somewhere.

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by Flying Pig

Charge a motorcycle battery with a motorcycle-rated battery tender (no more than 1.5 amps). Using a van battery will work temporarily for jumping purposes, but it isn't an ideal way to charge your battery.

You should also consider investing in a cheap digital multimeter so that you can test how much voltage your battery has at any given time, which will allow you to know if it is truly weak or not.

I found this table on Amazon, is this what you mean, but which one from this list. The one that says 1.25 A?




$25

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...1609912&sr=1-1

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by mrlmd

Most motorcycle batteries are the AGM maintenance-free sealed types, made like that so they don't spill out acid all over the place when you dump the bike over. You have a dead battery, from disuse and the cold weather. Starting the bike by jumping it and running the bike for 15 min will NOT charge up a dead battery. These bikes have very puny charging systems, just a little more than needed to replace what you use to start the bike. You need to put it on a 1.5-2 amp (no higher) battery charger for maybe 6 hours to charge it up fully again. Charge up your battery fully first and see how it works, you may not need a new one. The only way to test whether a battery is good or bad is to put it on a load tester after it's fully charged up and any battery shop or Autozone or NAPA store or garage should test it for you for free. If you do need a new battery and buy an AGM type, be warned - IT MUST BE FULLY CHARGED UP BEFORE FIRST USE OR IT WILL FAIL PREMATURELY - it will never able to be charged up to full capacity again if you try to start the bike one or two times without charging it up first. If the guy in the battery store fills it with acid and says it's all good to go, it's not. If you don't charge it up fully first, you will be back there in a week or so buying another new battery.
Invest in a small 2 amp battery charger, or a trickle charger to keep on when you are not using the bike for a few weeks and the weather is cold. Stop ripping apart your bike looking to solve an obvious simple problem or you are going to cause some real damage that will be difficult to diagnose.
And if you ever jump a bike from an automobile, make sure the car is off - the alternator output of a running car will fry the electronics on just about any bike.
Lastly, all these bikes are coldblooded and need some choke to start, that's normal operating procedure, especially if it's cold outside. There seems to be some macho thing of trying to start the bike without the choke and that's wrong, that's not how it's designed, the choke is an enricher circuit and is supposed to be used when starting a cold engine.

Thanks for the reply, it seems like you know what you are talking about just like many people here. When you say it must be charged for 6 hours you mean using like a "battery tender".

How do I know which one is the right one? Should I buy the one I found on Amazon, looking at that table pick one that says 1.25A?

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by indrish

Another: http://www.testsycl.com/

It's got a thread going on ADVR: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=629665

So you want me to test this for you also?

Let me think about this, but for some reason I feel it wont have the endurance or lifetime as a standard ninja 250 battery.

[goodbadugly]

If I am buying a new battery or a charger, should I pick one from the official Kawasaki website:

http://www.kawasaki.com/KawasakiNew/...CategoryId=122

Oh and how come nobody said anything about the clicking noise when I push the start button...is that because of the battery or solenoid..etc?

[Alex]

When a battery gets low, that clicking sound is exactly what you hear when the starter has enough juice to start to engage but not enough to actually turn anything.

[Flying Pig]

Originally Posted by goodbadugly

I found this table on Amazon, is this what you mean, but which one from this list. The one that says 1.25 A?




$25

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...1609912&sr=1-1

Yes, Deltran & Yuasa are two common manufacturer's who make motorcycle-specific battery tenders. I'm more familiar with Deltran's Battery Tender, as that's what I have, but from what I've ready, they operate similarly, and serve the same purpose, for the most part.

Deltran offers two main models of battery tender, junior and plus.
The junior model charges at 0.75a if I'm not mistaken while the plus charges at 1.25a. Both are safe for your motorcycle, and when it comes down to time, the 1.25a will charge faster than the 0.75a. Both will charge your battery to it's fullest capacity (full now might not be the same as full when it was new).

Battery tenders are slightly different than battery chargers in that you can leave them connected indefinitely as they are "smart" enough to know when the battery is at it's maximum capacity, and then switch from the charging cycle to a float cycle so that it doesn't cook the battery.

