Few tips about the battery maintenance - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Ri$hi · 01-12-2012, 08:23 AM

I searched the entire forum and was unable to find a dedicated thread for the battery maintenance, so thought of coming up with few tips which would be helpful.
Most of us would already be following these, but there are possibilities that it can be ignored assuming that its not a vital part of the bike.
In olden days when the kick start was the only means to start a bike, the battery was only used to power the lights, horn. But, its a different story about the modern machines which totally depends on the battery for the electric start. And finally coming to the bikes which run on points, the battery is pretty much the heart of performance for bikes which run on CB points
The average life span of a 12V battery is anywhere from 2 years to 2 1/2 years, provided regular maintenance is carried out.
There are two types of battery, the old traditional battery and the maintenance free battery, as the name suggests the maintenance free battery requires very less maintenance.

Here are a few tips about the battery maintenance.
1. Disconnect the negative terminal first and then the positive terminal.

2. Do not disconnect the overflow tube from the battery

There are chances of the battery acid spilling on the bike or clothes. The clothes gets damaged when comes in contact with the battery acid and bike parts also gets damaged by that. So, take extra care. Wash off immediately if its comes in contact with the skin. Use proper clothing as a safety measure.
3. Do not Place the battery on concrete surface as this will cause the battery to discharge, wooden surface is more preferable.
4. Once in a month check the level of the battery fluid or more frequently. It should be somewhere between max and min level. Top the battery with only distilled water, tap water contains mineral which is not good for the battery. The cells are not interconnected, each cell needs to be topped up individually. You can find distilled water in the gas station. Maintenance free battery doesn't need to be topped up.
5. Reinstall the red cap on the top of the battery.
6. Make sure that there is no corrosion on the end of the cables or on the terminals. Use a brush to remove the corrosion from the terminals.

7. Place the battery in the compartment, fasten it and make sure it doesn't move.
8. Connect the positive terminal and followed by negative.
9. Apply petroleum jelly on the terminals to avoid corrosion.
10. Make sure that the overflow tube is hanging below the motorcycle frame and also make sure there is no blockage in the tube.

Short ride uses more battery, the bike needs to be run at highway speeds for it to get charged. If the bike is not run for a long time, the battery needs to be removed from the bike and stored in a cool place and needs to topped up and charged regularly.
I am sorry if I have missed any points, this is my first DIY thread so kindly bear with me. Looking forward for more inputs from You all.

sunilg · 01-12-2012, 12:23 PM

Topic approved and moved.

princesirohi · 01-12-2012, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ri$hi

1. Disconnect the negative terminal first and then the positive terminal.

what is the reason for this

3. Do not Place the battery on concrete surface as this will cause the battery to discharge, wooden surface is more preferable.

again can you provide a reason for this.

also it is very important that never let your battery be deep discharged.

Ri$hi · 01-12-2012, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunilg

Topic approved and moved.

Thanks for the approval sunil

Ri$hi · 01-13-2012, 08:03 AM

@princesirohi:

By disconnecting the negative battery cable, you remove the "ground," shutting off power to your system

Wood and plastic are bad conductor of electricity it won't let the battery to discharge unlike the concrete

Ri$hi · 01-13-2012, 08:05 AM

It is a safety issue. The reason is that when you are using a wrench to disconnect the battery cable you can easily touch a portion of the vehicle that is grounded. If you were disconnecting the positive + cable first and you accidently touch a metal part the vehicle you will create a massive short circuit with the fireworks involved. The wrench in your hand will become an arc welder. By disconnecting the negative - cable first there is no danger of this happening as touching a metal part of the vehicle will do nothing as you are already working with the ground. Always disconnect the ground cable first and then you can move to the positive cable without worries.

