Add a extra battery to scooter 125cc..

[Zach Kyriazis]

Hello Forums..

I am new to this..

Question:

I have a 12v 9amp battery, and i want to add 2 x 55w = 110w fog lights. Hella FF50

My main light is a 12v 60w/55w (1 light bulb H4)..

If i would look for an isolator how much more amps do i need and should i look for the same battery like the one i have.

Can you please assists me.

Thank you

Zach

 

[apprentice87]

Hi there,

Hardly the right forum to ask this sort of question, but there we are!!

Anyway.....Your total load is only about 15 Amps, so if you add a bit for the other lights etc, i doubt you will ever exceed 20 Amps, so only a small isolator is needed.

The problem you have is keeping the battery charged... You cannot get more out than you put in. I do not know what size alternator your scooter has, but it will be struggling to run the extra fog lights...

They will work for a bit, but say your scooter can put out 10 amps, [and i doubt it will] where are you going to get the other 10??

The "9 Amp" part of the battery spec is its amp/hour rating. It should in theory [but will not in practice] put out 9 amps for an hour until it runs down to about 1.8 volts per cell i think it is from memory...

So,

1, An isolator that can handle 20 amps will be fine, [assuming the thing does not have to handle the current for an electric starter]

2, The lights will run for about half an hour until your battery runs down.

3, Fit the biggest capacity battery that you can get to fit in the battery holder.

How are you going to work the lights?? You will not just be able to connect them to the headlight circuit, as it was only designed to run one light and not three, so it will either overheat the switch or the wiring or both and blow any fuses that the scooter may or may not have.

I am not trying to be miserable here, but you are asking your little scooter to run an awful lot of lights!!!

The best thing you could do, is to ask your question on a motorbike forum, someone there might have experience of doing the same as you and be able to help you more. Everyone on here wires houses and factories, not motorbikes!!!

john

 

[Andy™]

i very much doubt the alternator would be capable of supplying the extra load

unlikely that that will work

if you want something brighter you would be better off using a 35W HID. although the ones ive fitted wouldnt work of the existing headlight, they needed a feed direct from battery via a switch

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

Hello John

Thank you for the reply...i thought to ask the pros on electricity....

The thing is not for the for lights to run continuously with the running lights..i have a switch supplied from hella..my concern was an isolator with a extra battery,

in order not to harm the alternator and battery..i have seeing some isolators on ebay and some videos on youtube...

Can i get a bigger battery with more amp for my scooter??

Will it not harm the circuits and light bulbs??

look at this isolator..

PAC-80 AMP PAC80 HIGH CURRENT RELAY BATTERY ISOLATOR | eBay (give me your opinion)

I only what the fog lights to run on the second battery nothing more...

Why do i want to add extra lights? because here in Greece, Athens their are a lot of bad pot holes..

I have never driven the scooter more than 1 hour continuously at night...

I have tried looking into bike forums, but they do not speak like electricians....hahahaha..(they only do experiments and blow out light bulbs and circuits..)

Please reply...

Zach

 

[Andy™]

a normal 20A relay would do the job

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

Hello Andy

I have thought of HID, but some said running this light on a single battery will make is tired in the long run, ( i did not get a guaranteed answer)

Is their anything that can be done to produce more power from the alternator..

Reference: I have the Piaggio Fly 125cc..

 

[Andy™]

HID's use less power and give more light.

you cannot produce more power from the alternator without changing it

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

Andy can you maybe suggest one from ebay..

20A relay | eBay (just to get an idea)

i am glad that users are responding to this topic..

 

[steptoe]

mmmmmm

two things,

I very much doubt the existing wiring will be able to cope,

the alternator is very likely to burn out very (VERY) quickly, along with the regulator and rectifier.!

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

okay stepteo

i think what you are saying is that the alternator cannot produce power to both batteries with an isolator...

 

[steptoe]

no,

the windings in the alternator will not be able to cope with the demand you are putting on it,

neither will the regulator/rectifier,

they will be fairly low rated units and simply wont cope with being asked for more power than they are designed for,

probably only somewhere in the region of 5or6amps.

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

Look what i found from a yahoo topic.

