Battery charger question

[04alyGT]

Ok so my step dad has a new Die hard battery charger, its pretty nifty from what i can tell, only i don't know where the directions are and the 'rents are in mexico at the moment. SO...heres the deal, the charger has a bunch of options, it has an automatic option (not sure what exactly this pertains to), a manual setting which opens up to other options, such as slow charge (2 amps), fast charge (20 amps), and rapid charge (60 amps).
On top of that it has another option which says car start and has much higher amps written underneath it.
I just need to try to charge up my four wheelers battery to see if its completely shot or not and i have no idea what settings to use.
I mean can i use the rapid charge option without hurting the battery?

On top of all that, my second problem is this, i went out there yesterday to ride and upon turning the ignition i heard a click but no cranking, so i figured battery=crap. Well i tried jumping it off of my buddies four wheeler and it cranked but would not fire at all. So i gave up and set it on the 2 amp slow charge for a few hours, came back out to try it and now i get nothing. It doesn't click and no lights come on, absolutely dead.
I didn't damage anything with the 2 amp charge did i?
I have no idea wtf is going on when it comes to electricity of a vehicle so help me out if you can:)

EDIT: also i can't get it out because the terminal screws are corroded, i know you can clean them with a wire brush and such but i need something like wd-40 to loosen them up, but i'm assuming thats not a good thing to spray on there.

[b2089]

WD40 should be fine to clean the battery.

Use a slow charge on automatic and let it charge overnight. If the battery was killed then it's important not to weaken it anymore by rapid charging it. Slow charge takes a while. The charger should have a light on it to tell you if the thing is charged or not.

[04alyGT]

It has a digital voltage meter on it, my buddy has a trickle charger on his pretty much all the time because it has an auto-shutoff function.
Do you think this probably has that?
I'm going to try to charge it over night then, what will happen if it's on there for too long?

[4kQuad]

The battery will boil over and cook.

[4kQuad]

If your not sure if it has auto shut off, it would not be good to leave it over night. 3 to 10 hours during the day should let you know if it will take/hold a charge.

[04alyGT]

Ok so, i got the wires off finally, and i hooked up the battery to the charger on a slow charge, the digital readout says its at 12 volts and was climbing slowly to 12.1, then 12.2, then 12.3 so i shut off the charger for now. Does this mean the battery is fully charged or what?

I'm sorry but i'm clueless when it comes to electrical crap, and since die hard is apparently too cool to have a website i have no idea what this thing can do.

[b2089]

Diehard has a website. www.sears.com it isn't very helpful though.

An automatic battery charger cuts off when the battery is charged. That's why they use the term automatic.

I don't understand why a 12 volt battery charger would charge past 12. Are you sure it's volts that you are reading? At any event the voltage doesn't matter, an almost dead battery will read 12 volts because that's what it is. They don't loose voltage as they die but they loose amperage, the ability to push those volts through what needs power.

Our alternators put about 15 volts to the battery don't they?

[b2089]

It this your charger

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Batteries+%26+Chargers&pid=02871225000&vertical=AUTO&subcat=Battery+Chargers+%26+Boosters&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

edit---

Okay, I dug my Diehard charger out of the closet to verify some things. According to it an automatic charger cuts off the charging to a battery when it's fully charged but stays active to monitor for power loss. Mines a different model however.

If you aren't sure that yours is automatic then it may be better just to either wait until the parents get home, call them and ask, or buy a new battery. Either that or ride up to your local sears and ask the salesperson there about it. They should know.

[04alyGT]

Yeah it was definitely climbing past 12, i only let it go to like 12.4.
No thats not the charger we have, the one we have is bigger, its on wheels.
Ours looks almost exactly like this one, but this one has an air compressor so i'm guessing its the same one we have plus the compressor.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?pid=02871233000&vertical=Sears&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
Ok good to know about that reading though that it would at least read 12, and yeah our cars put out i think 14 under normal conditions.
I think i'm going to drive to the dealer we bought it from, see if i can get a battery because i know mine is going to need to be replaced anyway (not the first trouble i've had with it).
Hopefully i can get a deal because hell its only 2 years old.

[4kQuad]

Look up rixGAfix's Clean the battery up posting.
The starter is the biggest drawing thing on the car. the head lights can worka s well as the radio, but the stater not. I bet a good cleaning of both the battery connections and where the wire hooks to them will fix your problem.

If it has been more than a year since you cleaned the battery up Real Good...that plan simple can be the problem.

[Matt95GT]

Use automatic/slow charge mode. Stay far away from the 60 amp setting... that's a starter assist mode, not to be used for more than a couple seconds at a time.

[04alyGT]

Well the terminals were corroded but i cleaned it fairly well and it still has no power. I'll set it on auto charge for a while. Thanks for the help so far guys

[rixGAphx]

If you read about batteries and how they work (and die), you'll find that every time a lead-acid battery (the kind in cars/pus/jeeps, etc.) is totally drained, it looses about 10% of its ability to recharge.

5 complete drainings = 50% capacity lost.

If a drained battery is allowed to sit for a time, it loses about 5-10% additional recharge capacity per DAY!!!

If you don't play in your 4-wheeler regularly, and it completely drains and is left setting there, you're LUCKY to get 2 years life, even if the label claims "84 months".

