My CL350 just doesn't want to kick over. It's been sitting for a little bit, and the battery has never been very strong - the starter has been saved for re-starts at a redlight, or when it is warmed up and just needs a nudge. It should start no problem, but I just broke a wicked sweat kicking it, and would love to just hook up the charger and mash the starter until she catches. It can't be that easy, is there a danger in doing it this way?
Jumpstarting with trickle charger?
- Thread starter ottorax
- Start date
Well.. a trickle charger isn't going to give you enough Amps to replace what the battery is losing. There are some chargers that have a "Jump Start" mode, but I would be hesitant to use it. These old bikes are fickle enough with the electrics, not hard at all to make something broken.
That said, I HAVE used a car battery to jump a bike before. It's definitely not recommended, but you can do it in an emergency. DO NOT do it with the car running. Or find a big hill and put it in second gear and let er roll...
All that said... If the bike has been sitting, the battery is likely toast. (especially if it's a lead-acid). Once those things sit and are depleted they almost never recover 100%. If you have a dead cell, the battery just won't hold a proper charge. The bike probably won't run right. And you could even damage the charging system trying to use it. What you SHOULD do, is take the battery to a place like Batteries Plus or something and let them do a load test. They will charge it over night and then do the test. A battery in good health is every bit as important to your electrical system as healthy oil is to the motor.
That said, I HAVE used a car battery to jump a bike before. It's definitely not recommended, but you can do it in an emergency. DO NOT do it with the car running. Or find a big hill and put it in second gear and let er roll...
All that said... If the bike has been sitting, the battery is likely toast. (especially if it's a lead-acid). Once those things sit and are depleted they almost never recover 100%. If you have a dead cell, the battery just won't hold a proper charge. The bike probably won't run right. And you could even damage the charging system trying to use it. What you SHOULD do, is take the battery to a place like Batteries Plus or something and let them do a load test. They will charge it over night and then do the test. A battery in good health is every bit as important to your electrical system as healthy oil is to the motor.
AlphaDogChoppers
Science is true whether you believe in it or not.
It's no problem jump starting a motorcycle from a car or another motorcycle. No need to have the car running if using a car. I use a largish motorcycle battery in my shop to jump start bikes. I have a set of jumper cables that I made with 10 ga wire and small battery clamps, and it works great.
A common myth is that you can damage the charging system of a bike by jump starting it. Even if you do it from a running car, it's 14.2 V as opposed to 12.8 V of a fully charged battery, the jump start won't damage the bikes charging system. What damages the charging system is the heavy draw from the stator after you get the bike started. Assuming a good battery, if you are running the engine at fairly high RPM, the stator will be producing peak current for a sustained period while the battery recharges. Stators are pushing their luck during normal circumstances, and recharging a low battery can cook them. The solution there is to avoid running at high RPM for an hour or two so that the stator is producing less current.
As far as your situation goes, the boost power for cranking won't hurt a thing. It is simply substituting the power input from an external battery to drive the starter.
Now, having said all that, I recommend that you not be such a cheap bastard and replace the battery. Running a weak battery can be very hard on your charging system and you may end up replacing the battery anyway, AND replacing your stator and/or regulator.
A common myth is that you can damage the charging system of a bike by jump starting it. Even if you do it from a running car, it's 14.2 V as opposed to 12.8 V of a fully charged battery, the jump start won't damage the bikes charging system. What damages the charging system is the heavy draw from the stator after you get the bike started. Assuming a good battery, if you are running the engine at fairly high RPM, the stator will be producing peak current for a sustained period while the battery recharges. Stators are pushing their luck during normal circumstances, and recharging a low battery can cook them. The solution there is to avoid running at high RPM for an hour or two so that the stator is producing less current.
As far as your situation goes, the boost power for cranking won't hurt a thing. It is simply substituting the power input from an external battery to drive the starter.
Now, having said all that, I recommend that you not be such a cheap bastard and replace the battery. Running a weak battery can be very hard on your charging system and you may end up replacing the battery anyway, AND replacing your stator and/or regulator.