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Can i fit a 12v 14A battery to my usual 12v 9Amp supply on my MZ ETZ 125?

I have a 1986 MZ ETZ with points ignition system, would it be OK to change my battery to 12v 14A, the reason for this is i would like to fit a cigarette lighter socket to the side panel enabling me to use Various electrical applications for camping etc.

Can i fit a 12v 14A battery to my usual 12v 9Amp supply on my MZ ETZ 125? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers

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Can a battery like this maybe do the job???

 

[Andy™]

a larger battery could be used, but the alternator on the scooter will NOT be able to supply enough current to power the extra lights or keep the battery charged

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 18:53 ---------- Previous post was made at 18:52 ----------

the only way you will achieve what you want is by using a leisure battery to feed the aux lights, and charging that battery from a mains supply, not the scooter

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

i am looking at this battery.....but i have to go to the official dealer for more info...

ProductFinder - VARTA Automotive

I will take all the ideas from your suggestions and the do's and the not...i will have to find a leisure battery for me...but i see that they are for more heavier duty

operations..

 

[Andy™]

if you plan on using a separate battery to power only the extra lights, then you will need a leisure battery (or other deep discharge). a normal battery will not last long before you kill it

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 19:15 ---------- Previous post was made at 19:14 ----------

you will also need to consider the legal issues of adding the extra lights, and make sure they dont blind other drivers etc

 

[apprentice87]

Hi Zach,

If all you want to do is to be able to connect or disconnect the second battery, then the 80A isolator you have seen will be MUCH more than ok!!!

I think the best thing would be to permanently connect the two batteries together though, and then use one of those 20amp relays to control the lights

You can connect any battery you like, you could have a lorry battery if you wanted, it will not damage the alternator or anything just by connecting it up. The problem will be keeping the battery charged, and that could very well damage the alternator as i will explain in a second.

As others have said, [and they know a lot more about bikes than me!!] as the alternator will be working "full on" all the time to try to keep the battery charged, it very well could overheat.....

You must understand that a battery is just like a "bucket" of electricity. It just stores the electricity.... Your lights let the electricity out, and the alternator tries straight away to pump more electricity back in as quick as you are letting it out.

You will get to a point where, if you have too many lights, eventually either your "bucket" will become empty, and, if it is not powerful enough, your alternator will "wear out", in the same way that an overloaded pump would, trying to keep a leaking bucket full...

As Andy has said, you could always just use a completely separate battery for the lights and charge it at home with a mains battery charger.

As i say, the others here know a lot more about bikes than me, they will be able to help you more than i can!!

john...

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

okay i thinking of getting leisure battery (second battery)...as for the fog lights they will bean low and not high....

how about if i use only install one fog light...i see that hella sells them separately..

Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.

 

[Andy™]

why do you want the lights? to see better, or to be seen?

if the latter, then LED DRL's would be better

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

John

I have thought about the points you have mentioned and made me skeptical and from other users like Andy has pointed out.

My conclusion is that in the short or long run i could face damage to the alternator.

So before i do anything i am going to research more electrician here in my area and ask you again for your opinion.

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Hi Zach,

If all you want to do is to be able to connect or disconnect the second battery, then the 80A isolator you have seen will be MUCH more than ok!!!

I think the best thing would be to permanently connect the two batteries together though, and then use one of those 20amp relays to control the lights

You can connect any battery you like, you could have a lorry battery if you wanted, it will not damage the alternator or anything just by connecting it up. The problem will be keeping the battery charged, and that could very well damage the alternator as i will explain in a second.

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I am just trying to figure out away for alternator not to be under pressure..

And this site has given more info than motobike forums...believe..i would not change this forum.......

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 21:45 ---------- Previous post was made at 21:41 ----------

to see better...the roads here as i have mentioned are bad...i hit a bad one last night...

we have very bad roads....and i mean really bad...i see alot of scooters upgrading their lights for this reason.

 

[Zach Kyriazis]

good morning everyone...i have taken all opinions and will go to a battery store to ask for more info..

and to a piaggio dealer (although they do not what to get involved in such modifications)...

80A isolator /20AMP relay...