Honda CB900F Service Manual page 366

16. BATTERY/CHARGING SYSTEM
SYSTEM DIAGRAM
SERVICE INFORMATION
TROUBLESHOOTING
BATTERY
SERVICE INFORMATION
GENERAL
16-0
16-1
16-3
16 -5
CHARGING SYSTEM INSPECTION
ALTERNATOR CHARGING COIL
REGULATOR/RECTIFIER
16-8
16-9
16-9
A
WARNING
The battery gives off explosive gases; keep sparks. fl am es and cigarettes away. Pro vide adequ at e ventilation w he n
cha rging .
The battery contains sulfuric acid (elect rol yt e). Contact with skin or eyes m ay cause severe burns. Wear protective
cloth ing and a face sh ield.
- If electrolyte gets o n your skin, fl us h with water.
- If elect rol yte gets in yo ur eyes, flu sh wit h water fo r at least 15 min ut es and call a phys ici an immedi ately.
Elect rol yt e is poisonous.
- If swa llowed, dri nk large quantities of wate r or mi lk and ca ll your local Po iso n Control Cent er or a ca ll a physicia n
immediately.
A lways tu rn off th e ig nitio n switch before disconnecting any electrical component.
Som e electr ical co mpo ne nts m ay be damaged if te rm inals or con nectors are con nected or di sconn ect ed whil e th e ig ni-
tion swit ch is ON an d c urre nt is prese nt .
For ext ended st orage, remove th e battery, give it a full charge, and store it in a cool, dry space. Fo r ma xi mu m se rvice life,
cha rge the stored battery every two weeks.
For a battery remai ning in a stored motorcyc le, d isco nnect the negative battery cable from the battery termina l.
T he m aint enance free battery must be rep laced when it reaches the end of it s service life.
Th e battery ca n be damaged if ove rcha rged or undercha rged , or if left to discharge f or a lon g period. Th ese same co n-
dit io ns cont ribute to shortening the "l ife spa n" of the battery. Even un der no rm al use, the performan ce of t he batt ery
det eriorate s aft er
2-3
y ear s.
Batt ery voltage may recov er after battery charg ing, bu t under heavy load, batt ery voltage w ill d rop quickly an d eventu al-
ly die o ut . For this reason, the cha rg in g system is often suspected as the problem . Batt ery overcha rge often resu lts from
~
pro blem s in th e battery itse lf, which may appea r to be an overcharg ing symptom. If one of the battery cells is shorted . . : ;
and batt ery voltage does not increase, the reg ulator/rect if ier supplies excess voltage to the batt ery . Under these condi-
tio ns, the electrolyte lev el goes down q uickly.
Before t rou bl esh oot in g the charg ing system, check for prope r use an d mai nt enance of th e batte ry. Check if the batt ery is
fr equentl y un der heavy load, such as havin g t he headl ight and t aillig ht ON f o r lon g period s of tim e w it ho ut ridi ng t he
m otorcycl e.
Th e battery will self-discharge when the motorcycle is no t in use . Fo r th is reason, charge the battery every two weeks to
prevent sulfation from occurring .
W hen checki ng t he chargi ng system, always foll ow t he steps in t he tro ubleshooting f low chart (page 16-3).
For batt ery cha rging, do no t exceed t he charging curre nt and time spe cified on the battery. U se of excessive cu rrent or
cha rgin g t im e m ay damage the batt ery.
BATIERY TESTING
Refe r to the instruction of the Operation Manual for the reco m m end ed battery tester. The recommended battery te ster puts
a " load " on the battery so tha t the actual battery cond ition of the load can be measured.
Recommended battery tester BM-210 -AH or BM-210
16-1