Service manual

CHK
ADJ
CHECKING AND CHARGING THE BATTERY
3-41
ss
WARNING
Do not quick charge a battery.
CAUTION
• Never remove the MF battery sealing
caps.
• Do not use a high-rate battery charger
since it forces a high-amperage current
into the battery quickly and can cause
battery overheating and battery plate
damage.
• If it is impossible to regulate the char-
ging current on the battery charger, be
careful not to overcharge the battery.
• When charging a battery, be sure to
remove it from the motorcycle. (If char-
ging has to be done with the battery
mounted on the motorcycle, disconnect
the negative battery lead from the bat-
tery terminal.)
• To reduce the chance of sparks, do not
plug in the battery charger until the bat-
tery charger leads are connected to the
battery.
• Before removing the battery charger lead
clips from the battery terminals, be sure
to turn off the battery charger.
• Make sure the battery charger lead clips
are in full contact with the battery termi-
nal and that they are not shorted. A
corroded battery charger lead clip may
generate heat in the contact area and a
weak clip spring may cause sparks.
• If the battery becomes hot to the touch
at any time during the charging process,
disconnect the battery charger and let
the battery cool before reconnecting it.
Hot batteries can explode!
• As shown in the following illustration, the
open-circuit voltage of an MF battery
stabilizes about 30 minutes after char-
ging has been completed. Therefore,
wait 30 minutes after charging is com-
pleted before measuring the open-circuit
voltage.
Charging method using a variable-current
(voltage) charger
Charging method using a constant voltage
charger
6. Install:
• battery
7. Connect:
• battery leads
(to the battery terminals)