Voge battery: removal, charging and what it resets

Two minutes spent on the order of operations prevents a short circuit, and knowing what a disconnection erases prevents an afternoon spent wondering why the instrument display looks wrong.

The order, and the reason for it

Removal: negative first, then positive. Refitting: positive first, then negative.

The reason is the spanner. With the negative lead already disconnected, a spanner that touches the frame while the positive terminal is being worked on does nothing at all. With the negative still connected, the same slip is a dead short across the battery.

The ignition is switched off and the motorcycle powered down before either terminal is touched.

Two details from the manual

Thread the bolt back into the battery before lifting it out. A loose terminal bolt dropped into the frame during removal is rarely recovered.

Keep the battery upright. Inverted, electrolyte escapes through the breather hole.

A further caution concerns cleaning: the battery produces hydrogen, so it is kept away from heat sources, and wiping it with a dry cloth can generate a static spark. The manual asks for a damp cloth.

Charging: the figures the manual gives

The battery fitted to these models is maintenance-free. The electrolyte level and its density require no checking, but the state of charge does.

The threshold is 12.6 V measured with the ignition off. Below that figure the manual recommends charging.

	Specification
Charging voltage	DC 14.5 ± 0.3 V
Charging current	no more than 1 A, steady
Charging time	6 to 8 hours

The motorcycle's circuit is disconnected before charging begins, and overcharging is to be avoided, since it shortens the battery's life rather than extending it. The manual also suggests charging a new battery for 30 minutes before first use, which it states improves its service life.

Why a battery goes flat without a fault

Two figures from the manual explain most complaints of a battery that will not hold its charge.

Self-discharge doubles for every 15 °C of temperature rise. A motorcycle standing in a warm garage loses charge substantially faster than the same machine in a cool one.

Short journeys do not replace what starting consumes. The charging system replenishes the battery during sustained running. A pattern of short trips leaves it in permanent deficit, which is a use pattern and not a fault.

A related warning is worth heeding in cold climates: an undercharged battery can freeze, which damages the case and distorts the terminals. A fully charged battery withstands low temperatures.

What a disconnection erases

Reconnecting the battery clears settings that are then commonly reported as faults:

The tyre pressure readings disappear. The stored values are wiped. They return without intervention, but only above 25 km/h, since the sensors do not transmit at a standstill. A blank TPMS display in the garage after a battery change is normal, and filling it in requires nothing more than riding to the end of the road. See why the dash shows a red tyre.

The dashcam and app pairing drop. The recorder is reconnected through the VOGE app so that it and the instrument agree on the time again. See Bluetooth pairing.

The clock is wrong. It is set in the instrument menu.

Starting from an external supply

The manual permits an external supply, with conditions that differ from common practice and are worth following exactly.

1. Fully insulated spring clips only, so that no unintended spark occurs between the leads.
2. The positive of the external battery connects to the positive of the motorcycle's battery.
3. The negative of the external battery connects to a metal part of the engine as an earth point, and not to the motorcycle battery's negative terminal. A battery gives off hydrogen, and this arrangement places the spark of the final connection away from it.
4. If the engine does not start, several minutes are allowed to pass before another attempt, to protect both engine and battery.
5. Before the leads are removed, the engine is left running for a few minutes. The negative and earth leads are then disconnected first, and the positive last.

A battery that has required jump-starting once will require it again. It is charged properly afterwards or replaced, since a weak battery lies behind more electrical complaints on these motorcycles than any actual fault. See engine will not start.

Accessories and the battery

The manual sets a limit that is easily overlooked when fitting equipment: high-power electrical accessories are not permitted, and low-power ones are to be connected through the connector reserved on the motorcycle for that purpose, with a Voge service point consulted first.

An accessory wired directly to the battery bypasses both the fuse protection and the ignition switch, which is how a motorcycle comes to be found flat after a week of standing.

Before a period of storage

The manual is specific. The negative terminal is disconnected for any extended period, since components on the circuit consume power continuously. For storage exceeding one month the battery is charged fully, both terminals are disconnected, and it is stored somewhere above 0 °C and charged monthly.

The full procedure is in preparing a Voge for winter storage.

Related pages

Where a circuit is dead rather than weak, the amperages are in fuse ratings by model, and the symptoms in blown fuses and electrical faults.