Next time, either:
* Disconnect the 4wheeler when you walk away from the day's activities; or,
* Get a 'marine' battery, as used for outboards and trolling motors; these batteries are specially-built to be fully drained then re-charged with little permanent damage.

And keep those cables clean and tight.
* * *

With your cables as dirty as they were, the electricity from your buddy's vehicle just couldn't get thru the crud and into your battery/starter.

It is VERY unwise to charge a battery while it's in the vehicle and connected to the electrical system.
* If something goes wrong with the connections and controls, you not only ruin the battery, but also risk the vehilce's computer and various sensors.
* If something goes VERY wrong, resultin on explosion/fire, you lose the vehicle (and surrounding building, like the garage).
* * *

Electrical Systems:
In houses, we call it "120 Volt AC" power, but it's actually running at about 118V and many appliances are designed to run as low as 110V.

In vehicles, we call it 12V DC, but the battery, being 6 lead-acid cells in series, actually produces 2.1V per cell, so 13.2 volts actual.
You can charge it with anything from about 10VDC to 15VDC, though 13.2 works best.

So a charge reading of 12.0 - 12.7V from the Sears charger is right-on.

Hope this helps,
-Rick

[04alyGT]

Rick thank you dude, that made me feel a lot better about the reading over 12.
Yeah i didn't want to let it charge while still in the four wheeler, tried to get it out but couldn't its stuck pretty good. A new battery would cost me 80 bucks so i said to hell with that, i've got another quad i can ride in the garage.

I'll go at it again tonight, i've got to get something to try to pry the damn thing out without damaging anything and then i'll charge her up with the battery just sitting on the shop floor.

Probably not too likely, but anyone else have an '04 sportsman 600 and perhaps some tips on removing the battery? I'm guessing i've got dried mud or something between the battery and it's houseing.

[Nighthawk243]

Yeah, a 12v battery usually will end up a bit over 12v. It's quite normal.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by 4576foxtrot
Probably not too likely, but anyone else have an '04 sportsman 600 and perhaps some tips on removing the battery? I'm guessing i've got dried mud or something between the battery and it's houseing. Battery cases are made of polyethylene, and virtually nothing, including magic marker and many epoxies, will stick to it.
Rather than some mud or goop, I would look for an as-yet undiscovered mechanical device.
Quads are designed to take FOUR G's of slamming, so that box of lead and acid was designed to be held VERY tightly.

I dunno for quads, but most auto batteries don't have old-fashioned 'hold-down' bars on top.
Rather, there are small clamps that bolt their bottom flange to the battery tray.
On cars like the GA, there's enough room to finnagle a socket and 10" extension down the side of the battery, to loosen the clamp's bolt.

Your quad may have a similar bottom-flange clamp, but it may be held-in by a bolt that's accessed from UNDERNEATH?

Can't you go to something like www.sportsman600 dot com and find an Owner's manual in pdf?

Or mebbe, ask this question at quadownersclub dot com instead of a Grand Am board???

:D :D

j/k, I like understanding how stuff works.
Easiest way is to discover why it is NOT working :D

-Rick

PS:
Found a Polaris website, and Sportsman owners manuals:
for the 325:
http://pi54.com/corp/manuals/Parts/9915771.pdf

They don't list the 600.
The 325 and the 500 have a simple metal rack, and the battery seems to be heald in by a black rubber bungee strap with metal 'S' hooks.
There's a 'pad' shown for the back of the battery, might be some kind of acid-resistant black neoprene rubber, which tends to melt and stick to nearly everything.

Mebbe the 600 has a completely different battery holding system.
Found it: http://pi54.com/corp/manuals/Parts/9918610.pdf
don't know if you can access it without registering as a 'polaris' owner/potential buyer, and giving them your lifestory (like I'm gonna fill out accurate data :roll: )

[04alyGT]

Rofl wow thanks again bud.
Yeah I was underneath it with a flashlight looking for bolts and found nothing last night.
Looks like its just the crossbar and the overflow vent thats on there, so at least i know its not another bolt.
I'm charging it right now while its still in there and i'm just going to keep my eye on it, if that doesn't fix it then i'll just take her in and have it serviced and charge it to the 'rents, needs to go in for a recall on a part in the carb anyway.

[04alyGT]

Ok am i supposed to be able to hear the chemicals in the battery sizzling?

[tenspeed]

Sometimes you will hear hydrogen bubbles. Don't smoke or have any open flames around a charging battery.

Sometimes when a battery is drained, the acid freezes and warps the outer case. That may be why you are having trouble removing your battery. If you try to charge a frozen battery, it sometimes explodes because the gasses can't escape.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by tenspeed
If you try to charge a frozen battery, it sometimes explodes because the gasses can't escape. COOL!!!

Dan, can you set-up a video?
Might be worth $10,000!!! :D :D

[04alyGT]

Lol, well now i can't even get the gauge lights to come on, so something apparently is now shorted or something. Either way its out of my hands, so now i have to drive the 400.

Rick i assure you, if among other things, the battery is bad, oh i will be exploding it.

[SE2000]

First let me say, a 12v battery is 12.6 volts. 6 cells times 2.1v = 12.6v
Batteries need water and it will evaporate in an unsealed battery so you need to make sure your cells have water in them. Tap water is only a good choice in a battery being replaced soon. If the battery dries out to expose the isulators, your battery has a short life left.
Since it is a small battery, the 2a charge is the only one I'd use on it.
If the battery froze, buy a new one