battery terminals on outside of the bike?

[cdf450]

Hey guys.  I have a bike that I run in the cold.   its got an antigravity LI-ION battery.   sometimes it doesnt like to start in -20ish weather.

 

it sucks popping my seat off every single time I need to get to the battery to boost it.

 

id like to have terminals on the outside of the bike... flush mounted in the airbox side cover or under the rear fender or something (no mud gets shot there).

 

any suggestions or tips?  warnings?  do I need relays and fuses?   or just two wires from the battery posts, to my home made mounted terminals that I can just clamp onto when the battery is dead.  no more removing the seat.

 

something like this?  http://www.vte-europe.com/content/electromech/JSC/html/jumpstart_connector.php?lang=en

Edited January 30, 2018 by cdf450

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

This could be wired into your battery, and just protrude from your air box.

Edited January 30, 2018 by WALKINGWOUNDED

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

Go to images and type in - Battery Power Connectors - the choices are endless.

[cdf450]

How do I bite onto that with booster cables though?

No fuses and stuff are needed?

It’s as simple as running a wire from the positive and a wire from the negative? Making sure the positive doesn’t ground anywhere?

Electrical is my major weak spot. Battery power connectors are not what I want. I don’t think there’s a single one that would work for me.

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

I personally wouldn't use a fuse, it's a risk I'm willing to take.  It's a short run from the battery, over plastic to the back, top, corner of the air box cover.  Both leads will be coated, and you could also add several tubes of shrink sleeve over the positive lead for a little extra protection.  The battery cables would clamp onto the other half of the picture I posted.  One is female, the other male.  Plug in the other half to the connector sticking out from behind the air box cover, and clamp you cables onto the two leads.  You could even carry the other half of the connector on the bike, zip-tied somewhere, so it's always available.

 

[The Inquisitor]

16 hours ago, WALKINGWOUNDED said:

This could be wired into your battery, and just protrude from your air box.

Ya my charger for my conventional battery came with something like that as a cable option and you could leave it attached to the battery and plug into the charger as needed.

Something like this

If your charger doesn't have that option and direct clamps, make a cable with the ring connectors on one end than a quick connect on the other and you can leave this on the battery just make the cable long enough so you can easy access with the seat still on the bike. Then another cable with the mating quick connect and you could put whatever you want on the other end as long as you can attached the clamps to the 2 wires. Just make sure you ID the cables correctly (black/red)

You don't need fuses and I would get something like this if it was long enough, cut say about 4 inches from one end. crimp on correct size ring terminals on the longer/battery side. Then say bigger ring terminals on the charger side big enough to clamp to.

IMO slightly hard to explain but Pretty simple to make and might cost $10 max.

Edited January 31, 2018 by filterx

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

He could also bolt two leads directly to the left side area just below the rear fender, and have two studs sticking out enough to get battery cables or a charger to clamp onto.

They would be out of the way of your leg moving back and forth while riding or mounting the bike.

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

20 minutes ago, filterx said:

Ya my charger for my conventional battery came with something like that as a cable option and you could leave it attached to the battery and plug into the charger as needed.

Something like this

If your charger doesn't have that option and direct clamps, make a cable with the ring connectors on one end than a quick connect on the other and you can leave this on the battery just make the cable long enough so you can easy access with the seat still on the bike. Then another cable with the mating quick connect and you could put whatever you want on the other end as long as you can attached the clamps to the 2 wires. Just make sure you ID the cables correctly (black/red)

You don't need fuses and I would get something like this if it was long enough, cut say about 4 inches from one end. crimp on correct size ring terminals on the longer/battery side. Then say bigger ring terminals on the charger side big enough to clamp to.

 

My riding buddy has a very similar above set-up.  He has just the leads connected to his battery, and the connector perched nicely between the air box cover, and the air box.  He can jump the bike if necessary, or charge it.  I think he purchased the entire set-up at Wally World.

[The Inquisitor]

Ya heres something I made to run a LED head light off a rechargeable battery i put in my air box. The connection on the left is so I can remove the battery and leave the cable (which I run under the seat and tank out to my steering stem) on the bike. The connection on the right is a nice waterproof one and I use dialectic grease on all the connections.

Another thing you can do with a quick connect on the battery is make another cable (with the same quick connect) say 6 or so feet long and put clamps on the other end. Then you can carry this and can boost your bike off another bike or car if you need to. I made something similar for my DRZ with 12 AWG stranded wire and clamps both ends cus the battery is not under the seat.

Edited January 31, 2018 by filterx

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

34 minutes ago, filterx said:

Ya heres something I made to run a LED head light off a rechargeable battery i put in my air box. The connection on the left is so I can remove the battery and leave the cable (which I run under the seat and tank out to my steering stem) on the bike. The connection on the right is a nice waterproof one and I use dialectic grease on all the connections.

Another thing you can do with a quick connect on the battery is make another cable (with the same quick connect) say 6 or so feet long and put clamps on the other end. Then you can carry this and can boost your bike off another bike or car if you need to. I made something similar for my DRZ with 12 AWG stranded wire and clamps both ends cus the battery is not under the seat.

Does the battery just lay in the air box, or is secured somehow?

How long does that battery last, or do you have it tied into the bikes charging system.?

