Question @ trickle charging mc while riding?

[ocean]

A curiosity here - partly inspired question by my 84 cb700sc nighthawk S having repeated charging issues. Not starting, battery dying and having to be recharged but dying only days later of normal riding or even just sitting over one night, sputtering and backfiring then dying,very difficult to start even with full choke for minutes... And it is supposedly a "good" and fairly new battery after tested at a mc shop.

Is it possible, and could it even be healthy for the bike, to have some type of trickle charging attached permanantly to my motorcycle that would supply the battery with a constant flow of amps in order to keep it from failing to charge in stop and go, city type traffic? Or in case the key is turned to the brake light position for an extended period of time?

Part of the problem with my bike i am thinking, is that apparently it is notorious for not charging itself under a certain rpm range. Such as is found in frequent stop and go city driving or slower speeds for any reason. So am wondering if and how i could safely and effectively attach some type of trickle charger to my bike that will actually work even while riding it to keep it from discharging during riding conditions that it may otherwise stall or discharge under.?

Any specific knowledge and ideas on this?

[jonnythan]

Is it possible, and could it even be healthy for the bike, to have some type of trickle charging attached permanantly to my motorcycle that would supply the battery with a constant flow of amps in order to keep it from failing to charge in stop and go, city type traffic?

That's a brilliant idea!

You should patent the idea. I suggest you call it.... an alternator



Sorry.

This is what bikes and cars already do. They have alternators or generators that produce current and trickle charge the battery while the vehicle is running.

Part of the problem with my bike i am thinking, is that apparently it is notorious for not charging itself under a certain rpm range. Such as is found in frequent stop and go city driving or slower speeds for any reason. So am wondering if and how i could safely and effectively attach some type of trickle charger to my bike that will actually work even while riding it to keep it from discharging during riding conditions that it may otherwise stall or discharge under.?

Any specific knowledge and ideas on this?

Sounds like your bike's charging system might be on the fritz. What do you ride?

[jonnythan]

Ah, looks like you already started a thread about this..
http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopi ... ht=#219302

I suggest you look into fixing your charging system and/or replacing your battery. You were given good suggestions for determining where the problems are.

Go back to that thread.

[ocean]

"

Is it possible, and could it even be healthy for the bike, to have some type of trickle charging attached permanantly to my motorcycle that would supply the battery with a constant flow of amps in order to keep it from failing to charge in stop and go, city type traffic?

That's a brilliant idea!

You should patent the idea. I suggest you call it.... an alternator



Sorry.

This is what bikes and cars already do. They have alternators or generators that produce current and trickle charge the battery while the vehicle is running."

If they work properly that is great. But from what ive been reading, that is part of the problem with these bikes, that some of them do not adequetly trickle charge the battery while riding below a certain rpm ( @ 2-3,000?) or with frequent stop and go riding. So am wondering about doing this as a compensation for such.

Part of the problem with my bike i am thinking, is that apparently it is notorious for not charging itself under a certain rpm range. Such as is found in frequent stop and go city driving or slower speeds for any reason. So am wondering if and how i could safely and effectively attach some type of trickle charger to my bike that will actually work even while riding it to keep it from discharging during riding conditions that it may otherwise stall or discharge under.?

Any specific knowledge and ideas on this?

Sounds like your bike's charging system might be on the fritz. What do you ride?

84 cb700sc Honda Nighthawk S

[Sev]

Full charging system check

Instructions are in your manual, or I can dig them up after work.

[jonnythan]

If they work properly that is great. But from what ive been reading, that is part of the problem with these bikes, that some of them do not adequetly trickle charge the battery while riding below a certain rpm ( @ 2-3,000?) or with frequent stop and go riding. So am wondering about doing this as a compensation for such.

Looking at your symptoms, there is definitely something wrong with your charging system or battery. You don't need some sort of supplemental charging system - you need to fix the one you have.

[Sev]

No Johnny,

some of the older bikes do not offer sufficient charge at idle or just above to run all the circuits. This is not a problem normally, unless you are idling for an extended period, or if you restart often.

I would advise you do a full check of your charging system as outlined by your manual, but I would not be surprised if it was functioning within specs.

[jonnythan]

No Johnny,

some of the older bikes do not offer sufficient charge at idle or just above to run all the circuits. This is not a problem normally, unless you are idling for an extended period, or if you restart often.

Being the owner of a 21 year old Japanese motorcycle with a notoriously weak and finicky charging system, I'm well aware of that fact.

That doesn't in any way negate or disprove my statement, which you obviously are in total agreement with:

"Looking at your symptoms, there is definitely something wrong with your charging system or battery. You don't need some sort of supplemental charging system - you need to fix the one you have."

[Sev]

Actually no. I don't "definitely" agree with you. I think it's POSSIBLE that there's something wrong. But I'm not going to tell the guy it is until I've seen proof that there's actually a failure in the charging system.

Who knows, maybe there's a short to ground that is draining the battery while it's at rest.

Does the bike ever just stop running and have the battery die? Or is it more like, you have a dead battery when you come back to it after a while?

While you could say that I partially agree with you, I do not believe that you're 100% correct, and I will not until I've seen proof of such.

[ofblong]

I would have to agree with Sev. If some part of the charging system is failing (getting old and worn out) it should be replaced. It could be its worn out because of age or it could be that it was bad to begin with. If its worn out and failing your better of replacing it before it takes down the rest of the system. Plus it will save you $$$ in the long run.