Greetings,

The battery drain on my 450ES is starting to drain me. After pull-starting it through the winter while Honda got the recall parts, it is finally "fixed" -- though apparently not completely. I still have to pull start it and it doesn't come up to starting power until I've run it a day or so. Although they said the battery tested out OK, I suspect the constant low condition has hurt it. Also I only ride it about every three weeks. The dealer recommended I get a trickle charger, so here are my questions.

Does anyone out there use a trickle charger?

Have you used a solar powered one (I have no electric power in the garage)?

Have you used one that plugs into the auxiliary power plug rather than connecting directly to the battery?

Have you tried a charger that, rather than trickle charge, brings the battery to life in about 15 minutes?

Have you tried one of those portable jump starter boxes?

Can you jump start it from the car (I don't think its recommended)?

Should I just get a new battery, or will it just run down again when it sits idle?

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

I cant answer all your questions, but here is what i have done. I only ride my 86'200SX every 4 months or so, when the battery is low wich isnt often I use my 1amp motercycle battery charger and just leave it on there for a day.. then it is ready to go all summer I have used 6 amp chagers with no trouble too. On my friends kodiak we used a 50 amp with boost and it fryed the battery in a few minutes so I would use the trickle charger.

 

I think the prolonged excessive current drain and low voltage has damaged your battery. My dealer told me that Honda would replace the battery, if necessary, when the current control kit was installed. So if you need a new battery, your dealer should be able to fix you up for free. If you can’t get anything out of the dealer, try to bring the battery back to life yourself before you purchase a new one. First, remove the cell cover (I know, I know . . . its supposed to be a maintenance free sealed-battery, but that cover will come off) from the top of the battery and ensure that the electrolyte is covering the lead plates in each of the six cells – if not, add distilled water. Replace cover and slow charge the battery with a battery charger (not a trickle charger) for several hours. It took nearly 2 full days at 2 Amp. to charge one of mine once, so give it plenty of time. Voltage for a fully charged battery should measure above 12.6V, and this level should not drop significantly during cranking. As for a trickle charger, I have never used one, but that may be the solution for maintaining your battery’s charge. I would not use one that plugged into the aux. power plug though, since this plug is only connected to the battery when the ignition switch is “ON”. Jump-starting should not be a problem as long as proper polarity is observed during connection . . . and your ATV battery does not care whether it receives boosting power from a truck, a car, a portable jump starter, a spare battery, or another ATV for that matter, as long as the voltage level is the same. Good luck.


Texridr

 

The best thing to do is buy a trickle charger. The charging system is not designed to charge a battery, it is designed to keep the battery up.
With the charger you should put it on the battery
and leave it on, most chargers will shut off when battery is fully charged. Charging for an hour will not fully charge any battery. After it is fully charged you could put it back on every so often if necessary.

 

Yes you can just jump it with the car - make sure ATV is twelve volt before you hook er' up. We do this all the time on John Deere Gators and AMT's that have electrical drain on them from various pumps and whatnot. They have the same battery as a quad/lawnmower.

 

Well DrRod!
I have had alot of experience with this situation with my old 82 Big Red as well as cars and trucks.
First before anything I would say that once a battery has been stressed out such as yours, no matter what the dealer says it tests at, it is probably not strong enough anymore. I would get a new battery.
Second - If need be, a trickle charger is best.
Third - I have boosted the 82 big Red from a truck, but beware, the truck charging system may be the same voltage but has alot higher amperage and will cook your atv starter if you turn it over for too long at a time. Leave the vehicle engine off while boosting atv's. It's safer that way (less power then when the vehicle is running).

Hope this helps you out.

Jeff

 

DrRod,

Gotta go with a previous poster on this one. The battery is likely toast from the abuse. Sounds like Honda owes you a battery. Seems to me it would be hard for them to refuse you in this case, the abuse was a result of the recall problem.

Bigred450,

I agree with your response except for the last point. Yes the truck is CAPABLE of higher amperage but that doesn't matter. The load (ie. the ATV starter) defines how much current is drawn. The power source cannot "force" current into the starter. The starter will draw what it wants and nothing more. Current = Voltage/Resistance. The load resistance is the starter, simple as that.

DJ

 

For a trickle charger that works properly, use a Battery Tender. It charges at the proper amperage, and shuts off when the battery is topped up. It comes with a pigtail plug which you can wire directly to the battery. It should be about $50

RM

 

Deej, of course your right to a point and in theory, but have you every had a cheap (low cranking amps)battery in your truck and found it didn't have the power to turn the engine over very fast, then replaced it with a higher power (cranking amps) battery? What happens... the motor turns over faster and longer because it can turn the starter to it's full potential. My concern was not the faster part so much as the longer part. With a truck battery you could crank an ATV starter over all day or until it overheats and melts the armature wires or brushes (have done this with a truck starter and seen it on an ATV starter). Beleive me ,been there, done that and I don't like it, it gets expensive.
I guess my initial point is, "if you don't boost off a car/truck battery you won't have a problem" or a least if you realize there is a potential for damage you will be cautious.

DrRod ..The battery tender is an excellent idea.

Jeff

 

I must say, I am highly impressed with all these replys! It's nice to see so many knowledgeable people here to help out a fellow ATVer.

My hat off to all of you gentlemen for your excellent repair procedures and ideas.