bigbikerrick Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Hello Folks, Ive read horror stories of people hitting the ecu with a wrench when disconnecting the positive battery terminal, and frying the ECU. I know the ecu has a ground wire,but I have the Guzzi Ti racing ecu on my bike and its as good as gold to me, I dont want to risk damaging it when removing my battery. Is it safer to remove the ecu before touching the battery? or is there a better/safer way? Im planning to remove the terminal connections on the battery to install leads to hook up my battery tender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Barrett Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 No problem - You are aware of the issues by grounding the positive terminal with your spanner across the frame or ecu. Why make extra work? Just take a little bit of care when connecting/disconecting the battery terminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Always remove the negative battery terminal first! Period. After that, there isn't anything to worry about but if you're still concerned, just unplug the ECU. The ECU case is grounded and short of arc welding to it it's not likely you're going to damage the internals. I've actually done what you're worried about and the ECU didn't suffer anything more than a tiny mark on the case. It's charging the battery that tends to be the circumstance where things go awry. Again, you just unplug the ECU before doing that kind of maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belfastguzzi Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Always remove the negative battery terminal first! Period. It's charging the battery that tends to be the circumstance where things go awry. Again, you just unplug the ECU before doing that kind of maintenance. 83665[/snapback] To take away the risk, it's as simple as disconnecting the negative first and reconnecting it last. Carl, there can't be much risk when charging this type of battery with a tender and a remote, dedicated plug/socket connection as BBR seems to be doing – is there? I've had a bike battery explode when it was being charged and was gassing, but this was an old-style lead acid and a metal grinder was being used nearby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aironepony Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 To take away the risk, it's as simple as disconnecting the negative first and reconnecting it last. Carl, there can't be much risk when charging this type of battery with a tender and a remote, dedicated plug/socket connection as BBR seems to be doing – is there? I've had a bike battery explode when it was being charged and was gassing, but this was an old-style lead acid and a metal grinder was being used nearby! 83675[/snapback] BFG, what about using these Optimate type chargers; are they OK to use without disconnecting the battery from the bike? .................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belfastguzzi Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 BFG, what about using these Optimate type chargers; are they OK to use without disconnecting the battery from the bike? .................. 83677[/snapback] Yeah, that's the benefit of those things. I assumed that's what BBR is talking about. The only problem I have had is that the socket connected to the battery in the bike by a short lead, corroded very quickly (well... over a winter) despite being in a protective rubber boot and being squirted with squirty stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belfastguzzi Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 the socket connected to the battery in the bike by a short lead, corroded very quickly (well... over a winter) despite being in a protective rubber boot and being squirted with squirty stuff. 83681[/snapback] actually... I guess that's a problem to look out for in our salty conditions... permanently adding such a socket to the battery means that the battery terminals are moved to be very close together and so when conditions in that cosy boot (which is meant to be weatherproof but isn't proof enough) get damp and salty (the whole shebang is in the area where spray is thrown up by the rear wheel) then there's more chance of some tracking between + and – ??? Perhaps that's why the corrosion happened quite effectively? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 To take away the risk, it's as simple as disconnecting the negative first and reconnecting it last. Carl, there can't be much risk when charging this type of battery with a tender and a remote, dedicated plug/socket connection as BBR seems to be doing – is there? I've had a bike battery explode when it was being charged and was gassing, but this was an old-style lead acid and a metal grinder was being used nearby! 83675[/snapback] With dedicated wiring, probably not. Not everyone takes that approach though and accidents have been known to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Always remove the negative battery terminal first! Period. After that, there isn't anything to worry about but if you're still concerned, just unplug the ECU. The ECU case is grounded and short of arc welding to it it's not likely you're going to damage the internals. I've actually done what you're worried about and the ECU didn't suffer anything more than a tiny mark on the case. It's charging the battery that tends to be the circumstance where things go awry. Again, you just unplug the ECU before doing that kind of maintenance. 83665[/snapback] To unplug the ecu, you have to remove it, correct? If I remember correctly by looking at my stock ecu on my workbench, the plug is on the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Yeah, that's the benefit of those things. I assumed that's what BBR is talking about. The only problem I have had is that the socket connected to the battery in the bike by a short lead, corroded very quickly (well... over a winter) despite being in a protective rubber boot and being squirted with squirty stuff. 83681[/snapback] Im going to hook up a dedicated plug in for a deltran battery tender, which is what I use on my other 3 bikes to keep the batteries charged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nogbad Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 actually... I guess that's a problem to look out for in our salty conditions...permanently adding such a socket to the battery means that the battery terminals are moved to be very close together and so when conditions in that cosy boot (which is meant to be weatherproof but isn't proof enough) get damp and salty (the whole shebang is in the area where spray is thrown up by the rear wheel) then there's more chance of some tracking between + and – ??? Perhaps that's why the corrosion happened quite effectively? 83682[/snapback] Absolutely right. Not really tracking, but the salty water filled boot would make a nice electrolytic cell causing havoc for the connectors. Rather than squirty stuff, you would be better filling the thing completely with vaseline so there is no room for salty water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belfastguzzi Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 but the salty water filled boot would make a nice electrolytic cell causing havoc for the connectors. 83857[/snapback] It's not quite as wet as that Despite G.W., we're still above sea level. I would usually use Vaseline (but don't think that I had put any in this socket) – also have a can of green squirty that is specifically for battery terminals. Wonder what's in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 To unplug the ecu, you have to remove it, correct? If I remember correctly by looking at my stock ecu on my workbench, the plug is on the bottom. 83852[/snapback] Some V11 Sports came with the ECU mounted plug side up. I don't know if there's room to do that on the later ones to do that. My 2001 came plug side up though and the wiring, while squished flat, doesn't appear worse for the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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