general battery / charging question

[steck]

got this bike and was told it needs a new stator as the battery doesnt last too long...always charging it.


but when i hook up my battery tender (a good Deltron) the red positive clamp sparks and smokes and starts little fires..


i use this charger on everything else and it works fine...

whats goin on ???

[tri again]

got this bike and was told it needs a new stator as the battery doesnt last too long...always charging it.


but when i hook up my battery tender (a good Deltron) the red positive clamp sparks and smokes and starts little fires..


i use this charger on everything else and it works fine...

whats goin on ???

what machine?
sounds like a dead short somewhere.
Not a bad idea to disconnect the battery when chargng and of course, I've had batteries with dead shorts internally.

Keep us posted.

[kb0nly]

I gotta ask the same thing, Year and Model please!

What i would do to troubleshoot, disconnect the battery and put the charger on it, does it now spark and smoke? If so the battery is shorted internally and its shot. If it doesn't then its likely your rectifier/regulator not the stator. Sure it could still be the stator, but the rectifier/regulator unit is inline between the stator and the battery, and if it failed that would give you the short causing problems with the charger and also the problem of the battery not charging with the engine running.

Also i would unplug the wires from the stator and with the engine running check its output, this will be an AC voltage, if you tell me the model i can detail testing further. Also the service manual for it is likely on my manual website, click the link below in my sig...

[H2Sbass]

If the battery is very dead then it would be normal to see sparks when connecting a charger due to the voltage difference. Newer "smart chargers" avoid this by reading the dead batteries voltage and auto adjusting the charge voltage accordingly. A battery tender will only output a fixed voltage and is really more intended for maintaining an already charged battery rather than charging a dead one. Try charging your battery with a proper microprocessor controlled charger. That being said, I still suspect that you have a bad battery or a short somewhere on your bike. Look for burned/melted insulation and bust out a multimeter or test light.

[dougspcs]

Have the battery tested at a local auto parts store..most have a little hand held tester that gives a basic health reading of the battery.

Likely nothing wrong with your bike or charger. As other have suggested the battery likely has a dead short in it.

Start with the basics 1st, then start digging into the electrical if that doesn't pan out.

[steck]

thx guys, got a new battery and all seems well

[kb0nly]

Thats good to hear! I have gone through a few of the lead acid batteries now. I changed over to a ETX15 AGM battery for my 200ES this year. Hoping to see some improvement in longevity. It sure cranks faster and easier since doing that, and it doesn't need any boost charging, the stator does just fine on its own now.