Electrical Issue!

[MrGrumpy]

The battery was charged sufficiently so that the scoot started instantly when I charged. I have left it off charge to see whether the battery retains charge or not.

The charger isn't a CTEK - it was made by someone called Rovert. I'm very baffled by the short circuit warning, no idea what it refers to. There are only 2 lights, a Red light which shows bulk charging and a green light which indicates full charge / float charging. According to the instructions, when the Red & Green lights flash alternatively, this indicates 'Short Circuit' but that's the limit of the info! There are various other error indications by differing light combinations.

[abitmad]

A short indication means that there is a short circuit within the battery cells. Assuming you can trust the charger, this means the battery is very likely on the way out. If in addition it doesn't hold the charge after some time, this would confirm that it's finished. In fact even without an internal short, inability to hold the charge when disconnected from the bike indicates a dead battery. As it is old anyway, the evidence is pretty conclusive that you need to replace it in my view.

The other possibility is that there is a fault with the bike causing the battery to drain excessively when the bike is not being used, but in your case from what you have told us, I doubt that's what is happening.

[MrGrumpy]

Yes....the battery did hold sufficient charge to start the scoot again without being charged for a few hours, so its not quite dead. But it may well be on its last legs. I'll go to my local workshop when I can get in there and have it checked / replaced.

[abitmad]

Hope you sort it easily. A new battery is not that expensive and as I see it, better to have a new one now, even if you could have eked out a bit more usage from the old one, and avoid the big risk of it letting you down.

As you might gather the whole subject of batteries and chargers turns me on (pun intended). Yeah I know, but I do have a life. There's a huge range of chargers on the market but I'd not heard of Rovert so I searched them and found this:

http://www.rovertelectrical.com/motorcy ... arger.html

Seems well specced though possibly let down by what appears from the photo to be those appalling Oxford type connectors. It's 0.6A max current rather than the 0.8A of Opti and CTEK so slower to charge but in practice where you leave it connected for longish periods, that doesn't matter. Can't judge the quality or longevity from an ad but one interesting feature is that they say the units are made in the UK. Good for them, it's almost unheard of these days when most brands are made in China, including market leaders Optimate and CTEK.

[MrGrumpy]

Yup! That's the exact one. It was only £15 or so on ebay. Its worked fine for several years, but as you say, the connectors are the weak point - they feel very flimsy - especially as when used as a trickle charger, the lead will be plugged and unplugged quite frequently, and are liable to rough handling in garages etc. Connecting the charger has become a bit hit or miss recently - I plug it in apparently OK, switch on, but nothing. Try again and it works. Probably time to upgrade to a CTEK with a new battery! As I mentioned I was getting the Red & Green Flashing lights short circuit warning, but at the moment everything seems to be working fine.

[iansoady]

I've had a Ctek 5.0 for years and it's a great charger suitable for all kinds of batteries. I've attached flying leahs and a socket to the xmax battery to make it easy to connect. Its only drawback is that it's 12 volt only which means I have to use my antique conventional charger for the 6 volt Norton......

[abitmad]

You can get smart chargers quite cheaply with a 6V output, this is just one example and it also does 12V making it versatile and it has the reliable SAE type connectors too. No personal experience so can't vouch for it but it does have a large number of positive reviews.



If you want a leading brand, CTEK do a 6V but it's lot dearer and it's 6V only:

https://www.smarterchargers.co.uk/produ ... ry-charger

[iansoady]

Yes, it's a shame Ctek don't do a dual voltage one. However, I only need the 6 volts for the Norton which has magneto ignition so can continue with the old battered version.