Cheap home made optimate charger?

[Zenarchy]

About a year and a half ago I got one of those cheap battery chargers from lidl when they had their bike stuff on sale, and I've been using it to keep the battery on my 125 and the @T topped up while I haven't been using them.

When I let my little 125 battery run right down once, I noticed it took around 5 to 6 days to bring it back to life and recharge it (seems to have been fine afterwards), so it was obviously charging very gently. Wondering if it'd be possible to connect it up the the battery while it's on the bike, I dug out the manual and it does seem clever enough to do that. Was a bit nervous about trying it, but I've wired it up to my @T battery while it's on the bike and it does seem to be doing the trick very well. Keeps the battery topped up and stops the alarm draining the battery, and intelligently varies the voltage and turns itself on and off according to the condition of the battery, just like the more expensive optimate/optimiser type chargers seem to. Not bad for less than a £10er (think that's about what I paid for it).

I'm now thinking about wiring in some sort of connector to the side panel, and changing the crocodile clips on the end of the charger lead so I can quickly plug and un-plug it to keep the battery in tip top condition when I'm not using the bike, and to stop the alarm putting a drain on it, without having to go to the trouble of taking the side panel off each time.

I've got a lighter socket block (with 3 sockets in) that's ready to be wired up for powering gps etc. and my plan was to wire this in using a relay so they're only powered when the ignitions on, taking the positive feed from somewhere up near the front of the bike to save trailing wires back to the battery. My plan has been to mount this on the front of the bike somewhere up near the clocks.

I'm wondering if it might be possible to make this dual purpose, so it can be used for powering gadgets while on the bike, then I can simply stick a charger lead into it to keep the battery charged when I'm off the bike.

Would this mean that I'd need to have it wired directly the battery, or if I can still wire it into the loom at the front of the bike somewhere as I originally planned (might be a dumb question).

Also, I'm guessing I'll need to wire it in without a relay as I'll be wanting to charge it when the ignition is off.

Does this seem like a good idea, or would I be better getting a seperate socket that I can mount on the side panel and connect directly to the battery for this particular function, and then wire up the 3 way socket block I have at the front of the bike as originally planned using a relay to a live when the ignition is turned on somewhere. I notice that the optimate uses a block type connector rather than a cigarette lighter socket, so I'm wondering if a cig socket is up to the job as well (can't think of any reason why not but then I don't know a lot about electrics either).

As well as these questions I thought this might be an interesting thread for anyone who has one of those lidl chargers who didn't know you could do this with them as well (though best to carefully check the instruction manual to make sure it's the same one I've got and you can get away with doing that ofcourse if you're thinking of it). They were less than a third of the price of the optimates, and while I'm sure they're not quite as advanced, do seem to do a very similar job from what I can tell.

[MOZE]

Hi zenarchy if you follow this link http://www.motobins.co.uk/displayfin...le=ACCESSORIES

and look for part numbers 94910 & 94912 these are good quality plug and aux socket arrangement for the job you propose to do on your bike, you can plug in for charging or out for accessories, not cheap but won't let you down hope this is useful
Moze

[Zenarchy]

Thanks moze. Being the impatient person I am, I'd already gone ahead and ordered a weather proof socket from ebay earlier thismorning. There are some going pretty cheap on there at the moment if anyone else is interested:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=220206448413

I'm not sure what it's like yet as it probably won't arrive until tuesday at the earliest, but it seems to be waterproof and not too badly made looking at the photo. Also seems to come with a mounting plate that might be handy.

I'd already ordered a plug to go with it, but this is a clip together thing so doesn't look as sturdy as the one listed on that page you've posted. If the ones I've ordered turn out to be rubbish I might order one from that link.

I found some optimate accessory leads and spares on ebay as well, so was tempted to buy those instead but I like the idea of a dual purpose socket that I can charge and also use for other things so went with a lighter socket in the end (this may not be the best solution according to a wikipedia article but I think it should do hopefully).

I'm still in two minds about trying to wire up the block of three sockets I've got as a dual purpose for charging and running accessories on the front of the bike instead, but perhaps it would be best to set those up tied to the ignition through a relay and just leave the single socket on the side panel wired directly to the battery without the relay for charging (that might also be helpful for running a little 12v foot pump I've got as well as it'll be closer to the wheels).

