Can a battery be recharged still connected on our older Guzzi?

[PJPR01]

Suggest adding one of these to your battery, and letting the lead out so you don't have to take the seat off each time.  Connect to battery charger and you're good to go....no need to disconnect anything.  I've got these installed on all of the bikes...no issues at all.  It also has an inline fuse as protection.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0069-6-Terminal-Disconnect/dp/B000NCOKZQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C5NN0XIEKJ67&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1kw7eVxyyt_fzzhpk3OpY72ATHCOib0l_xY4nsMR0gjCuhAAcZkWs4hCAVzqkdCEC_TwD7NETK4UyHC2vlAexvPZiEUtQi1-Gg7lUB2SfmaUIT9D_Dh24tZpHiEUJSrdRwKYrBZjev7Sd-aaGS4NSClHT3DxORHUDvx8v5sDGrD3atzaiVrlxWMJ3hP_K3l7QfMlg-pKrgdXgv6AotrKvtzfjVG4iNgspN3qYVUDWjQ.m3HNzRijFvkQVYGMAkhTlcvDSTRu1Q7DBzQ1318oLkw&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery%2Btender%2Blead&qid=1740276627&sprefix=battery%2Btender%2Blead%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1&th=1

 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by PJPR01

[gstallons]

14 hours ago, p6x said:

Just a little bit of context; when I got my first car, I was told to never recharge the battery while still connected; else I would damage the alternator.

As I am mainly using my Quota during the colder days here in Houston, I want to keep the Odissey on my V11 charged. However, removing and reinstalling the connctions is cumbersome as there is very little space.

I am asking as an abundance of precaution, because when you install tender connections on your battery, you are in a similar configuration.

 

I have a pigtail attached to all my bike batteries and it hangs out the side panel. My battery chargers all have this disconnect on the charge leads . This is where I can plug/unplug from each bike w/o any fuss and charge each battery .  I get this stuff @ NAPA because it is close. The lead that is permanent has ring terminals and attaches to the battery + and - posts.  hang the wire out the side of the bike making sure the seat or anything else is not going to damage the cable. There's a protective cap to cover the plug to keep out bad stuff. 

 If your charger does not have this and you want to splice this into a charger , CHECK polarity every time you cut/splice any wires and use a voltmeter to check when you are finished . This two part wire has a slick and a lined indicator on the insulation also but just to be safe check when you are finished. 

 The theory about disconnecting the battery when charging this bike , I will have to think about . For now , just charge as low a charge rate as you can. I have found that batteries that are completely discharged , install a fully charged battery in parallel with the charger . This allows you to charge up the discharged battery when the charger would not even read the dead battery. This saves you from throwing away a salvageable battery . 

[gstallons]

I have about 10  chargers, tenders ,etc. from the late 40s to present . The one I use the most is a SnapOn that does AGM and conventional. I never spent time wondering why an AGM requires a different charger / charging profile than a gel cell , flooded cell , glass/mat , VRLA or all the others . These bikes all use an alt/reg combo that charges everything. W/all that out of the way , you just purchase the charger w/AGM feature and push AGM on the selector. 

[audiomick]

12 hours ago, po18guy said:

... I specifically made the jumpers out of speaker wire and it turns out that they flow a LOT of juice.

I'm heading way off topic hear, but would like to make a point:

Stuff sold as "speaker wire" is one of the ways the hi-fi branch makes a heap of profit.

Yes, those speaker wires will pass a lot of current, but that has mostly to do with them being 6 gauge wire, i.e. really, really fat. The more copper in the wire, the more current it can pass without getting hot.

[docc]

2 hours ago, gstallons said:

I have about 10  chargers, tenders ,etc. from the late 40s to present . The one I use the most is a SnapOn that does AGM and conventional. I never spent time wondering why an AGM requires a different charger / charging profile than a gel cell , flooded cell , glass/mat , VRLA or all the others . These bikes all use an alt/reg combo that charges everything. W/all that out of the way , you just purchase the charger w/AGM feature and push AGM on the selector. 

AGM (absorbed glass mat) is a type of VRLA (vave regulated lead acid) battery which our OEM "Spark 500"/ Hawker Odyssey PC545 is a unique example. My other (Deka) AGM batteries are not as demanding regarding charge voltage and amperage, but they don't last and perform like the Odyssey, either.

I once bought a charger with an AGM function, but the voltage did not check out (not high enough) in the float ("trickle") mode and I returned it. Odyssey publishes a list of approved chargers.

For those of us still using the Hawker Odyssey, "three things":

 

 

[gstallons]

3 hours ago, audiomick said:

I'm heading way off topic hear, but would like to make a point:

Stuff sold as "speaker wire" is one of the ways the hi-fi branch makes a heap of profit.

Yes, those speaker wires will pass a lot of current, but that has mostly to do with them being 6 gauge wire, i.e. really, really fat. The more copper in the wire, the more current it can pass without getting hot.

A long X ago they were selling speaker (cable) wire w/documentation of X molecules/ft of oxygen content and gold plated ends . This stuff looked like welding leads . 

[p6x]

As with many technical topics, it seems difficult to concur on what the correct answer is.

When I was told to not charge the battery while connected, my car was an ID 19 Citroën, which I had purchased for 200 French Francs (31 USD) at the time. The battery charging was through a dynamo, not an alternator.

We know the current follows the path of least resistance, but the battery is in itself a large resistor.

Anyway, I am going to look at maybe having a quick disconnect on these wires, if there is enough space to install one.

 

[p6x]

16 hours ago, PJPR01 said:

Suggest adding one of these to your battery, and letting the lead out so you don't have to take the seat off each time.  Connect to battery charger and you're good to go....no need to disconnect anything.  I've got these installed on all of the bikes...no issues at all.  It also has an inline fuse as protection.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0069-6-Terminal-Disconnect/dp/B000NCOKZQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C5NN0XIEKJ67&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1kw7eVxyyt_fzzhpk3OpY72ATHCOib0l_xY4nsMR0gjCuhAAcZkWs4hCAVzqkdCEC_TwD7NETK4UyHC2vlAexvPZiEUtQi1-Gg7lUB2SfmaUIT9D_Dh24tZpHiEUJSrdRwKYrBZjev7Sd-aaGS4NSClHT3DxORHUDvx8v5sDGrD3atzaiVrlxWMJ3hP_K3l7QfMlg-pKrgdXgv6AotrKvtzfjVG4iNgspN3qYVUDWjQ.m3HNzRijFvkQVYGMAkhTlcvDSTRu1Q7DBzQ1318oLkw&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery%2Btender%2Blead&qid=1740276627&sprefix=battery%2Btender%2Blead%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1&th=1

 

 

I don't mind taking the seat off, it is easy enough. However the wires are really difficult to be held together to pass the screw in and then in the battery termina. Then you need to screw the nut.

But the solution you are proposing seems easy enough.

[alannn]

5 hours ago, audiomick said:

I'm heading way off topic hear, but would like to make a point:

Stuff sold as "speaker wire" is one of the ways the hi-fi branch makes a heap of profit.

Yes, those speaker wires will pass a lot of current, but that has mostly to do with them being 6 gauge wire, i.e. really, really fat. The more copper in the wire, the more current it can pass without getting hot.

I run heavy gauge lamp cord to my speakers. Compared to fancy speaker wire, it sounds the same, and it keeps my wallet heavy gauge too.

[gstallons]

Yeah , but you can't explain how come you spent $3k on speaker wire instead of going to WalMart and buying a 20'extension cord .