A few things to note in no particular order:

• An alarm is nice to have, but you have to realize that prolonged non-use will drain the battery, especially if the alarm is armed while the bike is not being used.
• When you start your bike, your battery loses some charge to provide your electric starter with the juice it needs to turn over your motor. Having enough voltage is crucial. And having a battery with a higher-rated CCA (cold cranking amp) rating should be of help, but this isn't as easily changed as the battery's voltage
• While you ride your bike, your alternator (stator) is taxed with the job of providing electricity for the components of your motorcycle while maintaining a charge to your battery. Your battery won't charge up instantly and will take more than a few minutes to replenish the "juice" lost during the turning-over of the motor from when the starter button was pressed. Thus, constant starting bike in short times can surprise the owner with a "dead" battery.
• A proper charging system generally will charge the motorcycle at 14.0-14.4v. If you have much less, then you might have a stator that isn't producing enough output, or have too much of a load on your electrical system. Common culprits are aftermarket HIDs or warmers (grip, clothing). If you have much more than 14.4v, there's a chance that the regulator/rectifier of the motorcycle is not functioning properly.
• A brand new battery should read 12.9v, while a fully empty battery willl read 11.4v. A 12v battery is consisted of 6 2v cells. A "full" cell has 2.15v while an "empty" cell has 1.9v. So really, it doesn't take much to go from full to empty.

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by goodbadugly

Thanks. Since most of you said I will get one. Any suggestion to which and where, I live in NYC. Buy it online or store?... Autozone?... What about these compact battery that indrish suggest?

Oh and what about this solenoid that some people case was..... Not my case

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...T.ac=SLIsearch

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by g21-30

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...T.ac=SLIsearch

Awesome Thanks.

This is same as the one from amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...1609912&sr=1-1

Buy from either sites or the one you suggest?

-AL

[Racer x]

Just to state or restate if some all ready mentioned it . There is a big difference between a battery charger and a battery tender. A battery charger will charge a battery at what ever AMP's it is rated at.
A ninja battery they will test good at 250 amp and could be charges safely at 2.5 amp.You don't want to HIT a little battery with to much at once . 10 amp will charge them right up .But heat is the enemy of the battery.
A charger will supply a continues current . IF you have a multi meter you can hook it up and watch the voltage go up as the battery takes a charge. After a while the voltage can go as high as 16 volts then the heat starts to build and the water starts to boil away. Leaving acid behind.

You should not let the battery go that high and should unhook it after it gets to 13 volt or so.That is why you need a multimeter.

Now a battery tender is different. It will only supply enough current to the battery to slowly raise the voltage. It will not really charge a battery like a Charger will. What it will do.It will take a charged battery and slowly add current till the voltage rises to a peak say 13.4 volts .Then the electronics will turn the tender off. Every day the voltage will drop say a tenth of a volt.(depends what you have hooked up) But when the voltage in the battery drops to 12.9 volts .The tender turns back on and will again send current back to the battery until the peak voltage is reached.

If you are going to let the bike sit for a month or two get a tender.Or even a good idea for a cold morning If you want to charge up a dead battery get a charger.

[mrlmd]

That one says it puts out 0.75 amps. It's OK, it will just take twice as long to charge up a dead battery but is OK to leave it connected for prolonged periods of time.
You can also just go to an Autozone store, Walmart, Harbor Freight (can go online), etc., and get a 1.25-2amp charger for a little less money.
If you get one of those small chargers, or a "battery tender" (not exactly the same thing), put the pigtail connector with the plug onto the battery so anytime you want to connect the charger you can just plug it in. You can also use that for an accessory plug, like for a GPS or cell phone charger or something with a light current draw.

[g21-30]

This is the one I have:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...T.ac=SLIsearch

When I'm not riding it, the bike is ALWAYS connected to it. The battery is over 2 years old!

Find the cheapest one and get it.

[Racer x]

.75 amp will be fine over night or even a week. But I wiuld not recomend that much for winter storage. You could do a week on and a week off.

