The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Hello,

I've been away for the past four months and return home next week. No doubt my scooter battery will be flat... same for the car. I am considering getting a CTEK charger.

I presume a model that offers motorcycle/ scooter charging + car battery charging will work? Does anyone have experience with CTEK chargers? If so, what model(s) are the ones to go for, I'm looking for value for money really, not so much top-of-the-line features.

With best,
SY

Never assume.
The battery may well be fine.
My PCX sat unused outdoors uncovered in winter for similar periods of time and it always started without any problem.

gn2 wrote:Never assume.
The battery may well be fine.
My PCX sat unused outdoors uncovered in winter for similar periods of time and it always started without any problem.

Thanks, I am keen to get a good charger for both the scoot and car, in any case.

gn2 wrote:Never assume.
The battery may well be fine.
My PCX sat unused outdoors uncovered in winter for similar periods of time and it always started without any problem.

Just out of interest, IF the battery is fine, will normal city use charge it up fully, or would I need to get it a quick blast on an A-road or similar?

shivayash wrote:

gn2 wrote:Never assume.
The battery may well be fine.
My PCX sat unused outdoors uncovered in winter for similar periods of time and it always started without any problem.

Just out of interest, IF the battery is fine, will normal city use charge it up fully, or would I need to get it a quick blast on an A-road or similar?

It depends if you have the idle stop feature. If you do, keep it off while in the city for the first while, as restarting each time is harder on the battery.

kramnala58 wrote:

shivayash wrote:

gn2 wrote:Never assume.
The battery may well be fine.
My PCX sat unused outdoors uncovered in winter for similar periods of time and it always started without any problem.

Just out of interest, IF the battery is fine, will normal city use charge it up fully, or would I need to get it a quick blast on an A-road or similar?

It depends if you have the idle stop feature. If you do, keep it off while in the city for the first while, as restarting each time is harder on the battery.

Thanks, I never use Idle Stop has it has killed two batteries already. I live in central London and the constant start-stop nature of my journeys are just too much for a little battery. Ironic really, I spoke to Honda about this and they said that this feature was not designed for urban use!

shivayash wrote:Thanks, I never use Idle Stop has it has killed two batteries already. I live in central London and the constant start-stop nature of my journeys are just too much for a little battery. Ironic really, I spoke to Honda about this and they said that this feature was not designed for urban use!

Their own promotional video shows the idle-stop feature in use in an urban city! I take it you have a pre '15 model which has the up-rated battery and idle-stop protection disable should the battery get too low (not a flat volts curve but similar).

That should have read 'I take it you do not have a '15 model' or 'have a pre '15 model'

shivayash wrote:Just out of interest, IF the battery is fine, will normal city use charge it up fully

Given that the thing is designed specifically for urban use then yes, you would expect it to be able to maintain a full charge in urban use.

Sure, I do believe that gn2's bike will start right up, I do. Happy it does.

But.....if it doesn't? Crap!
I hate taking chances and I don't appreciate when it's self inflicted aggravation. Hitting the Start button getting no feed back/dead and then fixing that! Nope, I want fully juiced batteries at all times in all vehicles. Tires properly full. Liquid levels properly up. Never go below half tank petrol. Fill her up.
My life dictates to be on the ready at all times. Emergencies happen around me and off I Must go. No putzing around. Ohhh noooo.... I got carried away again blah, blah. geez!! ENuff

WN on Topic Please!
Ok my 2cents says buy one. If ya got the money, it certainly can't hurt to own one. You might need it one day and it'll be at arms reach!

Quite a few brands are out there to choose from. I like the Deltrane and Optima products.
Deltrane has several battery tenders to choose from. Using just one unit you can keep both your 4 wheel vehicle and bike up to snuff at the same time!
There's another fav made by Optima. Check out their line too.
Also the one you mentioned by CTEK. I heard good things but never used one.

Four months of sitting would concern me as well. While living in Florida, my scoot battery would be dead when I returned from 3-4 week stays in NY. (Fla temps are sizzling high there most of the year). I used a battery tender for my bikes and truck while I was away). Good Thing!!

They were Always Charged Up & Happy to Ride!

shivayash, one more thing
Please please go back and add info to your profile. We need your location. A plus would be your bike, year, and color so We can help You the very best we can. Think future as well.
Happy Trails!

WhiteNoise wrote:But.....if it doesn't?

It gets beaten with a stick till it does, Basil Fawlty style

Batteries that are completely flat and stay that way for a few days , are permanently damaged, sometime in the future, it will prematurely fail.

^ yep, I forgot that part. Weakens it. Good point!

gn2 Perfect! His Reaction? Priceless
Repetitive stalling? I (we?) can relate. 1960-1970's cars - Start, Quit, Dead
Muscle car years

iceman wrote:That should have read 'I take it you do not have a '15 model' or 'have a pre '15 model'

I have an early model, from Feb 2011 and did not know this had a different battery set up.

gn2 wrote:

shivayash wrote:Just out of interest, IF the battery is fine, will normal city use charge it up fully

Given that the thing is designed specifically for urban use then yes, you would expect it to be able to maintain a full charge in urban use.

One would think but not in my case.

WhiteNoise wrote:shivayash, one more thing
Please please go back and add info to your profile. We need your location. A plus would be your bike, year, and color so We can help You the very best we can. Think future as well.
Happy Trails!

Yes of course, I'll do that. In the meantime, I'm a resident of London, usually but have spent time away this year in Melbourne and Bombay. My pcx bike is a Feb 2011 model, white, naturally.

Jge64 wrote:Batteries that are completely flat and stay that way for a few days , are permanently damaged, sometime in the future, it will prematurely fail.

Yes this is a worry for me as I alway leave home bang on time to get to work, relying on my scooter to start on the button every time. The ctek unit I've settled on has a charge and test feature but at £58 is a little expensive, given other chargers cost as little as £15. But if you want the best...

I have a 2015 PCX and used the idle stop feature for two weeks, it flattened my battery.

I bought a Lithium battery and replaced the lead acid one in the bike. I now use a ctek charger and alternate between the two batteries, keeping the lead acid as a spare.

The idle stop feature remains permanently off..

Given that a replacement battery can be had for under £20 why worry?