Safe to charge battery while connected?

[Philnewbike]

Hi All

Must have been discussed before but I couldn't see an answer: Is it safe to connect up a charger to the battery on the bike (i.e. any risk of ECU damage?)? I have a Breva 1100 which I've just added a load of wiring (heated grips, phone charger, aux lights) and so the battery is slightly down from testing. Also, it's not ridden much so before a ride I like to top it up. I have fitted those permanent charge leads that poke out of the side to quickly charge the battery without removing the battery but I can't seem to find a definitive answer if that is safe for the electrical system or not?

thanks
phil

[Murray]

Should be fine ECU are a lot more robust than they once were and battery chargers are a lot smarter than they once were. They shouldn't apply any more voltage than the charging system applies (around 14.5 volts).

[Perazzimx14]

The battery receives charge the entire time its running. There will be no harm in charging it sitting static as long as you have the proper charger for the battery.

[Philnewbike]

Thanks for the replies. To be clear I was concerned about the electrical system (especially the electronics) being constantly powered and not concerned the battery itself.

So all ok to leave on a tender? Good 

Thanks 

[80CX100]

 I have fitted those permanent charge leads that poke out of the side to quickly charge the battery without removing the battery but I can't seem to find a definitive answer if that is safe for the electrical system or not?

thanks
phil

     I do the same thing on all my bikes and some equipment and rotate my CTek smart charger through the herd on a regular basis.

     I shouldn't say it out loud and jinx it, I've been lucky and never had any problems; but scuttlebutt around the lodge is that it isn't always wise to do so.

     EME has a notification on their website that the PM alternator charging systems, which I believe are all based on the Ducati Energia systems found in a lot of MG's can have their R/R? damaged if the battery and electrical system is left connected while charging.

     EME also has a notification not to use Odyssey batteries with a few of their systems; another warning I've been known to ignore, lol.

     Is EME just being overly cautious and the warnings are business based or are some of us courting disaster, idk 

     Clear as mud   

     fwiw ymmv

[Wayne Orwig]

Thanks for the replies. To be clear I was concerned about the electrical system (especially the electronics) being constantly powered and not concerned the battery itself.

So all ok to leave on a tender? Good 

I would highly recommend a fused connection, just in case there is an OOPS.

But yes, a proper charger properly connected is 100% safe to the bike.

I have a fused pigtail on all of my bikes and cars. Then move the charger from vehicle to vehicle occasionally.

[Kev m]

Thanks for the replies. To be clear I was concerned about the electrical system (especially the electronics) being constantly powered and not concerned the battery itself.

So all ok to leave on a tender? Good 

Thanks 

So not to start the electrical equivalent of an oil thread, but a couple of nits and controversy.

I haven't verified, but I suspect most ECUs are constantly powered, well, with I assume a low voltage source to maintain certain memory circuits (trim) etc. Which is why unplugging the ECU resets certain parameters.

But at the same time most service manuals I come across have warnings not to unplug the ECU (and many other computer module) connectors with the ignition switch ON to protect them. Presumably they are worried about voltage spikes.

As for Battery Tenders - I suspect hundreds of thousands of people use them and leave them plugged in all the time or at least for long terms without issue. But I seem to remember at least a few on this board share my paranoia about leaving them indefinitely.

My paranoia started when I awoke to an explosion in my basement one day and ran downstairs to find battery acid dripping from the floor joists. I had a small powersport (boat) battery on an "automatic" (not Battery Tender brand to be clear) charger and to this day I don't know what it was that caused the sparking/explosion. But to this day I don't leave a BT connected to any of my bikes more than a few days at a time. I know some people connect them with timer so they only operate a few hours a day, but I'm not sure if that type of cycling is better or not, so I go for dead simple. In the winter I plug in one BT for a few days, once a month, for each of my bikes. I rotate it through the fleet in the course of a little more than a week and then leave them alone for 3-4 weeks, then repeat.

YMMV - but just some stuff to consider.

[dirtiegirtie]

Kev M - WOW!!! That battery done blowed up!!! Glad you were there to hear it and react so quickly.

I had a colleague a few years back have a pretty serious fire in his basement... he left his power tool's Lithium Ion battery on the charger and it caught fire... after a few weeks. It sounds crazy to leave a battery on a charger for weeks at a time, but I used to do the same thing all the time... I would leave one power tool battery on the charger indefinitely so I knew it was fully charged when needed. I don't do that now. ;)

[Philnewbike]

So not to start the electrical equivalent of an oil thread............. ................

ha ha, yes I did start an epic one so lets not go there, thanks for the advice. I think with a fused connection (and it's outside not in the house) this should be OK and will prevent the resetting of things (??) when a battery is removed. Speaking of which I have had it unpowered for a few days, so is it going to relearn stuff now and feel different? (I haven't got stuck into the whole Guzzidiag stuff tuning, though I will do at some point as I've never tuned it up... runs great / or did before I had it in bits for tank foam repair, airbox clean, neutral light fix and wiring ).

Thanks all

[Stevex]

I've charged my bike batteries in situ (with a proper bike trickle charger) since Pontius was a pilot.

[Kev m]

Kev M - WOW!!! That battery done blowed up!!! Glad you were there to hear it and react so quickly.

Ha Ha right?

I was running around the basement sprinkling baking soda on everything in sight like a fairy godmother with pixie dust. 

[Stretch]

I was running around the basement sprinkling baking soda on everything in sight like a fairy godmother with pixie dust. 

Wow! A guy could really go places at your expense with a statement like that........ 

I've mostly left the batteries in the bikes with the battery maintainers, although just last
year I had the SR500's battery run almost dry as a result. 1st time that ever happened with
a battery maintainer.... The sealed batteries seem to fare all right.

With a real battery charger - let's put some juice into a nearly dead patient - I almost always remove
the battery. I worked for a guy at a bicycle shop when I was in college, and he had put his wife's
Audi on a battery charger, then walked down the hill to work. 30 minutes later we heard the sirens!
The entire dashboard/wiring harness/etc. was crisped right up! He bought it back from the insurance
company, and one of our customers-  a certified Porsche wrench -  was able to make the whole thing
as good as new. Since then I usually pull the battery for heavy-duty charging.....   

                                                                              -Stretch

[moto-uno]

  Just a quick heads up concerning battery chargers , some older ( and unfortunately newer) battery chargers frequently
go well above 14.5 V . Some, it takes hours to get above this maximum voltage , so a caveat is try and put a voltmeter on
the battery while charging and remove it if it rises above this number . Yuasa say 15v and more can be deadly to
their batteries ( from the service reps email ) and make sure your charger stays closer to 14.5V . Just because the box
says it's good for AGM batteries doesn't mean it is . I now use a Ctek charger and it stops at 14.4v .  Peter

[Kev m]

Wow! A guy could really go places at your expense with a statement like that........ 

I was setting it for someone to spike!