Could somebody tell me the Battery Secret?

[Botch]

:disapprove:

Okay, I had to change my battery this afternoon. Pulled the old one, no problem, got a replacement, and started to install the new one. An hour and 45 minutes later, I have given up.
The battery terminal is an upside-down "U" with a hole in the top for the cable bolt, and a hole in the side to slide the tiny, square "nut" that the bolt should thread into. That nut can only slide in one way, so the bolt can be tightened without needing a wrench in there.
But, the amount of up-and-down travel the nut can move in that "U" is longer than the cable bolt. I finally hit on the idea to push a Q-tip head into the bottom of the "U", then slide the nut on top of it, gently nudging until the hole in the nut lined up with the hole in the top; the q-tip head held it to the top of the channel. After an hour of futzing I got the Negative cable securely fastened.

Then I go to the Positive side of the battery, and the &*%^! plastic battery retainer doesn't even allow access to the side of the "U" channel! I take it off again, start futzing with the Q-tip head and that &$^%! tiny nut, and then fumble-fingered the nut and now I can't find it.

There's got to be some kind of trick to using these nuts, what the heck am I doing wrong??? :spank:

 

[vettrick]

I have used a thin, flat coffee stirring stick.
I put a piece of double sided scotch tape on one end and stick the nut to it.
That way you can maneuver it around and put some up pressure on the nut when trying to get the bolt started.
I haven't tried it on an FZ6 but it has worked on other bikes.
Just a suggestion.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

A very short piece of heat shrink stuffed under the square threaded piece works as well as a cut down piece of foam or a foam ear plug also cut down works fine too..

Put those pieces in under the nut with the bolt partilly screwed in. Install the battery in the bike. Remove the bolts and bolt on your cables..

No more secrets!!!:thumbup:

 

[greg]

i used to keep a bit of paper under there to push them up

after losing 2 nuts, I went out and bought some bigger square nuts (not sure of the exact name, they look like this). They were a tight fit and wedge into place in the battery. I think it is an M8 size I used.

edit: they were called "steel cage nuts", they came with bolts too which was handy. They were pretty cheap.

 

[Botch]

Thanks guys, both (EDIT: all three of) those ideas make sense.

However, I'm now getting more angry about the original design itself. It makes no sense whatsoever!!! At first I thought I was supposed to put the bolt through the cable, thread the nut on, and then slide the nut into the U channel and tighten it down (this would've made sense) but the top of the U is a hole, not a slot.
I'm adding this to my "project" list to become a millionaire after I retire from the guv'mint. Really, really bad design! :spank:

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Thanks guys, both those ideas make sense.

However, I'm now getting more angry about the original design itself. It makes no sense whatsoever!!! At first I thought I was supposed to put the bolt through the cable, thread the nut on, and then slide the nut into the U channel and tighten it down (this would've made sense) but the top of the U is a hole, not a slot.
I'm adding this to my "project" list to become a millionaire after I retire from the guv'mint. Really, really bad design! :spank:

99% if not 100% of all smaller (especially bike batteries are this way).

If you strip the bolt and/or nut, simply remove it and replace with another nut and bolt vs a NEW battery...

Now that you know, shouldn't be an issue. Dilectric grease on the terminals doesn't hurt either..

(I've probably got a half dozen spare battery nuts and bolts as I wear thru batteries over the years (as they don't go bad))..

 

[Mugwump]

Used a drinking straw cut down to about 5/8" and insert under the nut. Also went with longer screws than what it came with. The straw collapses under the nut and just leave it there.

 

[FinalImpact]

Ear plugs FTW!

But maybe you need bigger nuts? :spank: :spank: Blah

 

[4drfocus]

I used one if those extendable magnet wands to hold the nut in place.

 

[Cloggy]

Well my zumo mount finally died, and although the place I had connected the power cable to seemed OK static (not riding). Anyway I thought I would quickly attatch it to the battery before a ride just to check it wasn't an intermittant power supply.
Anyway what I thought was a quick job took me over an hour

I finally got it connected after almost loosing the nut several times. After all that effort it turned out to be the voltage rectifier in the Zumo mount anyway .

 

[MG-242]

Snip off about a 10mm long piece of the battery drain hose that came with the new battery (or the old one) and slip it under the nut to hold it up.

 

[ErikNYC]

I purchased these and they work great.

Bikemaster Battery Bolt 6x10mm Bolt Rectangle Nut 2 Sets B 04 | eBay

 

[aclayonb]

I just use my pocket knife. It's always on me and hasn't failed me yet.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I purchased these and they work great.

Bikemaster Battery Bolt 6x10mm Bolt Rectangle Nut 2 Sets B 04 | eBay

Those should have come with the battery. Those are the standard nut and bolts... The issue is the nut dropping down and the bolt NOT reaching it.

The above responses are keeping the NUT raised for easier installation.

What ever you put in there to kep the nut up, it should be flexible so the bolt can tighten down fully :thumbup:

 

[Northeastfz]

I had the same exact issue but eventually just used a smal piece of cardboard to hold the nut up. I did this after I dropped one of the square nuts down into the abyss somewhere and could not use the old nuts or bolts because they did not fit either. I ended up blowing compressed air all around the top of the engine and after way to long it finally popped out. Like you said just an simple thing turned into a project.

 

[FinalImpact]

Ear plugs FTW!

Mine is still on the OEM Yuasa battery and the nuts & bolts supplied have never been a hardship (they reach without inverting the bike and battery).

Ear plugs withstand break down much better than some of the items ^^ up there so you might want consider them....

 

[visions]

I used one if those extendable magnet wands to hold the nut in place.

Yes. Essential to any tool kit

Craftsman Pocket Telescope Magnetic Pick-Up Tool - Tools - Mechanics & Auto Tools - Automotive Specialty Tools