luhbo Posted January 11, 2006 Posted January 11, 2006 ...I suspect you would be OK if you sit their watching a Volt meter as it charges, but once it hits 15V you may only be partially charged. But it seems to me that what would kill the battery is the Watts, not the Volts. .... 69749[/snapback] No, it's not the Watts, it's the Volts (you cannot separate them anyway). As soon as the voltage goes higher but 14.6 V the battery starts bubbling, in this case the Hawker will blow off the gas and so become dry. The concept of the Hawkers is different to common car batteries, but the chemistry is the same. If I have to use my uncontrolled car charger I add a bulb parallel to the clamps after some time. This helps to keep the voltage below 15V. But it's always a dangerous thing to use cheap chargers on such pricey batteries. Hubert
bigbikerrick Posted January 12, 2006 Posted January 12, 2006 I don't care how "new" you think your stock V11 is, there are two things you need to do right away: 1. Buy a Hawker Odyssey P545 battery to replace the stock Spark. 2. Order new relays from Dan Prunuske. Don't ask why . . . just do it! 69674[/snapback] I thought only the early V 11,s needed the relays replaced, The rosso mandello (01) I had had the grey siemens relays, my current v11 an 03 naked has some black relays ,I cant recall the brand right now, should these be replaced as well, or has the relay issue been sorted by 02 or 03? BTW I have had zero electrical problems as of yet in 7500 miles. (knock on wood) I hope I didnt jinx myself!
Steve G. Posted January 12, 2006 Posted January 12, 2006 I thought only the early V 11,s needed the relays replaced, The rosso mandello (01) I had had the grey siemens relays, my current v11 an 03 naked has some black relays ,I cant recall the brand right now, should these be replaced as well, or has the relay issue been sorted by 02 or 03? BTW I have had zero electrical problems as of yet in 7500 miles. (knock on wood) I hope I didnt jinx myself! 74127[/snapback] The GEI relays are indeed the ticket! I spent 2 miserable years while under warranty playing around with relays my dealer would give me. Grey ones, black ones, tall ones, skinny ones, short ones, fat ones. A waste of my F@^*$#G time. These relays have eliminated the electrical issues, period. I got a new Oddesey battery only because other than the factory Sparko piece of junk being available from the dealer, the Odyssey was the only other one available, and it was less than half the cost of factory, a no brainer. Interestingly, the instructions with Odyssey are that under no circumstances are these batteries to be left on a battery tender style charger. Reduction in life will occur. Ciao, Steve G.
Guest Nogbad Posted January 12, 2006 Posted January 12, 2006 I don't care how "new" you think your stock V11 is, there are two things you need to do right away: 1. Buy a Hawker Odyssey P545 battery to replace the stock Spark. 2. Order new relays from Dan Prunuske. Don't ask why . . . just do it! 69674[/snapback] Why? My 2000 model is still going strong on the original Siemens relays and the original Guzzi battery. I bought a pair of spare relays, a 5 pin and a 4 pin Bosch to keep under the seat a year ago.
dlaing Posted January 12, 2006 Posted January 12, 2006 No, it's not the Watts, it's the Volts (you cannot separate them anyway). As soon as the voltage goes higher but 14.6 V the battery starts bubbling, in this case the Hawker will blow off the gas and so become dry. 74097[/snapback] That makes sense, I guess. I am just kind of suprised that 14V @ 6A does less damage than 15V @ 1A. The Hawker seems to need just the right voltage. I think Deltran said they need 14.7V to get fully charged, which they refuse to do. My Xenotronix Odyssey Optimizer maxs out at 14.7V. I guess it works by sensing the resistance of the battery, providing a fast charge at first that drops down and after a certain amount of time becomes a float charge. Not sure how it knows not to over-charge.