I'm guessing that this shouldn't cause any discharge on the battery as the circuit will be broken unless there's a plug in the socket, so as long as the water doesn't get in then hopefully it'll be OK. I've got some silicone sealant on its way to me that I'm planning to put over the connectors once I've soldered them to try to waterproof it a bit more.

[piguglyshandydrinker]

I personally hate cigar lighter sockets with a passion but itseems that we are stuck wi 'em.

I use simple male female spade connectors, direct to the battery for the charger and a couple around the bike on a switched circuit.

Simply get a cigar lighter socket & make a short lead with spade connectors on the end.

Just make sure that the positive lead has an insulated female spade.
Nowt fancy but does the job/

Phil

[Zenarchy]

I personally hate cigar lighter sockets with a passion but itseems that we are stuck wi 'em.

Yeah, they seem far more bulky and cumbersome than they need to be, plus they're so easily pulled out or fall out. I checked them out on wikipedia to find out which part of the element was live and there appear to be other issues with them as well.

Like you say though, they're so widely used for gadgets etc. it's hard to avoid them.

I use simple male female spade connectors, direct to the battery for the charger and a couple around the bike on a switched circuit.

Do you mean you have the spade connectors sticking out somewhere so you can attach the charger to that?

I hadn't considered that. I was thinking about using a molex type connector instead of the cigar socket but I couldn't find any with waterproof covers (apart from buying a couple of optimate spare leads and hacking them up but they were more expensive and I'd loose the advantage of the spare socket for other things).

Simply get a cigar lighter socket & make a short lead with spade connectors on the end.

That's how I was thinking of connecting it to the battery on the inside, so I could more easily remove the side panel when I need to. Either that or a molex connector (which would hopefully be OK underneath the fairing as it'd be less exposed).

Just make sure that the positive lead has an insulated female spade.
Nowt fancy but does the job/ Phil

Thanks. I'll bear that in mind. They haven't turned up yet, but as I ordered them over the weekend I'm guessing it'll be tomorrow at the earliest I get them.

I was thinking of making up a lead with two plugs on each end as well, to use as a jump lead should I get stuck with the battery somewhere. Not sure if that's a good idea, but do you think it would be possible to jump start a bike from the cigar socket in a car, or is that a big no-no?

It should be putting out around the same voltage shouldn't it, otherwise it would fry the gadgets you plug into them?

Hopefully not something I'll need to use, but I plan to go touring on the bike soon (all going well) and having an easy way to jump start it I figured might be helpful if the worst happens and avoid having to strip the fairing off and connect up clips.

[idefix]

Is it really smart to charge the battery with all the other leads connected to the poles ... i have always heared that this is not so good ... less charge goind to the battery and the current might go anywhere else ... what about electronic circuits if any on the newer bikes ? What about corrosion induced by the charging ... I know the Harleys can charge with battery in, but i always take the battery out ... ????

[stageonesimmo]

I was thinking of making up a lead with two plugs on each end as well, to use as a jump lead should I get stuck with the battery somewhere. Not sure if that's a good idea, but do you think it would be possible to jump start a bike from the cigar socket in a car, or is that a big no-no?

Yeah, its a no-no!

Its the current that's the killer in that situation - the fuse on the car will blow as the amperage you'll draw to crank the bike will be waaaaaaaaay over the norm for the circuit.

As for the ciggy lighter/spade connector thing - try Banana clips. They are a pin shaped terminal with a banana shaped sprung section, hence the name, that fit into small unobtrusive sockets. The sockets are small and need to be fitted in pairs - one each, pos and neg- think 10mmm across each, and have a small insulating colour coded collar for polarity marking - take up less space and are more reliable than ciggy sockets, but are neater and easier to flush mount than loose spades whilst handling just as much current as each...

I'll try and dig out a link to some but Vehicle Wiring Products do 'em as thats where I got my last batch from. In fact, if you're nice, i may even still have a set for the price of a pint.............

[Zenarchy]

Is it really smart to charge the battery with all the other leads connected to the poles ... i have always heared that this is not so good ... less charge goind to the battery and the current might go anywhere else ... what about electronic circuits if any on the newer bikes ? What about corrosion induced by the charging ... I know the Harleys can charge with battery in, but i always take the battery out ... ????

