Not exactly 4 wheel, but definately automotive related. I have been given a Optimate Battery charger to charge the battery on my CBR1000F. It has additional features to diagnose plate sulphation and automatically semi discharge/ recharge to keep the battery at 100% capacity if it is kept connected to the charger.
At present the battery is out and connected to the charger which is outputing 14 Volts (about the same as the alternator).
I have seen advertisd permenent wiring harnesses that enable the fitment of a plocket to the fairing for quick connection, that avoid the hastle of getting the battery out,
The question is, can i keep the battery connected to the bike whilst charging or is this likely to blow the regulator/ rectifier?
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Shouldn't - we have two of these keeping batteries alive on various bits of kit over the winter. Confirm that there is a permenant connection mode, simply screws onto the battery terminals and the Optimate plugs in.
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Haven't tried an optimate, but have used a similar trickle charge/ voltage sensing unit (Battery Tender) before and there were an extra set of quick disconnect leads to attach to the battery in situ. Used it on three seperate bikes over the course of 7 years with no problems.
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I have one of the Optimate chargers and they are excellent.
Different models and their site tells you which is the ideal one for your needs.
tinyurl.com/4ppov
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We call these "battery tenders". I use two on both of our Hogs continuously. They always fire up first touch of the button, even after several weeks of non-use. Definitely the tenders prolong battery life; my Softail's battery is well into its 5th year, quite something for a bike that gets ridden as hard as mine. Much better for the battery too than the continual charge/discharge cycle you get with a regular charger.
You're correct in that you can wire up a permanent connection to a convenient point on the bike - mine are just secured with a cable tie on the rear frame. If you can't find one commercially, should be fairly easy to make with a few cable connectors.
You can use with confidence, you won't blow anything on the bike.
Just remember to unplug before you fire her up.
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The question is, can i keep the battery connected to the bike whilst charging or is this likely to blow the regulator/ rectifier?
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That's the point, they are supposed to be left connected doing some clever electronic nurturing to the battery while attached.
In the cheapskate Hawkeye household, my battery charger is set to 2 amps and runs on a timer to give half an hour a week charge. The croc. clips attach to a rear bungee hook and a live nipple I fitted through the battery box.
My bike fired up second try after 5 months inaction.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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