Battery Charging

[markmacd]

Just checking, what should the battery charge be showing for a healthy battery when riding as I have checked the manwell and nothing is stated anywhere about this.

[Debs]

Mine reads 14.3v when out on her..

[markmacd]

Mine reads 14.3v when out on her..

Thats good, mines reading 14.4 - 14.6

[viper]

while you are riding along the voltage shown is whats being produced by the altenator, this is not an indication of a good or bad battery. a better test of your battery might be the volts when you turn on the ignition before the engine is fired , if its 11.8 to about 12.5 then its a good sign.

The real real test is what happens to the volts when the engine is being cranked, if the battery drops below 9v under cranking then its a sign of deteriation.

a good battery should only drop about 1.5 to 2 volts under full load .

[virginiajim]

 

The meter can show excellent charging but if the connections are loose at the battery (they will loosen - it doesn't take much) then it's all for naught.

[Debs]

My bike won't turn over to start if the battery is below 11.3v.

[flatfour]

I changed the Kawasaki battery last year (at two years old) as it was sometimes down to 11.5 volts before first start on cold days and cranking slowly. New battery is up around 11.9 - 12.2 volts in the same situation.

Having been caught out a couple of years ago with the car, when a five - year old battery suddenly failed to crank the engine whilst working away (despite being fine the day before when it was used for a 150 mile journey) I now replace all vehicle batteries as a matter of course at around the three - year mark, even if they seem fine. Trying to obtain a new battery when the car was stuck in a hotel car park with a group of people waiting for me to start training at a customer's premises is an experience that I never want to repeat!   

[viper]

I watched a you tube clip last year of a mechanic showing a simple test to verify your battery . he had a plug in voltmeter off ebay , for a few quid which plugs into your cig lighter. he said that if the battery drops to 8 v or less under cranking then your battery is not long left in this life.. I tried it on my van and on my car, the van battery was dropping to the low 8 volts and my car battery was in the low 9 volts under cranking. I did nothing and 4 weeks later the van battery failed to start one cold morning and about a month later tha car one died.

My new battery on the van drops to about 10.5 volts under cranking and it spins the engine over so much faster than before

[pete fairbairn]

I had the battery on my gtr 1400 fail in Poland without warning,possible caused by rough road surface ,I had fitted a Bosche battery 14months before not realising some bike batteries only carry 12 months warrenty ie Bosche, we had nightmare finding one on Krakow,so be warned if in doubt fit genuine one .Cheers

[markmacd]

All good info guys an gals. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge

[Debs]

I've just had to buy a new one. Keep getting text messages from my BikeTrac that the battery needs charging, even though I was out on her on Tuesday & Wednesday.