[Sailariel]

Marc, Very good advice. I just wanted to reiterate your point about charging the battery COMPLETELY before using it. Batteries come in three types, Lead Acid(sealed and unsealed--you see caps), They can be charged at 25% of their rated Ampere Hours, There are Gell Cells (these are sealed and can be installed sideways. They can be charged at 50% capacity. AGM (Absorbed Gel Mat) are the latest thing in cars and boats. These can be charged at 100% capacity. Because they can be charged at such a high rate, they are great for boats--however, the regulator must be adjusted to handle that battery. We have seen some boat owners install AGM and in a short time had to replace the alternator because the regulator called for more power from the alternator. All batteries acquire memories. That is why you need to charge a new battery completely before using it. If you initially start using a battery at 80% charge, it will continue to only accept 20%. The battery that comes with the Ninja is a sealed (Maintenance Free) Lead Acid Battery.

Motorcycle specific Charger/Maintainers are relatively inexpensive. The most commonly used one is Battery Tender. You cannot harm your battery with one. When you get your new battery, wire in the plug for a Battery Tender--comes with the unit. Then all you have to do is plug in when you want to charge without having to remove the seat and all that stuff. I leave mine plugged in all winter.

I

[goodbadugly]

Thanks all for help.

@Racer X
Thanks for the details, its really informative. Good thing you told me that they are two different things.

@mrlmd
The 1.25 A is like $189, I'd rather wait longer than pay as much...dont have a big pocket...They sell the same "Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger 12V 0.750A " for $23.38 at Amazon and $39.99 at AutoZone. I will get this from Amazon...its Decided.

Now on this site they saying that this battery tender is what they use to charge battery
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/What_ki...r_can_I_use%3F
Confusing!!!

So should I get both a tender and a charger? Or is the tender enough for now?

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by g21-30

This is the one I have:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...T.ac=SLIsearch

When I'm not riding it, the bike is ALWAYS connected to it. The battery is over 2 years old!

Find the cheapest one and get it.

Thanks now for sure I will get this one not the other one. Since you successfuly worked with this one, I will buy this from amazon.

$44.71

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sim_auto_1

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

Marc, Very good advice. I just wanted to reiterate your point about charging the battery COMPLETELY before using it. Batteries come in three types, Lead Acid(sealed and unsealed--you see caps), They can be charged at 25% of their rated Ampere Hours, There are Gell Cells (these are sealed and can be installed sideways. They can be charged at 50% capacity. AGM (Absorbed Gel Mat) are the latest thing in cars and boats. These can be charged at 100% capacity. Because they can be charged at such a high rate, they are great for boats--however, the regulator must be adjusted to handle that battery. We have seen some boat owners install AGM and in a short time had to replace the alternator because the regulator called for more power from the alternator. All batteries acquire memories. That is why you need to charge a new battery completely before using it. If you initially start using a battery at 80% charge, it will continue to only accept 20%. The battery that comes with the Ninja is a sealed (Maintenance Free) Lead Acid Battery.

Motorcycle specific Charger/Maintainers are relatively inexpensive. The most commonly used one is Battery Tender. You cannot harm your battery with one. When you get your new battery, wire in the plug for a Battery Tender--comes with the unit. Then all you have to do is plug in when you want to charge without having to remove the seat and all that stuff. I leave mine plugged in all winter.

I

Thank you for putting it in simple terms. So when I get a new battery I need to charge it completely first using a battery tender before installing it right?

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by goodbadugly

Thanks now for sure I will get this one not the other one. Since you successfuly worked with this one, I will buy this from amazon.

$44.71

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sim_auto_1

You won't be sorry. Down the road, if you want to use heated gear, the hard wired battery connector can be adapted for that.

After you connect the tender, the lights on it will let you know when it is charging, etc.

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by g21-30

You won't be sorry. Down the road, if you want to use heated gear, the hard wired battery connector can be adapted for that.

After you connect the tender, the lights on it will let you know when it is charging, etc.

Thanks. I Placed order for this battery tender

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sim_auto_1



I called up kawaski, was looking for cutomer support but I got consumer support.... the guy still helped me out he said he has SEVEN bikes. I explained and he said to get battery charger at first, but then he said tender would be better since it will sit for the winter. And incase you need to get a new battery I can buy one from a dealer, he can only recommand OEM battery.

Delivary I should get it tomorrow. I will take out the battery today and charge it tomrrow. Now does it consume a lot of electricity, should I carry to work and charge....<---sound cheap right...hahaha....just kddin.