[Jeff aka Bolt]

18 hours ago, WALKINGWOUNDED said:

This could be wired into your battery, and just protrude from your air box.

Thats funny...  and it's for a FORKLIFT MAAAN.  

 

[The Inquisitor]

3 minutes ago, WALKINGWOUNDED said:

Does the battery just lay in the air box, or is secured somehow?

How long does that battery last, or do you have it tied into the bikes charging system.?

Slightly off topic but it is a 6000 mAh battery ($40.00 ) and it can drive a 36W LED for 2 hours straight and I tested it.

This was during the mock up/test but IMO works excellent and you could use this setup to run a rad fan with an on/off switch if you wanted to.

I've since moved the light to about here.

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

Wow, LED's are amazing, and very little draw.

Looks like the battery is in a sealed food container of sorts.

[The Inquisitor]

13 minutes ago, WALKINGWOUNDED said:

Wow, LED's are amazing, and very little draw.

Looks like the battery is in a sealed food container of sorts.

Ya its actually a paint brush holder/cleaner I got at wally world for $2. Theres a bit of foam in it to stop the battery from moving around about but IMO works great ?

I got 2 of the 36W LEDs for $20 off Ebay and IMO they are BOMBER/really well made and plenty bright.

If your interested PM me and I'll get you more info.

[WALKINGWOUNDED]

51 minutes ago, filterx said:

Ya its actually a paint brush holder/cleaner I got at wally world for $2. Theres a bit of foam in it to stop the battery from moving around about but IMO works great

I got 2 of the 36W LEDs for $20 off Ebay and IMO they are BOMBER/really well made and plenty bright.

If your interested PM me and I'll get you more info.

I only have MX bikes, so no need there, but I have been thinking about mounting some LED's on my Land Cruiser and Sequoia.

We do a lot of night driving on dark, two lane, country roads going to and from out of town races.

[SnowMule]

5 hours ago, Jeff aka Bolt said:

Thats funny...  and it's for a FORKLIFT MAAAN. 

That's only an 80A connector. 

I have a couple 350A's that you'll find on battery forklifts that I want to put on my truck eventually. 

The small housings can take 15, 30, or 45A connectors.  Those would be my recommendation if you go the APP route.

SAE connectors are only good for about 10A max. 

[Jeff aka Bolt]

Ya I use them on my golf carts too...  run my house of of them...  but since anything over 4 amp is gonna cook his battery it's still over kill.  ?

He just needs to toss a Tender on there...  or better yet learn the Lithium warn up technique...  or buy a better battery if the one he has can't cut it in the cold.  

imho

 

[cdf450]

Ya I use them on my golf carts too...  run my house of of them...  but since anything over 4 amp is gonna cook his battery it's still over kill.  ?
He just needs to toss a Tender on there...  or better yet learn the Lithium warn up technique...  or buy a better battery if the one he has can't cut it in the cold.  
imho

 

What’s the lithium warm up technique and does it work in -20? It still spun the engine over. Just not quite fast enough to start it. So close though. It was 100% charged in my warm shop. Hour on the trailer and she won’t start when we get to the staging area.

People are already hesitant and not trusting of these snowbikes. It’s hard for me to get invites out with the sledders. So showing up with a dead bike every time isn’t helping my cause. It’s embarrassing tbh. $30,000 machine that won’t start half the time. What a joke.

I’ve ordered a yuasa lead cell battery. Going to give that a try as well as the external booster posts. Also have an antigravity xp10 top of the line pocket jumper pack in my bag at all times. It’s about the size of a carton of eggs, but shouldn’t let me down.

We got li ion battery drills at work too and they suck when they get cold. Are li ion the best choose in extreme freezing temps? Or are they more so a weight saving, summer only battery?

I got no problem running a tender. It’s just annoying have to take the seat off every damn time. Seems like every single day im popping that seat off to boost it or something. It doesn’t line up perfect when putting it back on, and the yeti Jerry can is kind of in the way of the bolt. Just super annoying to me.

[William1]

I've seen guys use speaker binding posts.

However, if you need to have an easy way to jump your bike, then you have other issues you need to address. In forty years of riding and driving, I have had two dead batteries. One from a failed alternator in a car and a jump, only would of lasted until the next time I slowed. The second time, I left a cell phone charging in a car. If you ask me that is not enough of a problem to warrant the capability. I do have 'power ports' on my bikes wired straight to the battery to permit plugging in a GPS, leaving the GPS on while sitting during a munch and for putting the bike on a tender from time to time during frigid months of limited riding.

[Jeff aka Bolt]

6 hours ago, cdf450 said:

What’s the lithium warm up technique and does it work in -20? It still spun the engine over. Just not quite fast enough to start it. So close though. It was 100% charged in my warm shop. Hour on the trailer and she won’t start when we get to the staging area.

Yup...  Lithium is affected by cold...  typically you hit the start button very briefly and then wait 20-30 seconds...  hit it again...  wait...  do this a few times and the draw causes it to warm a bit...  then it will start better.  You should feel it getting stronger with each cycle.  You could stuff a larger Shorai in there and have more reserve power...  but not sure what model ballistic you have to compare to Shorai specs ?  What bike and battery model ?

Edited January 31, 2018 by Jeff aka Bolt