How many starts to a TAG battery? 3 or 4?

Dave Boles

At our track we constantly see drivers on practice days have to pack up early because their battery has gone dead. This is on Rotax and Parillas.
I know that they don't like a quick charge, but it seems like they don't like any charge.

Does anyone make a decent legal battery for the TAG classes?

They sure seem to be junk!

Dave Boles

Dennis Garwood · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:13 pm Post subject:

I ran and maintained 2 rotax karts last year and only had to buy 1 replacement battery and that was because I let the battery go completely dead and it wouldn't hold a charge. On race days, we had our batteries on the charger after we came off the track and had no problem with them dying. No fouled plugs because of dead batteries either. I did have a piece of foam between the bottom of my battery and the mount to protect from vibration. Bottom line, maintain your equipment and you shouldn't have a problem.

Tom Jensen · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:41 pm Post subject:

I think the batteries in karting are lead acid gel cells and can be on charge at all times except when driving. Ni-Cads need to be depleted so they don't get a memory meaning the battery thinks the last place the battery ran down to, is completely depleted.

Rusty Mitchell · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:23 pm Post subject:

I ran 26 races last season on the OEM battery on my Leopard. I charged it the first time, and then only about 5 times during the entire season just to top it off sort of speak. I never had any problems with it at any time, and have even started off the 04 season with the same battery at the first two races with 1 charge before the first race. It's hard for me to understand why anyone has trouble with one holding a charge on a Leopard due to the fact that the Leopard re-charges the battery while you run. One thing I do is unhook the positive lead after each and every time out on the track. Make sure that the battery is held tight with some type of dampener underneath it to minimize vibration damage. For charging, I use a 12v 2amp charger.
_________________
www.hotkartclub.com

Harvey Williams · Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 14

I bought my easykart 125 Oct. 18, 2004. Ive been to the track to run the kart about 13 times since. I always disconnect the positie lead after running. I haven't put my battery on the charger yet and so far so good.

Does anybody know how long the battery can sit unused between track visits before it goes dead?

Dave Boles · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 8:43 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I will pass the word along

Dave

scott bertken · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 3:59 pm Post subject:

harvey I broke 2 ribs and my : kart sat for 3 months started right up after getting fuel to it >one thing I always do is to disconnect both +and - after im done running for the day Very Happy

I have 20 hrs. on it and still going stronge only charged 2 times in 20 hrs
_________________
scott bertken going fast is fun and winning is funner........next time you think your perfect try walking on water

Harvey Williams · Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 14

scott, sorry to hear about the two broken ribs.
did you break them in a karting incident?
im on a karting sabatical myself due to rib pain.
i didn't have an accident, i just raced with sticky race tires and was too hooked up & i guess i strained something.
like i said, i've never charged my battery and i run the easykart which is an air cooled IAME 125. the battery system charges itself while i run.

im wondering how long the kart can sit without running or charging before the batery wont crank.

scott bertken · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 5:00 pm Post subject:

yep running my kart with no rip vest bounced to much and spun out in a hay bail and snap snap and its funny when this happens how much air you lose and how much pain you have just trying to breath but im back and going at it 3 times a week having the most fun running all over the 80 shifter guys .... Laughing

_________________
scott bertken going fast is fun and winning is funner........next time you think your perfect try walking on water

Patrick Hubbell · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:23 am Post subject:

I ran the same battery for 2 years without any starting problems. I disconnect it after every race, trickle charge it with a 1 amp charger and never crank the starter for more than 2 - 3 seconds at a time.
_________________
Patrick Hubbell

Wesley Shelton · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:34 am Post subject:

Dave,

Never had a single problem with my Rotax battery, charged it for 8 hours on Saturday, and raced all day Sunday without a re-charge.

Good luck on the rib thing for the rest of you guys. I raced in the SKUSA event three weeks ago and was in so much pain it wasn't even funny. After three weeks of rest I thought I would be fine. I hopped back in this weekend and was in pain before I even pressed the ignition. Guess it's time to find a new seat, but the rib thing is a tender issue with me. No Pun Intended. Neutral

Bill Wright · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:53 pm Post subject:

Hi guys,

Here's the quick-and-dirty on the batteries. This is all from memory, I did some detailed research early in 2003, but those docs are in the shop, and I'm at home ! Smile

Most of these type batteries were designed to be used as back-up power for a system during a power outage. They are designed to have a constant charge going to them, with very infrequent and short "use" of the battery itself. The 2nd generation FIAMM GS FG 20722 ( I haven't seen the docs on the new GS FGHL 20722 ) is rated at 1200 "cycles" ( don't even ask ! ) of use, unless you let the battery drop below 70% charged, then the available "cycles" drops to 200 ! So you can see that if you don't keep the battery charged, your battery life will be shortened significantly. I've had very few problems with batteries, but I always hook the batteries up to charge every time the kars come off course.

Another VERY important aspect of the batteries is that the initial charge is VERY important to the life of the batttery. That is why Rotax delivers the batteries fully charged. They don't come to Rotax charged, they charge them before they ship them. OEM and replacement. The reason is that you have to charge the battery with the correct amperage and the correct "input rate" ( for lack of the correct term that I can't recall right now ).

If the battery is charged fully and correctly, it has a static shelf life of over a year. Temperature effects the static discharge rate some, but even in fairly extreme temps, VERY little.

Biggest thing that kills these batteries is a shock to the battery that causes the internal plates to short out. It could be you dropping the battery on your bench, or the shock of a hard impact in the kart, or running the battery in the kart with no vibration dampner.

Second biggest problem is letting the battery discharge beyond 70 % fully-charged. That will reduce the battery "life" by six-fold. So a battery that should last two years, only lasts 4 months ! And, of course, if you ever let the battery fully discharge, it's probably toast !

FIAMM has an excellent web site, with more information than you'll care to learn about. Trust me ! ! Laughing

_________________
Bill Wright
Formula Kart Productions, Inc "SERIOUS FUN!"
Exclusive Promoter / Owner of the Florida Winter Tour
www.floridawintertour.com
Lo Rider Casual Kart Apparel