I.S.Avinash · 01-13-2012, 08:55 AM

Nice piece of Information Rishi. Very informative

and Make sure you use multiple quotes bro while u quote the message

princesirohi · 01-13-2012, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ri$hi

@princesirohi:

By disconnecting the negative battery cable, you remove the "ground," shutting off power to your system

so.... what..?? power will be disconnected from the system even if you remove +ve wire first

Wood and plastic are bad conductor of electricity it won't let the battery to discharge unlike the concrete

this is news to me

that concrete is a good conductor of electricity

and battery gets discharged, just by keeping on concrete.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ri$hi

It is a safety issue. The reason is that when you are using a wrench to disconnect the battery cable you can easily touch a portion of the vehicle that is grounded. If you were disconnecting the positive + cable first and you accidently touch a metal part the vehicle you will create a massive short circuit with the fireworks involved. The wrench in your hand will become an arc welder. By disconnecting the negative - cable first there is no danger of this happening as touching a metal part of the vehicle will do nothing as you are already working with the ground. Always disconnect the ground cable first and then you can move to the positive cable without worries.

even if negative wire is disconnected first. and then while disconnecting the positive wire, the so called "wrench" may touch metal body part, if it does, there will be fireworks.

btw, nobody uses a wrench to remove battery wire, a screw driver is sufficient, and it has plastic cover at back.

Ri$hi · 01-13-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I.S.Avinash

Nice piece of Information Rishi. Very informative and Make sure you use multiple quotes bro while u quote the message

Thanks Avinash

Quote:

Originally Posted by princesirohi

even if negative wire is disconnected first. and then while disconnecting the positive wire, the so called "wrench" may touch metal body part, if it does, there will be fireworks.

btw, nobody uses a wrench to remove battery wire, a screw driver is sufficient, and it has plastic cover at back.

Most of us do not have easy access to the philips screw driver, so we might use a normal screw driver, I myself use a spanner as the slot in the screw got damaged by using a normal screw driver

Quote:

Originally Posted by princesirohi

so.... what..?? power will be disconnected from the system even if you remove +ve wire first.

This is the right procedure to disconnect the terminals, most of the mechanics also don't follow this. Most of the mechanics don't go through a professional training and education regarding the bike maintenance and repair. They only learn through their experience and keep doing the same mistakes what their gurus do, they don't change unless they have a bad experience. As a rider we need to follow all the safety measures while riding and while dealing with minor repairs.

Ri$hi · 01-13-2012, 10:22 AM

I have few more things to add.

Green and white ashy substances on and around the terminals and wires are corrosion and must be removed before proceeding. To remove corrosion, mix a solution of baking soda and water and pour over both terminal ends. The mixture will fizz and bubble and this is normal. Repeat this until both terminals look cleaned up. Wipe up mess around the terminals with a paper towel and discard in the trash.

Be extra careful not to let the positive terminal touch any metal part of the vehicle. When both posts of the battery are free of terminal ends, pour more baking soda mixture on those posts and scrub them with a wire brush until shiny. This will make a good contact and ensure proper starting abilities. Next use a wire brush to clean inside and on top of each terminal end to ensure good contact with posts when placed back on.

