2000 honda recon battery charging

[Mikey509]

Hey guys, so I've been messing with my quad, and between all the starts, the battery is dead. Is there a certain way to charge these? Can I just throw a trickle charger on it and call it a day? can i also jump it like a normal car with a battery pack or is that to much voltage 

[Gwbarm]

Yes you can just hook your jump starter box to the battery and crank it up. You can use a trickle charger on it ,leave it over night, if the battery is good will charge  up. I have so much trouble withr these small batterys not lasting very long i have just been leaving the trickle charger on it when not in use. I usually use aa trickle charger that puts our 1.5 or 2 amp.

[jen]

My equipment is at my cottage that I am at when possible.  So I don't like 120 vac trickle chargers due to potential fire hazard.  Mike explorer suggested this solar charger as an Option.  I like it.

[quadnut20]

On 6/12/2026 at 1:18 PM, Mikey509 said:

Hey guys, so I've been messing with my quad, and between all the starts, the battery is dead. Is there a certain way to charge these? Can I just throw a trickle charger on it and call it a day? can i also jump it like a normal car with a battery pack or is that to much voltage 

How old is the battery ? Check to see if it holds a charge 1st ! My Foreman sits for weeks on end and still fires up when needed ! I usually only use a Trickle charger in the winter

[davefrombc]

The biggest killer of all forms of lead acid batteries is letting them sit without a maintainer on them, or at least bringing them to full charge  at least once a month when they  are  not in use.. When a lead acid battery drops belo2w  full  charge , either from being  parked when  partially discharged  or by normal internal  leakage the lead sulfate produced can  harden on the plates. When that happens a lot of the hardene4d sulfate does not break down back into  lead dioxide and sulfuric acid.  You don't notice the slow  loss of capacity  because of it  unless the battery is  often  left at deeper discharge rates. Any lead acid  battery that sits idle for long periods loses a lot of capacity over time and if allowed to drop  extremely low can easily short out when thicker  sulfate can flake off the plates  on recharge.  A battery regularly used and kept full charged when  idle can  last for years  while one  allowed to sit for long periods at less than full charge can fail  in a year..   My  Quad battery is about 5 years old, as is the one for my riding lawnmower.  Both are on  trickle charge maintainers when not in  use.  The  AGM battery in my 2016 Traverse is likely  original as I  bought it used 5 years ago. I  know its reserve capacity is very low now and I will likely have to replace it next winter.  As I  have mentioned in other threads,  a good maintainer is a lot cheaper  than  buying a replacement battery every couple of years.

[jen]

Very good explanation ...that made sense even to my little mind...  so OK when I charge my batteries...i.e., lead acid bat... with my trickle chargers I remove the vehicle  negative lead from the bat.  Its a pain but someone said I should.....

[davefrombc]

Newer vehicles with  fuel injection and ECM controlled  engine management have a constant very low draw on the battery,  so  when  parked for extended periods it is a good idea  to  either disconnect the negative terminal or  use a disconnect switch to  to  stop  the draw by the ECM.  If you  use a maintainer it really isn't necessary to  disconnect the battery negative.  Be  sure to  use a trickle charger rated as a maintainer , not  just a trickle charger..Some trickle chargers could overcharge  a battery over time ,  leading to electrolyte loss  and  battery damage.   Most new maintenance  free batteries are sealed so you cannot top up the electrolyte with distilled water like the old flooded batteries.

Even the old vehicles that only had a clock drew some from the battery and killed it  faster than  when a disconnect was used.

Edited Sunday at 10:37 PM by davefrombc

[quadnut20]

My 3  quads  never sit long enough to to have a dead battery ! My TRX 450R is a kicker so no battery ! Both the Foreman & the 700 kodiak have a trickle plug installed ! I try to ride all of them or at least start them once a week !

[jen]

More is sometimes not good I guess....is there an adapter to convert my solar charger o "maintenance " so I don't over charge?  

[davefrombc]

2 hours ago, jen said:

More is sometimes not good I guess....is there an adapter to convert my solar charger o "maintenance " so I don't over charge?  

I don't know of any adapters to allow a  battery charger to act as a maintainer.  Depending on the output of your solar charger,  It  could be a "maintainer"   Dash board  solar chargers  rated between  5 and 10W and 13 to 13.5v will  act as a maintainer..  Maintainers typically  normally output a very low amperage,  generally  one amp or less and a voltage between 13 and 13.5v to  apply a very low charge rate to  balance the internal leakage of a battery.   Normal  full charge voltage of a 12v leaed acid battery is between 12.5 to 12.8V

[jen]

You're so good...LOL