I know what you mean. Some those were concerns for me before I plugged it in (though I hadn't considered corrosion! thanks for pointing that out - that's something I'll need to keep an eye on). Even though the manual suggests that the charger is designed for that I was still a bit nervous about this, but it seems to have worked fine from what I can tell.

I'm guessing it wouldn't be a very good idea using a regular charger that does it faster, but this one seems a bit more like those optimate ones that are designed for this. It's more of a maintenance charger really, and although it'll recharge a flat battery, it takes several days to do it.

The way I was looking at it, the voltage it would be putting out probably wouldn't be much if any more than the regulator would put into the battery when it's doing its stuff (while the other electrics on the bike are connected to the battery), so I decided to risk it and see if it worked. Not completely sure if this is the right way to look at it as I don't know much about bike electrics, but that was my reasoning at the time.

The only thing that's powered while the charger is running is the alarm which only draws a very small current, and that seems to be OK so far, and I noticed last night when I checked it that the charger light had dimmed (it does this when the battery is approaching full charge and it drops its charging current to a lower maintenance charge before turning itself off until it detects the charge has fallen again), so I'm guessing it's OK. Though I've probably run the battery down quite a bit now after messing around with my headlights for hours again last night (think I need some new bulbs).

[Zenarchy]

Yeah, its a no-no!

Its the current that's the killer in that situation - the fuse on the car will blow as the amperage you'll draw to crank the bike will be waaaaaaaaay over the norm for the circuit.

Thanks mate. Much appreciated. That's hopefully saved me some embarrassment in the future when I ask someone with a car for a jump start and blow their electrics in the process

I thought it'd be OK as the actual lighters that the cars have in I'd read draw quite a lot, but I guess nowadays that can't be counted on either, as a lot of cars won't have real lighters in anymore and might be more geared up to running accessories anyway.

I'll cross that one off my list

As for the ciggy lighter/spade connector thing - try Banana clips. They are a pin shaped terminal with a banana shaped sprung section, hence the name, that fit into small unobtrusive sockets. The sockets are small and need to be fitted in pairs - one each, pos and neg- think 10mmm across each, and have a small insulating colour coded collar for polarity marking - take up less space and are more reliable than ciggy sockets, but are neater and easier to flush mount than loose spades whilst handling just as much current as each...

Thanks! I wasn't aware of those. They do look like they'd be really handy for this. Though one of the things that was attracting me to the cig socket is that it's got a rubber cover over it to prevent any water splashes getting in and if I can mount it in the back side panel then it'll be handy for running a little 12v pump for the tyres when out and about as well (though I could always just change the connector for the pump to these aswell ofcourse).

I've already ordered a socket now so I might have a look at this first to see what it's like and whether I can find enough space to mount it easily without interfering with anything else under the fairing, but if I get stuck these bananna sockets will be next on my list.

I've been thinking about mounting the socket inside the toolbox compartment so it doesn't mean drilling holes in the outer part of the fairing, so if I can't manage to do that easily the bannana sockets might be a bit easier as they don't look like they take up anywhere near as much room.

I'll try and dig out a link to some but Vehicle Wiring Products do 'em as thats where I got my last batch from. In fact, if you're nice, i may even still have a set for the price of a pint.............

Thanks mate. Thats much appreciated. It might be a bit hard to buy you a pint unless you're up in the north east, but I can send you a few quid by paypal or something to cover them so you can buy a couple of beers (though hopefully I'll get to meet you and some of the other members here in person one day as well as I'd like to make it to one of the meets some time).

I think the socket should turn up sometime today (or this week) hopefully so I'll have a look at that first and see how that works out then if I get stuck I'll give you a shout.

Thanks again for all your help guys

[stageonesimmo]

Thats a crap excuse for not buying me a pint - I'm sat typing this in my office in CATTERICK!

I'm stuck here this weekend with no bike as I'm in the Discovery cos its easier for the stuff I have to do at work this weekend so It'll be the weekend of the 14 March before I can look some of them thar connectors out, but I'll let you know if I find any. I had a look at VWP's site last night and they dont appear to be on there anymore, but I'm going to be doing some stuff on the Disco soon - 2nd alternator and battery for winch/spot-lights/slave start leads etc and some other electrickery stuff so I'll be shopping about for bits - If I come across some banana clips anywhere else I'l post a link up...........

Mine's a Guinness by the way...............