Points To Remember - Suzuki SV650/S Service Manual

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Battery Basics and Safety
The cells consist of lead plates that are positive and
negative charged. Inside the cell they're stacked alter-
nately – negative, positive, negative. Insulators or sep-
arators – usually fiberglass or treated paper – are
placed between the plates to prevent contact. Cranking
current increases as the plate surface area in the bat-
tery increases – the more plates in a cell, or the larger
the plates, the greater the current capacity (or flow of
electricity). Typically, capacity increases as the amount
of active material increases in the battery.
The alternate plates in each cell are connected at the
top into two groups, one positive and one negative.
Each cell's groups of plates are then connected in series
– positive to negative – to those in the next cell.
Basically, that's the internal hardware. Next, a solution
of sulfuric acid and distilled water – the electrolyte – is
added. And the action starts. A reaction between the
lead plates and the electrolyte sets off a chemical
change. This in turn creates the electrical charge in a
battery.
That's the process, in a nutshell, that makes every battery
work. So, are all batteries the same?
Obviously not. Actually, there can be a number of differ-
ences, and they go far beyond things like box size or
terminal location. That's true for different brands, as well
as for different lines produced by the same manufacturer.
Take two types of YUASA batteries, for example: our
Conventional and YuMicron batteries.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

A battery converts chemical energy to electrical energy.
Each cell has approximately 2 volts: 3 cells for a 6-volt battery, 6 cells
for a 12-volt battery.
Inside each cell are electrically charged positive and negative lead
plates, isolated from each other by separators.
Chemical action between plates and electrolyte creates an
electrical charge.
Current is the flow of electricity.
What's different? First there's cranking power: YuMicron
has more because YuMicron batteries boost plate surface
area with thin, high-tech separators that make room for
two extra plates in each cell. YuMicron also has a special
intercell connector that minimizes resistance to further
maximize power. It has a special glass mat that resists
vibration damage.
Just for the record, let's state how the Conventional and
YuMicron batteries aren't different: they're both lead-anti-
mony batteries, for openers (other batteries in YUASA's
line, including the YuMicron CX, use lead-calcium tech-
nology). They have certain things in common that we
think should be part of every battery: like sealed posts to
resist corrosion, tough polypropylene covers and contain-
ers, and heat sealed construction for a strong, bonded
unit. And both share certain design features, like special
separators and through-partition construction.
Now, does all this mean YuMicron is automatically a bet-
ter choice than the conventional battery? Of course not.
It all depends on what you need to do.
YuMicron features might not be a big deal to a lawn trac-
tor owner, but a feature like our unique cover design
that minimizes electrolyte spillage is going to be really
important to the guy on a watersport vehicle or ATV.
Each YUASA line of batteries has its unique features
that account for differences in price and differences in
performance – and that's what makes it the right battery
for a particular vehicle. Buy what you need. Don't
pay for what you don't need.
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