Battery charging

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:58 am

Brand new rider, again (after 50 years). '97 Goldwing with Motor Trike Conversion. Question: how can I charge the battery onboard without removing seat? Thanx in advance.

Andy Cote · Post by **Andy Cote** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:26 am

Do you have the owner's manual? Must have item if you don't. Service manual is close to a must have as well since most dealers won't work on a bike of this age (older than most of their mechanics).

The side covers should come off without removing the seat but there are some aftermarket seats that make it more difficult. Be careful pulling those covers. The covers have ABS plastic pins that push into rubber grommets. The grommets get dry/hard and hold on to those pins tightly. You may even find where a previous owner has broken one of the pins already. On the other hand, if not installed correctly or there is a broken pin, these covers are prone to fly off going down the highway.

IMHO, for your first time, I would pull the seat and carefully pull the covers. When you are ready to reassemble, install a remote cable for you charger/tender and route it to someplace protected but easy to get to. Then attach some apply a small amount of grease to the pins and perhaps some new grommets as well as tethers between the panels and the frame. Do the seat last with maybe a touch of grease on those bolts as well.

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newday777 · Post by **newday777** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:52 am

The battery is behind the side cover and you do not have to remove the seat.

Just remove the right side cover(as you sit on the bike as reference) to access the battery.

Yes be careful of not breaking the pins.

Replace the grommets as they are the cause of lost side covers. Many battery covers have blown off from lack of replacing the cheap grommets. Spend the money on grommets so you don't loose the cover, the covers are rare to find original used and very costly new.

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:58 am

Thanx for all tips. Was hoping against seat et al removal at this moment, but looks like I will have to bite the bullet. Again, thanx

newday777 · Post by **newday777** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:00 am

This is the charger/maintainer I use and it comes with a pigtail plug to put on the battery that you can fish out through the gap in the front of the battery cover so you can plug in the charger/maintainer without removing the side cover each time.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-S ... rs&veh=sem

newday777 · Post by **newday777** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:02 am

Golfr wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:58 am Thanx for all tips. Was hoping against seat et al removal at this moment, but looks like I will have to bite the bullet. Again, thanx

What??? Why are you thinking you have to remove the seat??????

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:26 am

Seat removal?? I can see now other way to access battery posts. Relatively new battery but I left key in On and drained battery. Just need to trickle to get back up and running.
Thanx for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

newday777 · Post by **newday777** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:32 am

Golfr wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:26 am Seat removal?? I can see now other way to access battery posts. Relatively new battery but I left key in On and drained battery. Just need to trickle to get back up and running.
Thanx for sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Are you trying to put huge clamps on the battery to charge it?
I've never had a problem getting to the battery posts, unless maybe you have an aftermarket seat that drops down lower on the sides than a stock seat does.

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:42 pm

No to using large clamps. Small trickle charger. I think seat is OEM, it has ‘Wing insignia. Will try moving positive post cover enough to attach clamp.
Not really as stupid as I seem, just ignorant of ‘Wing cans and can’ts.

Andy Cote · Post by **Andy Cote** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 3:01 pm

Ok, you have the side cover off but not the seat. Yes, the sides of the seat hang low and can make installation of the battery charger clips difficult. You probably know it already but if you can get the positive clip on securely you can attach the negative to the frame.

There is no need to be wary of removing (or perhaps more correctly reinstalling) the seat. I know, I swore at my 1500 a couple times trying to get the front hooked in and getting the screws lined up. But the more I did it, the less concerned I became. Check WingAdmim's post that I linked above. You can use a light to look in the handle/seat mounting holes to make sure they are aligned. I also have started the bolts without the handle and then removed one at a time to install the handles. It is certainly easier with a long hex driver attached to a ratchet but even with an Allen wrench it's not bad.

DenverWinger · Post by **DenverWinger** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:48 pm

You don't have to put your trickle charger directly on the battery posts. You can clamp the pos lead of the charger to one of the screws holding the 55 amp dogbone fuse and the neg lead to the arm of the brake pedal or any other convenient ground. It will charge the battery just fine that way.

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Thank you for the info. Is the dog bone highly visible to a rookie?
Also is a 500mAMP charger enough to get starting charge overnight?

newday777 · Post by **newday777** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:03 pm

Golfr wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:57 pm Thank you for the info. Is the dog bone highly visible to a rookie?

To the right of the battery, it has a black plastic cover over the dogbone fuse. There should be a spare fuse inside the cover too.

Also is a 500mAMP charger enough to get starting charge overnight?

No. That is only a maintainer for one the battery is fully charged. Look at the link I posted above for the Schumacher charger maintainer.

DenverWinger · Post by **DenverWinger** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:08 pm

"Main Fuse B' in the picture. Probably has a plastic cover you can open to get to the fuse and terminals. That charger should give enough charge overnight to start the bike, depending on how low the battery is.

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:25 pm

Thank you. Excellent info. Even I can undrrstand

AZgl1800 · Post by **AZgl1800** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:58 pm

Golfr wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:57 pm Thank you for the info. Is the dog bone highly visible to a rookie?
Also is a 500mAMP charger enough to get starting charge overnight?

a battery that is pretty fully discharged, is supposed to be charged at 2 amps for 10-12 hours.

the little Battery Tenders will "Eventually" bring it back to full charge, but it will take a week or more depending on temperatures.

I keep my bikes on Battery Tenders all the time, no matter if for a day or a month, or the winter.

Golfr · Post by **Golfr** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:21 am

Thank you. Will do the same.

Post by **WingAdmin** » Sat Oct 31, 2020 12:23 pm

Battery Tender is the one you want: Battery Tender Jr. Review

AZgl1800 · Post by **AZgl1800** » Sat Oct 31, 2020 3:07 pm

the temps are now dipping into the lower 30s here, and it has been raining for a week.
the sun is non-existent, so the Solar Charger on the Suburban's dashboard is not blinking its' little light as it should.
it has a current output of 125 milliAmps on a bright day.

so, I put a 1.25 amp Battery Tender Jr on the truck and it will stay there until spring and warm weather.

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