01-12-2012, 08:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
Ri$hi Duke'd Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 258	Few tips about the battery maintenance I searched the entire forum and was unable to find a dedicated thread for the battery maintenance, so thought of coming up with few tips which would be helpful. Most of us would already be following these, but there are possibilities that it can be ignored assuming that its not a vital part of the bike. In olden days when the kick start was the only means to start a bike, the battery was only used to power the lights, horn. But, its a different story about the modern machines which totally depends on the battery for the electric start. And finally coming to the bikes which run on points, the battery is pretty much the heart of performance for bikes which run on CB points The average life span of a 12V battery is anywhere from 2 years to 2 1/2 years, provided regular maintenance is carried out. There are two types of battery, the old traditional battery and the maintenance free battery, as the name suggests the maintenance free battery requires very less maintenance. Here are a few tips about the battery maintenance. 1. Disconnect the negative terminal first and then the positive terminal. 2. Do not disconnect the overflow tube from the battery There are chances of the battery acid spilling on the bike or clothes. The clothes gets damaged when comes in contact with the battery acid and bike parts also gets damaged by that. So, take extra care. Wash off immediately if its comes in contact with the skin. Use proper clothing as a safety measure. 3. Do not Place the battery on concrete surface as this will cause the battery to discharge, wooden surface is more preferable. 4. Once in a month check the level of the battery fluid or more frequently. It should be somewhere between max and min level. Top the battery with only distilled water, tap water contains mineral which is not good for the battery. The cells are not interconnected, each cell needs to be topped up individually. You can find distilled water in the gas station. Maintenance free battery doesn't need to be topped up. 5. Reinstall the red cap on the top of the battery. 6. Make sure that there is no corrosion on the end of the cables or on the terminals. Use a brush to remove the corrosion from the terminals. 7. Place the battery in the compartment, fasten it and make sure it doesn't move. 8. Connect the positive terminal and followed by negative. 9. Apply petroleum jelly on the terminals to avoid corrosion. 10. Make sure that the overflow tube is hanging below the motorcycle frame and also make sure there is no blockage in the tube. Short ride uses more battery, the bike needs to be run at highway speeds for it to get charged. If the bike is not run for a long time, the battery needs to be removed from the bike and stored in a cool place and needs to topped up and charged regularly. I am sorry if I have missed any points, this is my first DIY thread so kindly bear with me. Looking forward for more inputs from You all. __________________ Biking is not just an activity, its a religion Last edited by Ri$hi; 01-13-2012 at 06:25 PM.

01-12-2012, 12:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
sunilg Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ghaziabad, UP, India. Posts: 5,075	Topic approved and moved. __________________ (Been There Done That) x 3.25 Join xBhp On

01-13-2012, 08:03 AM	#5 (permalink)
Ri$hi Duke'd Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 258	@princesirohi: By disconnecting the negative battery cable, you remove the "ground," shutting off power to your system Wood and plastic are bad conductor of electricity it won't let the battery to discharge unlike the concrete __________________ Biking is not just an activity, its a religion

01-13-2012, 08:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
Ri$hi Duke'd Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 258	It is a safety issue. The reason is that when you are using a wrench to disconnect the battery cable you can easily touch a portion of the vehicle that is grounded. If you were disconnecting the positive + cable first and you accidently touch a metal part the vehicle you will create a massive short circuit with the fireworks involved. The wrench in your hand will become an arc welder. By disconnecting the negative - cable first there is no danger of this happening as touching a metal part of the vehicle will do nothing as you are already working with the ground. Always disconnect the ground cable first and then you can move to the positive cable without worries. __________________ Biking is not just an activity, its a religion

01-13-2012, 08:55 AM	#7 (permalink)
I.S.Avinash Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 330	Nice piece of Information Rishi. Very informative and Make sure you use multiple quotes bro while u quote the message __________________ Being a biker. Is it easier said than done? What makes a biker?Anyone who rides for the love of it..!!

01-13-2012, 10:22 AM	#10 (permalink)
Ri$hi Duke'd Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 258	I have few more things to add. Green and white ashy substances on and around the terminals and wires are corrosion and must be removed before proceeding. To remove corrosion, mix a solution of baking soda and water and pour over both terminal ends. The mixture will fizz and bubble and this is normal. Repeat this until both terminals look cleaned up. Wipe up mess around the terminals with a paper towel and discard in the trash. Be extra careful not to let the positive terminal touch any metal part of the vehicle. When both posts of the battery are free of terminal ends, pour more baking soda mixture on those posts and scrub them with a wire brush until shiny. This will make a good contact and ensure proper starting abilities. Next use a wire brush to clean inside and on top of each terminal end to ensure good contact with posts when placed back on. __________________ Biking is not just an activity, its a religion

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