[Invincsum]

Was all set to ride home today only to find out the battery had died during the work day. Best we can figure, I must have turned the key too far to the left and accidentally left the parking lights on. Thought I'd checked them but... :roll:

Have any of you had to remove and charge the battery? We're going to try tomorrow morning and then drive it to the local Suzuki place (the battery, not the bike) to get it charged.

Is it worth investing in a charger?

Bryna

 

[Randy]

Have not done it but with the 400 at least it is right up front and not to hard to get to.
Something else you want to check, your under seat light could have been left on, or the seat latch did not turn it off

 

[pauljo]

Have any of you had to remove and charge the battery? We're going to try tomorrow morning and then drive it to the local Suzuki place (the battery, not the bike) to get it charged.

Is it worth investing in a charger?

Bryna

Removing the battery is very easy. Open the seat and take the tool kit out. You need to tip up the black cover that is over the battery (it has the starter solenoid wiring on top of it). You'll see a pull pin underneath where the toolkit was - just pull up on it to lift that cover. There are two screws to remove that attach the +/- cables to the battery. Then just slide the battery up and out of its compartment.

A battery charger is very nice to have. I use one called a "Battery Tender Junior". It is a smart charger - it won't overcharge the battery. I leave mine plugged in whenever I won't be riding the scooter for a few days.
I bought mine at Arizona Motorsports. They have them for $19.95, which is a good price.
http://store.azmusa.com/battenjr12vb.html

 

[ted clement]

Would have been nice if the "cig lighter" had been installed live with the switch off so that a charger could be plugged in there.

 

[doug collins]

battery died

I got two questions. One can you jump these batterys? And two won't the scoot charge it self after jumping? Forgive me i'm new to these things. :?
Doug

 

[mactd83]

doug,

you can jump any automotive battery but some vehicles computers can be sensitive to voltage spikes from a "jump" and if the charging system works good yes it will charge the battery...however you have to take the charging systems total output power in amps and subtract the power required to run the vehicle first then the spare power will charge the battery, which can take a very long time if ever to fully charge the battery, plus it puts a strain on the charging system that it has to work too hard. an alternator only puts out as much power as is demanded from it. with a dead battery its like holding your foot on the gas pedal to the floor in first gear everywhere you go. thats how hard the charging system has to work with a dead battery connected. all motor vehicles are actually powered by the charging system..not the battery. the battery is there for starting and reserve power and in some cases electronic ignition or fuel pumps before the vehicle is started. you will notice with any vehicle running you could actually disconnect the battery and it will still run...bad idea however as the battery also acts as a voltage stabilizer to prevent voltage spikes harmful to the computer and other electronics, anything above an 18 volt spike ususally will kill an ECU. with "jumping" you may also find that it will work and run till you get to where your going, then shut it off and it wont start back up again...not that it didnt charge..just didnt charge enough as the starter motor requires the most reserve power of any other electronic device on a vehicle. the best bet if your stuck is to "jump" but when you get to where your going disconnect the battery and charge it overnight on a low amperage charge...2 amps is good for most 12 volt batteries, the lower the better as fast charges shorten the life of a battery due to accelerated sulfate growth between the lead plates. i hope this helps and sorry for the tehnical drawn out explanation :lol:

 

[ted clement]

If its warm weather, try hooking up the jumpers, and just let it sit for awhile...1/2 hr or more. If the battery is not totally flat, it might take enough charge to start. This has worked on my airplane battery that was just too low to full kick over the engine.

 

[pauljo]

My '03 Suzukis are the first motorcycles I have ever had with the maintenance free gell type batteries. I recently read that if these get totally drained, they usually won't recharge off of a 2 amp charger. I have two Battery Tender Jrs, and I keep each machine plugged in when parked in my garage to keep the batteries topped up. Even during the riding season, I sometimes ride one machine for several weeks and the other one will sit. I am also very careful to check that I don't turn to the parking light position when locking the forks.

I think that with a battery that discharged enough so that it wouldn't start the Scooter, I would take it to the dealer, rather than try to recharge it myself.

I have successfully jump started other motorcycles off of a car before. I also jump started cars a couple of times off of my '85 Goldwing. But these were not fuel injected bikes, and did not have ECVT transmissions, and did not have gell type batteries. All of this new technology is great when it is working right. But I feel like all my prior experience no longer applies. If I was stranded out in the boondocks with a drained battery on the scooter, I'd probably try the jump start... and hope for the best.

 

[Invincsum]

Thanks, as always, for the great advice. We removed it easily with the tool kit under the seat--and the folks at Bromley's were kind enough to charge it at no charge. (We will definitely go back and patronize their store.)

I know now to make sure I don't turn the ignition key too far to the left when locking the front wheel. We think that's what did it.

Looking on the bright side, the bike was safe in our office building parking lot--and we both got to practice tight turns and other low-speed maneuvers during the 20 minutes the mechanic suggested running it after reinstallation. Those turns are getting easier and are done with more confidence now.

Cheers,

Bryna

 

[Al Davison]

question answered, I think

As a newbie (cutting the check for my 650 tomorrow morning!), one of the questions I was going to ask is if there is no way to start the bike if the battery is dead - looks like I have my answer. I kinda figured that it would be like a car with an automatic tranny - no push starts. Oh, well...

Still, it's better than my wife's Acura TL - if her battery goes dead, she can't open the trunk - there's no key latch back there. Guess where she keeps her jumper cables... :wink:

Al

 

[NormanB]

Hi

I would strongly recommend the following (or similar) accessory:

http://www.accumate.co.uk/it010003.html

NormanB