Starting Current
#1
03-18-2017, 09:04 PM
Starting Current
So I wanted to get one of them little battery packs to keep in the swingarm bag incase I leave my lights on or something.
Picked up a 150 starting / 300 peak amp battery, but when i attempted to try it (better now than when I need it)
so I unplugged the positive lead and connected it to the positive battery clamp, and connected the negative to the neg battery lead connection.
Bike turns on, but when I press start I get a loud clunk, andddd nothing.
Im thinking since the battery is 240cca, Im thinking maybe I need to get a bigger one. Would a 200CA battery work, or would I need 250?
Picked up a 150 starting / 300 peak amp battery, but when i attempted to try it (better now than when I need it)
so I unplugged the positive lead and connected it to the positive battery clamp, and connected the negative to the neg battery lead connection.
Bike turns on, but when I press start I get a loud clunk, andddd nothing.
Im thinking since the battery is 240cca, Im thinking maybe I need to get a bigger one. Would a 200CA battery work, or would I need 250?
#2
03-19-2017, 09:21 AM
Grand HDF Member
I think those little battery packs are intended to boost/charge an existing battery, not be a substitute. If your bike's battery is too flat to turn it over, the booster gives it some extra oomf. I used a 300 peak to start a 6.2L truck engine, and it started immediately. The extent of my personal experience with these devices, is limited to that one use, about a week ago.
Also, I would be concerned about starting a vehicle with the booster, alone, without the vehicle's battery as a buffer. I don't know what a vehicle's charging output would do to a booster, if the vehicle started. It might be a good thing it wouldn't start your bike. I'm not a battery Engineer, though.
Also, I would be concerned about starting a vehicle with the booster, alone, without the vehicle's battery as a buffer. I don't know what a vehicle's charging output would do to a booster, if the vehicle started. It might be a good thing it wouldn't start your bike. I'm not a battery Engineer, though.
#3
03-19-2017, 09:46 AM
HDF Community Team
1. Don't do that and you won't have to worry. I've never had a problem in 27 years of ownership.
2. Get yourself a Shorai Lithium battery when your original needs replacing.
John
2. Get yourself a Shorai Lithium battery when your original needs replacing.
John
Last edited by John Harper; 03-19-2017 at 09:48 AM.
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slvrscoobie (03-20-2017)
#4
03-20-2017, 11:08 AM
well now that I have a 'daymaker' - it shouldnt be nearly as much of an issue. However, this is 1/2 for my bike, and 1/2 for my car, as I use it for work, and although I just replaced the battery and the alternator (as the new battery was draining down to only 12.5-7v while running) Im still concerned about it, and having a backup would be nice. And if it cant start my bike, I have my doubts about a 2.5L turbo flat 4 lol
#5
03-20-2017, 12:34 PM
#6
03-20-2017, 12:39 PM
#7
03-20-2017, 01:08 PM
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Frozelandia, Minnysota
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I don't recall the cranking amps, but my tiny Li jumper works great. I had the battery out of my 1200 a couple years ago, and just wanted to see - hooked the jumper up and it turned the motor over by itself. No, I didn't start it, didn't want to pour the bike's charging amps back into the jumper.
Usually hooking the jumper up and waiting a few seconds will draw enough current to warm it. Li batteries often won't crank much till they've had enough load on them to warm them up. That even works on lead acid in really cold weather, turning the headlights on for 10 or 15 seconds before starting can help, more like half a minute for Li batteries. If a battery is internally shorted (good indication of that is by almost instant charging to 12.8V+ and almost instant discharge below 12V) the jumper won't help, but the jumper wires can get hot real fast if you try. If you put the jumper on, and just get solenoid clicks, feel the wires before you're tempted to try it again.
Usually hooking the jumper up and waiting a few seconds will draw enough current to warm it. Li batteries often won't crank much till they've had enough load on them to warm them up. That even works on lead acid in really cold weather, turning the headlights on for 10 or 15 seconds before starting can help, more like half a minute for Li batteries. If a battery is internally shorted (good indication of that is by almost instant charging to 12.8V+ and almost instant discharge below 12V) the jumper won't help, but the jumper wires can get hot real fast if you try. If you put the jumper on, and just get solenoid clicks, feel the wires before you're tempted to try it again.
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#8
03-20-2017, 01:17 PM
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and based on the RevZilla reviews, I dont think Ill be looking at Their LiIon battery. https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/...y-lfx18a1-bs12 tons of problems with cold weather.
Saw a show on PBS about Lithium tech. Current tech Li batteries use a liquid the anodes and cathodes are suspended in, and other than that I couldn't explain more, but simply drive a nail through one, and you can have an instant blowtorch, and if the charging circuitry in the battery itself has a flaw... meltdown or blowtorch. There is a new technology that replaces the liquid with a plastic that passes ions, and they showed nails, drills, hammers and metal shears used on it with no problems. The battery even still put out voltage when cut in half.
This new tech uses a solid lithium bar instead of the alloy used in current types, but for reasons I couldn't explain this would burn in liquid suspension. A byproduct of the new tech is supposed to be nearly double the charge capacity, sounds like it would be the greatest thing yet for vehicle batteries and especially for electric vehicles. Until this becomes available, I'll stick with lead acid, and carry my tiny lithium jumper battery - which I would with a new Lithium main battery anyway. I sure miss kickstarters, wish they'd kept them on carbed bikes (all of mine).
This new tech uses a solid lithium bar instead of the alloy used in current types, but for reasons I couldn't explain this would burn in liquid suspension. A byproduct of the new tech is supposed to be nearly double the charge capacity, sounds like it would be the greatest thing yet for vehicle batteries and especially for electric vehicles. Until this becomes available, I'll stick with lead acid, and carry my tiny lithium jumper battery - which I would with a new Lithium main battery anyway. I sure miss kickstarters, wish they'd kept them on carbed bikes (all of mine).
#9
03-20-2017, 01:47 PM
well I got a 250A starting, 500A peak, and tried the same test. This time it didnt go the first time, but it tried. So I cranked it a second time, and got a full turn but it stalled out. Third time it started, so Ill keep this one, good enough for an emergency.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's pretty easy to see that on most of these "jump start" units, the gauge of the jumper wires is typically much smaller than the vehicles battery cables and as such can not possibly carry the same amount of current. (If anything on a 1200, the battery cable size is already a gauge or 2 smaller than ideal)
These jump starters are designed to be hooked up to the dead battery and then left connected for at least 5-10 minutes to let the charge transfer to the dead battery before trying to crank the motor.
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slvrscoobie (03-20-2017)
#10
03-20-2017, 02:11 PM
As stated above, these small lithium "jump starters" are not designed to be used on their own without the vehicle battery.
It's pretty easy to see that on most of these "jump start" units, the gauge of the jumper wires is typically much smaller than the vehicles battery cables and as such can not possibly carry the same amount of current. (If anything on a 1200, the battery cable size is already a gauge or 2 smaller than ideal)
These jump starters are designed to be hooked up to the dead battery and then left connected for at least 5-10 minutes to let the charge transfer to the dead battery before trying to crank the motor.
It's pretty easy to see that on most of these "jump start" units, the gauge of the jumper wires is typically much smaller than the vehicles battery cables and as such can not possibly carry the same amount of current. (If anything on a 1200, the battery cable size is already a gauge or 2 smaller than ideal)
These jump starters are designed to be hooked up to the dead battery and then left connected for at least 5-10 minutes to let the charge transfer to the dead battery before trying to crank the motor.