Guest Nogbad Posted January 13, 2006 Posted January 13, 2006 It is actually not the volts either, although you have to have enough to drive the current. It is the current itself. If you keep pushing electrons into the battery after its chemical capacity to store charge is used, all that happens is that the water in the electrolyte breaks down, and the cell becomes dry as just mentioned. If the charger gives more voltage than the maximum fully charged voltage, this will happen at a rate proportional to the resulting current flow. I guess that's why Hawker don't recommend battery tenders. Anyway, my bike is 5 years old with the original Guzzi battery still, and despite sitting unused for weeks at a time when I am away or the weather is terrible or both it has always started on the button and I don't beat myself up over battery care!
luhbo Posted January 13, 2006 Posted January 13, 2006 ...It is the current itself. If you keep pushing electrons into the battery after its chemical capacity to store charge is used, all that happens is that the water in the electrolyte breaks down, and the cell becomes dry as just mentioned. If the charger gives more voltage than the maximum fully charged voltage, this will happen at a rate proportional to the resulting current flow.... .... 74260[/snapback] A good book couldn't explain it better, could it? My Schulze "Computer" regulated R/C model charger goes up to 5 Amps. An empty Hawker takes these 5 A at a very easy 13.4 V. Fully charged I see 150mA at 14.7 V Hubert
al_roethlisberger Posted January 16, 2006 Posted January 16, 2006 I don't care how "new" you think your stock V11 is, there are two things you need to do right away: 1. Buy a Hawker Odyssey P545 battery to replace the stock Spark. 2. Order new relays from Dan Prunuske. Don't ask why . . . just do it! 69674[/snapback] I agree, especially about #1... well, OK, especially about #2 as well This year has been a riding "disaster" for my bike. It was in the shop well into the riding season last year, and I got it back only a couple months before its being shipped to NC prior to our move. And being so busy getting the house ready for the sale and move, then moving, then unpacking... etc... the next thing one knew, the year was gone, and I bet I didn't put 500 miles on the bike. I know that's awful, but thems the breaks sometimes. So that being said, I am really excited about this year! But, why is this relevant? Well, even with so little riding... with the "new" Odyssey battery that I put in last year, this thing just fires right up even after all this sitting! Honestly, the old OEM unit would have never cooperated that well.
orangeokie Posted January 17, 2006 Author Posted January 17, 2006 Why? My 2000 model is still going strong on the original Siemens relays and the original Guzzi battery. I bought a pair of spare relays, a 5 pin and a 4 pin Bosch to keep under the seat a year ago. 74168[/snapback] Bear with me a moment. There are a plethora of V11 owners on this site who have reported electrical failures in the garage and on the road with the OEM battery and relays. Perhaps there are a few "lucky" owners, such as yourself, who have not had a failure with the OEM stuff. I have not heard of one owner who has replaced the battery and relays with the Hawker and GEI replacements who has suffered a failure. Why change? It is a pittance well spent for peace of mind while miles from home. Why take a chance?
gavo Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 I don't care how "new" you think your stock V11 is, there are two things you need to do right away: 1. Buy a Hawker Odyssey P545 battery to replace the stock Spark. 2. Order new relays from Dan Prunuske. Don't ask why . . . just do it! Why indeed, I've just bought a new battery for my 2001 mandello thats a good ten years out of the original and I still have the factory relays although have had some problems with contact between the pins and spade bits
Kiwi_Roy Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 I don't care how "new" you think your stock V11 is, there are two things you need to do right away: 1. Buy a Hawker Odyssey P545 battery to replace the stock Spark. 2. Order new relays from Dan Prunuske. Don't ask why . . . just do it! I would like to add one. Run a decent ground to the regulator! The regulator ground needs to carry up to 35 Amps (short pulses), any resistance to chassis results in an undercharged battery. The regulator doesn't care what the battery voltage is, it simply sets the voltage between the black wire (reference) and it's own case at around 14.8 Volts. As it comes from the factory it may have a tiny black wire disappearing into the loom somewhere, that's not man enough. The reg is bolted to the horn bracket (aluminium to steel in a wet environment). In turn the horn bracket is bolted to the chassis. File the regulator case then add a short #14 or #12 to one of the timing case bolts and don't forget to add some grease to stop the connections from corroding. While you are about it check to make sure you have two good diodes, each yellow wire to red wire should read 0.4 - 0.5 V using a diode tester. As for the relays, I see several mentions of loose base contacts. Look at the FAQ topic "Relay Base Repair", scroll to the end, I show ho easy it is to remove and tighten the connectors. I'm a great believer in the medicinal power of Vaseline (petroleum jelly), it creates a barrier against moisture and air, dip your wires in it before crimping them and never think of connecting a battery terminal without it. Great for sliding contacts like the ignition switch and relay bases. Has other medicinal uses also, great for babies bottoms (nappy rash) and reducing friction
mznyc Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 Thanks Roy ,no problems but want to do that mod. Still using original Spark 500 battery!
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