Let see how things go, I will keep an update here. Thank you again all for the help so far.

[mrlmd]

My Schumacher 1.5 Amp battery charger cost $23-25 in Walmart and works perfectly. I charge up the battery when needed and then unplug it when it's fully charged as indicated by the lights on the unit. I never leave a charger or "tender" (another word for a trickle charger) hooked up to a battery continuously.
The name Battery Tender is a brand name, as is misleading, because like I said and Racer X said, chargers and "tenders' are 2 different things. What you bought will work OK for the intended purpose - to keep your battery charged. If you are not using it, you can just charge it once a month to keep it topped off, you don't have to leave it connected continuously. In any event, after you get the battery fully charged, let us know what happened and if the bike starts and runs OK.
And to answer your question - if the battery is dead, like 10v or less, it will take 6+ hours at 1.25-1.5 amp charge rate to fully charge it, not "tender" it as you say. "Tend"ing is what is meant by leaving it on a trickle charger, at maybe 0.25-0.5 amps and leaving it attached continuously. At that charge rate, it may take 24 hrs. or longer to bring the battery back, if it ever does.

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by mrlmd

My Schumacher 1.5 Amp battery charger cost $23-25 in Walmart and works perfectly. I charge up the battery when needed and then unplug it when it's fully charged as indicated by the lights on the unit. I never leave a charger or "tender" (another word for a trickle charger) hooked up to a battery continuously.
The name Battery Tender is a brand name, as is misleading, because like I said and Racer X said, chargers and "tenders' are 2 different things. What you bought will work OK for the intended purpose - to keep your battery charged. If you are not using it, you can just charge it once a month to keep it topped off, you don't have to leave it connected continuously. In any event, after you get the battery fully charged, let us know what happened and if the bike starts and runs OK.
And to answer your question - if the battery is dead, like 10v or less, it will take 6+ hours at 1.25-1.5 amp charge rate to fully charge it, not "tender" it as you say. "Tend"ing is what is meant by leaving it on a trickle charger, at maybe 0.25-0.5 amps and leaving it attached continuously. At that charge rate, it may take 24 hrs. or longer to bring the battery back, if it ever does.

Thank you for clarifying that. Yes I saw that Battery tender is a company. The guy from kawasaki also used the word "trickle" charger. I will let you guys know what happen. I will buy a multimeter from Autozone and try to take pictures as I charge the battery to see the difference. Thanks again Marc.

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by mrlmd

What you bought will work OK for the intended purpose - to keep your battery charged. If you are not using it, you can just charge it once a month to keep it topped off, you don't have to leave it connected continuously.

Actually, the namebrand "Battery Tender" charges the battery as needed and goes into "storage" mode, when charging is complete; thus, one can leave it connected at all times. See the below picture and notice the lower "storage" light is lit.



Mine has been connected continuously since November, 2008, except when I'm riding the bike! Battery is still in excellent condition.

[goodbadugly]

Thanks, thats awasome Sam. So if you tested your battery with a multimeter it should be 12V?

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by goodbadugly

Thanks, thats awasome Sam. So if you tested your battery with a multimeter it should be 12V?

Actually 12.7V is fully charged. See below:

State of Charge Specific Gravity Voltage
12V 6V
100% 1.265 12.7 6.3
*75% 1.225 12.4 6.2
50% 1.190 12.2 6.1
25% 1.155 12.0 6.0
Discharged 1.120 11.9 6.0

[goodbadugly]

Originally Posted by g21-30

Actually 12.7V is fully charged. See below:

State of Charge Specific Gravity Voltage
12V 6V
100% 1.265 12.7 6.3
*75% 1.225 12.4 6.2
50% 1.190 12.2 6.1
25% 1.155 12.0 6.0
Discharged 1.120 11.9 6.0

Thanks, I read more about this from here:
http://www.woodmizer.ca/pdfs/Article.../batterydo.pdf

and here:
http://scootdawg.proboards.com/index...ay&thread=4122

[goodbadugly]

I forgot to ask, Does the battery needs to be connected to the motorcycle when I am charging? I took it out off the bike. I can charge it while its out, right?