Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB750 => Topic started by: Pauarc on March 05, 2024, 02:49:02 PM
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What are your thoughts on battery oximiser good or bad been given one can you leave connected all the time when bike not being used
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I found that if they are left connected all the time they dry out the battery (lead acid).
I have 4 but don't use them anymore.
I take the batteries off and just give them a top up charge every now and again.
They are kept in a box I made so they are not exposed to very cold temperatures over the winter.
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Not used that one, but my CB750F1 is always hooked up to my Optimate III which probbaly does the same thing as the one in your photo, I just leave the tail on the bike and hook up and disconnect when needed. But as said whatch the acid level as I did have one dry out a few years ago.
Cheers
Dennis
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There are quite a few versions of what I call Smart Chargers - that looks like one of them.
I have a couple of C-Tek units my first unit is now 19 years old. It is connected to our little used car for about 10 months of the year 24/7 never had an issue with the battery drying out. I suspect that is due to it being a very low output unit sold as a Merc Part for liitle used vehicles
I bought a clone version from Aldi that went faulty after about 18 months - the mode button failed.
I replaced that with the MXS-5 version mainly for car batteries but it has a bike mode so I use it for regular bike top ups - works with Lead Acid, & AGM. Due to the small capacity of bike batteries I do not leave them on once the battery is fully charged as indicated on the units traffic light type system.
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Got a cheapo trickle charger from Lidl plugged in via a timer switch, which is set for 1 hour per day and that seems to work fine.
As Paul mentions it's also a good idea to bring your batteries in from the cold during winter, as severe frost will bugger them if they are in a low charge state.
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What are your thoughts on battery oximiser good or bad been given one can you leave connected all the time when bike not being used
Having read the manufacturers spiel it looks pretty good with a neat display for voltage & amps at that price should be good quality.
On some brands you can't always use them via a timer - it depends if the mode switching is lost when you power down. I'm biased as I have the C-tek - you can buy different leads that enable easy connection on a bike using an inline plug common to the range as well as cigar lighter & extra long leads with clips etc
https://www.oxfordproducts.com/motorcycle/brands/oxford/battery_care_and_power_accessories/oximiser_900_essential_battery_management_system/
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I've got a C Tek. Its "bob on".
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My two (complete) bikes are on a Ctek during winter. I use Motobatt AGM batteries and after more than 5 years stil ok.
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Oximiser is good and I had no problems leaving it plugged in all the time the bike's in the garage. My frustration with them is the poor quality white 2-pin plugs they use to connect up. They become increasingly difficult to line up.
I bought a CTEK in the end.
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The oximiser I have fitted has a two pin connector fixed to battery on bike and plugged into unit
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That's the plug. I find they are fine for the first dozen or so times they're connected up, but they steadily get bent or loosened in the plastic and get more and more difficult to get a solid connection.
But I like the unit itself. Never a problem with the battery and also a very simple display.
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If it begins to give trouble I will just change the plug and socket
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Do batteries drain when not being used I was thinking about putting a kill switch under seat for when the bike is not being used any thoughts on it
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Do batteries drain when not being used I was thinking about putting a kill switch under seat for when the bike is not being used any thoughts on it
All batteries drain over time even when disconnected - the voltage rate loss over time for lead acid is higher than that of AMG ones who hold the voltage higher for longer.
As the battery becomes older due to Sulphination of the plates inside the rate of voltage loss increases. - so they go flat quicker.
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If you have to top up battery does that shorten the battery life my bat is only a year old and I had to top it up yesterday with distilled water they were just above the minimum
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As far as I know topping up will not make any differance.
If the battery is subject to prolonged overcharging you could loose some of the Electrolyte.
IIRC the killer for batteries is letting them go too flat/Sulphination over time.
When I was in the car trade brand new cars in the showroom would have batteries go flat leading to early failure within a few weeks or months. Most manufacturers will not cover this under the new car warranty unless it's caused by failure due to a manufacturing fault.
Maintaing the battery voltage is where Smart Chargers really help as they have a Pulse Charge system built in to top up the charge - activated when the terminal voltage falls below a certain limit.
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Thanks for the advice and help
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If you have to top up battery does that shorten the battery life my bat is only a year old and I had to top it up yesterday with distilled water they were just above the minimum
No, not normally. But does indicate that it's been charging a little above voltage needed as this will evaporate the water, hence the need to add some, also to keep the specific gravity in range.
The old Honda manuals have a decent section to describe this balance, obviously for plain lead acid type battery originally fitted.
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What voltage would you expect when battery is charged and not connected I have 12.5 is this okay
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If they generally float above 12.1 and not keep going down over reasonable period of rest, then that indicates decent range.
12.6 ~ 12.9 would likely be registered with a new battery with good charge, these numbers for conventional type as being typical.
If your one registers 12.5 and stays there with no use, then all appears OK.
You can watch them with digital meter when cranking too, and can go down to 10.8~6 even for healthy battery when under load. Much under that and you'll also hear it turning slowly.
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Thank for your information 👍
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Got a new battery now old battery kept going flat when not being used for a few days got a sealed battery now is it alright to put the optimiser on that?
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I always fully charged new batteries - what type is it as sealed is a bit vague as a description.
Is it an AGM type or normal Lead/Acid?
Both these types okay with Optimiser including gell type.
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It’s a lead/acid sealed for life as I only use the bike at weekends just like to keep battery fully charged thanks
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I have my touring bike plugged in all winter purely because of prolonged lay up but this time of year I find even one run a week is enough to keep battery up.
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The 2 pin connectors on the Oximizers are rubbish. I’ve had my Fireblade on trickle charge for the last 6 months and didn’t realise there was a bad connection on it so it didn’t maintain the battery.
Now I have a battery that’s dead and won’t charge because the bike alarm has drained it completely.
I’ve re wired the Oximizer with the parts from Amazon below, cable on the left just cut one end off and soldered it the the Oximizer pcb.
Way better connection.
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The C-Tek tells you if there is either a connection fault or reverse connection via the LED lights, more LED's also shows you charging at what stage it is at plus when its on pulse maintainance charge.
Does the Oximiser have a Recondition mode that will bring even the flatest battery to eventually take charge - might take 12 hours but it does work on my C-Tek.
Today I had to remove the battery from my 400 as I could not see the electrolyte level through the white opaque casing without some back lighting.