How to remove 2006 Shadow Aero battery

[mocean]

Originally Posted by Notorious

The Negative IS the ground "-".

Electricity flows from the "+" to the "-" so if you disconnect the "-" it has nowhere to go, therefore there will be no spitzensparks or poppenzefuzens.

Black first (neg) Red second (Pos)

Putting it back, Red first (pos), Black second (Neg)

I'm reduced to a single digit IQ with this stuff...

[mocean]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider 2

The negative (black) cable IS the ground. The red one (+) is the HOT one.

My guess by looking at the picture is that you remove that single screw at the top. Then the black plate under the connector.......with connector still attached.....slides back a tiny bit and the lifts up and out of the way......well mostly out of the way.

THEN you should be able to see the battery posts ......where you will disconnect the black, negative, ground one first.....and secure it out of the way before working on the red, positive, HOT post.

If you don't hit both posts at the same time with a metal tool, the odds of making sparks is about nil.

P.S. Be sure the new battery is fully charged BEFORE you install it in the bike. If it came with instructions, you probably should READ them !!

You were right! It came right off and I leaned it out of the way! Now I'm looking at the terminals <shudder>

Yes, I read the instructions that came with the battery...guess I should read them again...

[Easy Rider 2]

Originally Posted by mocean

Yes, I read the instructions that came with the battery...guess I should read them again...

1) It won't hurt if the negative cable, when loose, touches anything EXCEPT the post that you removed it from. Tie it back out of the way as much as you can.

2) If you have a battery charger rated at 2 amps, it won't hurt to have it connected to your new battery for 6-8 hours. It may never show that it is totally charged, depending on exactly what kind of charger it is.

As for removing the old battery and putting the new one in.......a thick piece of string or twine can help a lot.....if you cut a piece about 18 inches long and tie each end to one of the posts after you disconnect both cables.
DO NOT USE A WIRE FOR THIS !!!!

Good luck. You're in the home stretch now !!

[Gnuiser]

Originally Posted by mocean

But there's a big plug on top of the battery containing a bunch of wires. It looks like it's attached to some sort of plastic plate that looks like it slips into a slot on the battery itself. Do I unplug it? Slide it out?

Move it out of the way - not necessary to disconnect the electrical connector. Slip it out of the holder and set it aside out of the way with the connector still attached.
Then you see the 1 crosspoint screw on the battery cover. Remove it then the cover. Now you'll see the top of the battery. Disconnect the negative (-) then positive (+) cable connections to the battery.

[mocean]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider 2

The negative (black) cable IS the ground. The red one (+) is the HOT one.

My guess by looking at the picture is that you remove that single screw at the top. Then the black plate under the connector.......with connector still attached.....slides back a tiny bit and the lifts up and out of the way......well mostly out of the way.

THEN you should be able to see the battery posts ......where you will disconnect the black, negative, ground one first.....and secure it out of the way before working on the red, positive, HOT post.

If you don't hit both posts at the same time with a metal tool, the odds of making sparks is about nil.

P.S. Be sure the new battery is fully charged BEFORE you install it in the bike. If it came with instructions, you probably should READ them !!

A neighbor friend of mine came over and watched me while I changed the battery. The idea of putting a steel screwdriver to a battery really made me nervous. With your help and someone to supervise, I did it!!!

I charged the battery to 13.6, installed it and took it out for a 25 mile ride and it ran perfectly! A little Seafoam and a new battery after sitting for 6-8 months and it's perfect!

Thank you to everyone for making sure I didn't kill myself trying to change a battery. I know it's nothing for you guys, but it's a major accomplishment for me! So, I've installed a light bar, windshield, sissy bar and rack and a battery!

[adlowe]

Great! Don't feel bad about being confused along the way -- that is just part of the learning process.

If you don't have an owner's manual or a shop manual, you should probably take a look at the online microfiche files when tackling a new task. It definitely helps to visualize what you'll be doing. The quickest one to get to is usually at http://ronayers.com/; scroll over the "OEM Parts" buttong to get to the fiche menu.

[tubes_rock]

Glad to hear you got it bagged!

Now on to the next question:

How is your light bar wired in? Is it using a relay? If not, you run the (very likely) risk of melting your start button switch. The start button switch shuts off the headlight while starting the engine to give the starter maximum power. However, that switch is only rated for the power of a single headlight. If you connect a light bar to the existing headlight wiring without using a relay to reduce the current load, you'll melt that switch after a while.

--Justin

[mocean]

I removed the seat with the pillion. I then took the Phillips head screw out that was holding the battery box in. With that, the plug plate thingy sitting on top of the battery came loose, so I hung it over the side. This revealed the top of the battery. I unscrewed the -negative- terminal first and it popped to the side. Then I unscrewed the -positive- terminal and it popped to the side. Lifted out the battery. Put the freshly charged new battery into the box. Then I connected the terminals opposite of what I did taking them off. I attached the positive terminal first and then the negative terminal. I tried the starter before proceeding just to make sure everything was working. Then I put the plug plate thingy back on top of the battery and put the Phillips head screw back. I re-attached the seat and pillion and I was done! I took the bike for a 25 minute ride just to test things out.

Thank you for helping me through this. Simple stuff for everyone in this forum, but a life threatening experience for me! I feel so accomplished now. I know, how sad

[mocean]

Originally Posted by adlowe

Great! Don't feel bad about being confused along the way -- that is just part of the learning process.

If you don't have an owner's manual or a shop manual, you should probably take a look at the online microfiche files when tackling a new task. It definitely helps to visualize what you'll be doing. The quickest one to get to is usually at http://ronayers.com/; scroll over the "OEM Parts" buttong to get to the fiche menu.

This is great! Thank you. I was thinking I should get a 'real' manual for the bike, instead of just the one that came with it. I do feel badly about knowing so little. Nothing can make me feel so inept as working on a car or a motorcycle. I took my Rebel to the shop to have the carburetor cleaned. They cleaned it and now I can barely stand to sit at a stoplight because of the noxious exhaust. It's so bad it's hard to breathe. So now, I have to take it back to them and hope they don't try to rip me off by telling me it's not the carburetor, but something else. It's like when I took the Rebel back to the dealer about a month after buying it, because the clutch was failing. He told me it was slipping because I didn't know how to shift correctly. Huh? I grew up on a stick shift! He adjusted it and one month later, it started slipping again. I had to fight with him to insist I knew how to shift a bike. It turned out that the clutch was faulty and he had to replace it. I never got an apology.

I need to know about my bikes so I can take care of things myself. I'm just sorry I'm so incredibly inept right now. It's really embarrassing. I'm just so grateful that everyone is so nice in here. It takes a little of the pressure off

[mocean]

Originally Posted by tubes_rock

Glad to hear you got it bagged!

Now on to the next question:

How is your light bar wired in? Is it using a relay? If not, you run the (very likely) risk of melting your start button switch. The start button switch shuts off the headlight while starting the engine to give the starter maximum power. However, that switch is only rated for the power of a single headlight. If you connect a light bar to the existing headlight wiring without using a relay to reduce the current load, you'll melt that switch after a while.

--Justin

It's a Honda light bar designed for the bike. I'm not sure what I wired it to. I just followed the directions. I did have to install a separate switch for it on the handle bar. I can turn it off and on, but I usually leave it on with my low beam during the day. When I turn it on and I hit the high beam, it goes off by itself. The only thing I don't like about it is that the lights point up a little and they're really blinding. The headlight looks weak when the light bar is on. I've had it on the bike for a little over a year. I thought if I bought the light bar from Honda and made sure it was made for my bike, I'd be okay. What is a relay and where would it go?