Would a 2 amp charger kill a motorcycle battery?

油井緋色

油井緋色

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Because I'm storing 3 bikes I used a 2 amp charger to trickle charge one of the bikes....well, the battery's terminals started leaking and now it reads 5.6v =(

Just wanna confirm to never do this again and that it wasn't something else like a raccoon taking a bite on the battery somehow.
 
That's weird. I'm using "smart" charger on my bike, and it usually reads around 1-2A. 2A is perfectly safe. But 5.6V means battery is dead. You can try desulfator to recover the battery, or just throw it out, as desulfator may recover it up to ~70% at most.
 
I guess you need a new battery. 2amps is too much specially for trickle charging but not for charging. Youre frying your cells too much juice. Iirc it's not even a good idea to charge a battery with so much juice as this can shorten a battery's life.

More amps = faster charging = shorter life.
 
Last edited:
Jimsun said:
I guess you need a new battery. 2amps is too much specially for trickle charging but not for charging. Youre frying your cells too much juice. Iirc it's not even a good idea to charge a battery with so much juice as this can shorten a battery's life.

More amps = faster charging = shorter life.
Click to expand...

I was assuming that the charger would automatically cut off at 13.2v or whatever it was. What would cause the terminals to start leaking?
 
油井緋色;2113607 said:
I was assuming that the charger would automatically cut off at 13.2v or whatever it was. What would cause the terminals to start leaking?
Click to expand...

Too much water and improper type of water used. Remember these guys dont like tap water when servicing.
 
I see multiple problems here:
1. Using a 2A charger on a motorcycle battery -- I would suggest 1.25A or lower
2. Battery measures 5.6V. -- Dead, buy a new one. eg. a battery measuring 10V I would charge up, but not less than 8V.
3. Terminals leaking -- Can you post a pic? Maybe it's galvanic corrosion you're seeing? eg. Using a screw made of the wrong kind of metal will cause wierd looking "growths" at the terminals.
 
Possible overcharging.. I used a 2A charger on a regular basis for years. It would automatically cut off when battery charged and I'd top it up about once a month in the off-season. Worked like a charm. Still use it on the cages (start at 10 and then top off at 2). Sometimes it goes on sale for half price http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Electrical/2-10A-Battery-Charger/8155525.p Don't mind the useless review and low rating, been using mine for close to a decade

At some point I wanted to get a battery tender (some ebay special) that had a lower charging current but it was overcharging the battery and boil out the electrolyte. Killed a battery and came close to killing another with it before I realized lol
 
WoBblyCaT said:
I see multiple problems here:
1. Using a 2A charger on a motorcycle battery -- I would suggest 1.25A or lower
2. Battery measures 5.6V. -- Dead, buy a new one. eg. a battery measuring 10V I would charge up, but not less than 8V.
3. Terminals leaking -- Can you post a pic? Maybe it's galvanic corrosion you're seeing? eg. Using a screw made of the wrong kind of metal will cause wierd looking "growths" at the terminals.
Click to expand...

I threw the battery out already. The battery was nearly brand new and didn't have problems until I decided to take it out of the bike and leave it on the 2 amp charger for a few days. I've used the charger before but never left it on for more than 12 hours. I don't think the fluids in the battery used were bad as it was a sealed battery from the shop.

It was wet around the terminals, I'm assuming that came out from the battery from overcharging? Regardless, I've got a 900 milliamp charger I'll use from now on and I'll unplug them after a day =/
 
For what it's worth I charged my battery for two winters on a 2A trickle charger, battery came out of it fine. Still using it four years later and I don't bother charging it over the winter anymore.
 
Just to dispel some misinformation here. 2A is the maximum that the charger will put out. That doesn't mean it will pump 2a of current all the time. As the battery voltage reaches the charger peak voltage the amperage draw will drop off and finally stop when equal voltage is reached.

Sounds to me like that charger is faulty and putting out too much voltage bubbling the acid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom