Test... Test... Is this thing on?
Hi Rob!
Don McClellan here, remember me?
Hey, I concur with folks that your battery is smoked. The clock symptom
was pretty telling.
I'd like to step up with a few words on trickle chargers. (Throw it away!)
Ignore me if you've heard this, but I just signed on to the digest for the
first time in about 3 1/2 years.
The biggest thing is that as the amperage drawn by the battery drops from
the battery becoming fully charged, the voltage goes up. I measured one of
my old chargers at 18V! For folks who like to fool with hydrometers and
are willing to calculate appropriate charge times and wake up in the middle
of the night to turn them off, trickle chargers are ALMOST helpful tools.
I used to buy new batteries every year for all my bikes. I thought that was
just part of the deal living with hot summers and tiny batteries. Somebody
turned me on to the "Super Smart Battery Tender" (lame name, cool tool) for
$50. There are other voltage regulated small chargers out there that are
probably great too and for probably less money. The cool things about the
SSBT are that the voltage level remains constant below the gassing point of
the electrolyte, and once the battery stops taking more charge, the current
level drops to a low maintenance level charge. So, you can plug the thing
in and forget about it and the electrolyte doesn't boil off and the plates
don't warp. Again, I'm sure there are other chargers that do this, I'm
just familiar (and happy) with the SSBT. Anyhow, the thing more than paid
for itself the first year in that I didn't smoke my batteries during the
winter. I now get an average of about 4 years out of my batteries.
_ o
_ / = > Later,
_ (_)==(_) Don
------------
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 20:38:48 +1100
From: Rob Chapman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Help, please, my baby won't start!
Yesterday I went to start her, and the battery was flat. I put the battery
on a trickle charge for 30 hours, and just went to start her 20 mins ago.
Absolutely nothing happened when I turned the key to the ON position,
except
that the clock, which was/is showing 1.00, and flashing the colon sign, at
the off position, vanished! Normally the lights go on (Aussie Rules), and
everything else lights up.
Have I just finished off the battery, or is there something else that I
should look at?
All suggestions appreciated!
Thank you!
Rob in the Aussie bush, 65 km from the nearest shop!
Regards,
Rob Chapman
