Is Your Battery Dead During Your Ride?
If your answer is yes, there are possible solutions on how to charge a motorcycle battery.
It is frustrating when your motorcycle runs into multiple problems including having a dead battery at one point to another. Having a dead battery in the middle of the road is a massive inconvenience for riders. As the bike with a dead battery is tougher to handle than starting a car.
Like any other vehicle, your motorcycle needs a sufficient amount of energy to charge for maintaining a full battery on the road.
Charging your battery requires care and attention to monitor the battery carefully to prevent the danger of sparks and explosion. If you have trouble with starting your motorcycle, we have a detailed guide on how to charge a motorcycle battery. This guide will allow you to charge your battery and get you back on the road.
To charge your battery carefully, there are two ways of charging a motorcycle battery. One can charge with the use of a battery charger and the other one is with the use of jumper cables. These two methods will allow you to choose how to recharge motorcycle battery.
Having a detailed method will help you to carry out the instructions carefully.
How to Charge a Motorcycle Battery Step by Step Guide
It is essential for every rider to know how to deal with a dead battery in the middle of the road. To know how to charge a motorcycle battery is to follow either one of these methods below:
Method 1: Using a Battery Charger
Using a battery charger is the easiest solution for how to charge a motorcycle battery. A battery charger requires careful charging as one wrong connection can harm your motorcycle.
This method requires several steps which all you have to is to follow the instructions by figuring out your battery type and finding a suitable charger.
1) Take the Battery Out of Your Bike
When disconnecting your battery, do take care to remove the black cable (negative) and keep the negative table from touching the battery. Then remove the red cable (positive) and remove the battery from its frame. Be sure you take the battery out of your bike without touching the metal parts.
2) Figure Out the Type of Battery You Have
Several chargers accommodate to various batteries. Before you begin connecting any cables, there are five types of motorcycle batteries which are:
- Gel
- Lithium based
- Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)
- Wet
- Lead Acid
All of these can charge with a conventional charger except for lithium-based batteries, as they have different internal structures. Lithium-based batteries can damage the internal structures with the use of regular chargers. It is very essential to know the type of battery you have as the charging process varies from brand to brand. Always refer to the manufacturer’s instruction before you begin charging.
3) Choose the charger before you begin connecting cables to the main socket.
In motorcycle batteries, there are four types of chargers which each mentions below:
Trickle Charger
This type of charger is the most basic charger any riders use. As it simply converts from AC to DC electricity and pumps it into the battery until it turns off. Trickle chargers are manual chargers, as it requires observing the charging process until the battery has charged fully. This would result in overloading if not shut off.
Float Charger
Float chargers are a common type of charger as it builds with modern technology. Float chargers have an automatic desulfation mode as it provides a gentle current to the battery. This charger type has circuitry that monitors the battery’s charging progress. The automatic desulfation mode helps to stop the charger once the charging process finishes.
Smart Charger
This charger type helps to monitor the battery charging progress. With the growing popularity of smart chargers, using this type of charger helps to reduce the damage to the battery as it stops charging when it is full. Smart chargers have the desulfation mode that knocks the sulfur off the lead plates inside the battery. This process works by varying the motorcycle battery voltage and the electrical pulses.
Car Charger
Car chargers are a great tool to charge your motorcycle battery. However, car chargers are inconvenient to use as it has a high charging rate, which would blow up the battery. If you want to use a car charger, try to mitigate the high amperes by running appliances in parallel such as mitigating light bulbs.
4) Start Charging Your Battery
Before you start connecting cables, make sure you are in a well-aired area as the battery can produce hydrogen gas in the charging process. When it comes to charging, make sure you align the cables in the right terminal to avoid electric shocks or sparks.
5) Remove the cables and install the battery back onto your bike
Once your battery has completely charged, disconnect the cables carefully and install the battery back onto your bike. Your motorcycle battery is ready to hit the road!
Method 2: Jumper Cables
If charging with a battery charger is inconvenient, you can charge your motorcycle battery using jumper cables. Jumper cables are a common tool to charge motorcycle battery voltages.
Car drivers keep jumper cables in case of emergencies on the road.
If you want to charge using jumper cables, follow the instructions below:
1) Get jumper cables from a car driver or purchase from a local hardware store.
2) Leave the car off if you want to jump-start using a car. Car batteries have a higher capacity than motorcycle batteries.
Note: it is important to have one car running when trying to jump-start another car. Motorcycle batteries do not require the same amount of energy so the car should turn off at the time of this process.
3) Turn the bike on if you want to jump-start with another motorcycle.
Note: jump-starting the bike is as same as jump-starting the car. The only difference between these two practices is when you jump-start the bike, start the other bike instead of the dead bike.
4) Connect the red clamp to the positive terminal of the dead bike’s battery and connect the black clamp to the frame of the dead motorcycle.
5) Then attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the working battery.
6) Link the black clamp to the negative terminal of the working vehicle’s battery.
7) Start the engine of your motorcycle. If your bike does not work, then the battery might drain completely. When starting your motorcycle, there should be any signs of energy. The bike should start after the first few tries
8) Once your bike engine has started, disconnect the jumper cables. Your charged battery is ready to hit the road!
Tips and Advice for Charging Motorcycle Battery:
When charging the motorcycle battery, it is very important to follow these tips to ensure a safe charging process. Be sure you follow these tips if you face a dead battery:
- When it comes to how to charge a motorcycle battery, it is very important to have a decent knowledge about the type of battery you have, before you begin charging. If you are not sure if the battery charger is right for your bike, you can talk to dealerships or gear expert for decent advice.
- Many riders struggled to know the amps of their batteries. How many amps is a motorcycle battery depends on how long you charge. For instance, if you have a 20-amps battery, then it would take 10 hours to charge at two amps or less.
- To know how to charge a motorcycle battery, it is very important to monitor the power of your battery. If you do not observe the power, this would cause overheating and failure. Do handle with care when charging your battery.
- When charging your battery, it is important to know about the voltage. How many volts is a motorcycle battery depends on how long you charge the battery with care. For instance, if you charge a 12-volt battery, it should take between 4- 24 hours. If you use a trickle charger, charge for around 8-12 hours. This should give you an idea of the type of charger to use.
- For this guide of how to charge a motorcycle battery, make sure the area you charge must happen in a cool and dry place. If you charge in a humid area, this would result in overheating and could cause an explosion. To take care of where you charge your dead battery!
- When using jumper cables for charging, make sure there should be no metal contact between different internal components. This would result in an electric shock.
- Many people asked how long to charge a motorcycle battery, the answer is it depends on how long it takes the battery to be full. This varies from one type of charger to another. For smart chargers, it takes 2-3 hours.
Wrap Up
Here are the two main methods for how to charge a motorcycle battery. You can see these two guides have definite instruction for you to follow and handle with care when charging your motorcycle battery. If you follow either one of these two methods, you will be safe from overheating and the explosion of your battery.
This guide for how to charge a motorcycle battery will allow you to prevent suffering a dead battery during your ride. With care and safety, charging your motorcycle battery will help you to prepare the ride before you hit the road. When it comes to the charging process, do make sure you monitor the progression carefully and do be careful with the way you handle your motorcycle battery.
Maintaining your battery requires great attention to follow either of these two guides on how to charge a motorcycle battery. If your battery does not work with these two methods, it is time to take your bike to the nearest workshop.
After charging, your frustration will finish and you can enjoy the ride peacefully.
So follow one of the guides on how to charge a motorcycle battery and you will never suffer a dead battery again!
You can also read how long to charge motorcycle battery by riding.