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Interpreting My Quick Test

bccap

bccap

Forum Sage
Past Site Supporter
Yesterday I had an experience at a Stealership. I had gotten the bike out from hibernation and taken it out to gas it up. After I filled it up I noticed that it slow cranked before it started. I knew the battery was on it's last legs so swung by the Stealership to pick up a new one. They did a quick check of my system and said I'm only getting 7 volts max and tried to get me to leave it for repair. I know these guys pretty well so wasn't going to fall for that but to not get stranded going home paid them $110 to truck it home for me in case I was just running off the battery. Went down and did my own quick test. 12.6 key off. 12.2 key on. Then varying results at different revs. but basically 14 to 14.4 volts across the board. Even at idle 1500 revs I got 13.8 to 14.2 at times. I know I need a battery but are these readings anything I should be concerned about ? They're a little higher at idle then the quick test says they should be.
 
bccap said:
........... I knew the battery was on it's last legs so swung by the Stealership to pick up a new one. .........
............
Click to expand...

Ew.. No Need for that, unless you are going out of you way to support the dealership.
Can get what you need at autoparts store (most carry mo'ckl batterys).


bccap said:
.
.............did my own quick test. 12.6 key off. 12.2 key on. .................
Click to expand...
If battery at 12.6, the charging must have been running to keep it there. If charging not working then the voltage would keep going lower and lower.

That is a bit of a drop when turn things on (add load to the battery), but not much .... inconclusive. Does it drop much more after a minute or so....?




bccap said:
..............................Then varying results at different revs. but basically 14 to 14.4 volts across the board. Even at idle 1500 revs I got 13.8 to 14.2 at times............
Click to expand...

That is not bad, some folks might think it should be higher on a more modern bike, but that 14 to 14.4 shows the charging is working (not completely failed anyway). Is higher than battery voltage when engine off, so the charging system is charging.


What symptom are you seeing to say battery on last leggs....? The slow cranking after long time storage....?
Was the battery on a batterry tender? If not, well, then, yah, I would expect it to crank slow then.


I wonder if they meant the volts drop to 7 volts when cranking. Which could happen if battery not well charged.


See how it goes after riding at speed for a while, or try charging battery with a small charger.
 
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Redman said:
Ew.. No Need for that, unless you are going out of you way to support the dealership.
Can get what you need at autoparts store (most carry mo'ckl batterys).



If battery at 12.6, the charging must have been running to keep it there. If charging not working then the voltage would keep going lower and lower.

That is a bit of a drop when turn things on (add load to the battery), but not much .... inconclusive. Does it drop much more after a minute or so....?






That is not bad, some folks might think it should be higher on a more modern bike, but that 14 to 14.4 shows the charging is working (not completely failed anyway). Is higher than battery voltage when engine off, so the charging system is charging.


What symptom are you seeing to say battery on last leggs....? The slow cranking after long time storage....?
Was the battery on a batterry tender? If not, well, then, yah, I would expect it to crank slow then.


I wonder if they meant the volts drop when cranking. Which could expect if battery not well charged.


See how it goes after riding at speed for a while, or try charging battery with a small charger.
Click to expand...

It's seven years old and when I first got it I boiled it dry from a bad R/R that was putting out 17.5 volts so I didn't expect it to last long. I've noticed lately that it won't hold a charge for longer than a few days and changes to cranking slowly in a short period of time after I charge it. I don't know how to " load test it " but am pretty sure it's toast. I didn't check the battery again after it had been off for a minute or so. I was just concerned that the voltage should be a little lower when at an idle.....
 
Redman said:
I wonder if they meant the volts drop to 7 volts when cranking. Which could happen if battery not well charged..
Click to expand...

No I watched them do it. They had some weird very cheap looking meter and it showed 7 volts at 5000 rpm. These guys have more complaints at the Better Business Bureau than there are pubs in Vancouver. But the one thing they do have going for them is parts are relatively reasonably priced.
 
bccap said:
It's seven years old " ...................
Click to expand...
Oh.... Yah..... Okay.... That pretty much tells the story.




bccap said:
............................................... I've noticed lately that it won't hold a charge for longer than a few days and changes to cranking slowly in a short period of time after I charge it. I don't know how to " load test it " ...................
Click to expand...
Good description of the symptoms of that thing in your battery box not being much of a battery.

Load test: Measure volts at no load (key off). Measure volts with a low load on it (key on so lights on), should drop only a little and be able to hold that for a couple minute or so. THen measure volts at the load it needs to operate at (running starter motor) and not drop much below, say, 11 or 10 volts (not really sure).


bccap said:
........... ............ ................ .......... ........ I was just concerned that the voltage should be a little lower when at an idle.....
Click to expand...
Yes, voltage will go lower at idle because the charging system not put out much at idle. I too suspected what you said about "idle to 1500", but that is beside the point of the main problem. May need to let it idle for a bit.
 
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Sounds like your charging system is working fine, Garth. I'm not sure what they did to get only 7 volts with it running at 5k, if your getting 14.4v at the same rpm. I would just go ahead and purchase a new battery. If you got 7 years out of it, put it to pasture and let it have a rest as it went above and beyond the call of duty.
 
Thanks Rick and Redman. I'll replace it and see how it goes. I should do the mod from the stator to the R/R while I'm at it.......
 
bccap said:
..............I'll replace it and see how it goes. ........
Click to expand...

Good. I think that is all you needed all along.
THe quick test mostly just checks of charging sytem is working, yes or no.
Could also do the further test of checking voltage at mid rpms and high rpms.

When getting the replacement battery; If need to do any cross referencing on the battery, or if just comparing physical size and amp-hour rating... dont overlook which terminal is + and which is -. THere are some that are opposite of what you need.

.
 
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Redman said:
Good. I think that is all you needed all along.
THe quick test mostly just checks of charging sytem is working, yes or no.
Could also do the further test of checking voltage at mid rpms and high rpms.

When getting the replacement battery; If need to do any cross referencing on the battery, or if just comparing physical size and amp-hour rating... dont overlook which terminal is + and which is -. THere are some that are opposite of what you need.

.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on the orientation of the terminals......
 
Garth, you can use my company account at Edmonds Batteries. You will get our discount and you can pay cash or CC.

Usually around $65- $75 for a motorcycle battery there.

David
 
And make sure you don't get a "wet" or "flooded cell" battery. Get an AGM battery.
Note that is a construction style, not a brand name.

.
 
I think the others are correct, Garth. If that 7V is what is registering when cranking it is toast. +1 on the absorbed glass mat battery. I will never go back to a wet cell if I have the choice.

Does this mean you are going to be riding more this season?
 
I do not mean to offend in any way, I'm just confused you went to the stealership for a battery, didn't get one because they said your battery was dead but still payed them 110 to haul your bike home? I mean didn't you say you drove the bike there on the bad battery? Wouldn't a new one have gotten you home? My friend I wouldn't go back there they did some jedi mind trick stuff on ya lol.
 
leftlostcommonsense said:
I do not mean to offend in any way, I'm just confused you went to the stealership for a battery, didn't get one because they said your battery was dead but still payed them 110 to haul your bike home? I mean didn't you say you drove the bike there on the bad battery? Wouldn't a new one have gotten you home? My friend I wouldn't go back there they did some jedi mind trick stuff on ya lol.
Click to expand...

I would have to have waited for the new battery to be fully charged if I was going to rely on it alone to get me home as I was assuming their meter readings were correct. For medical reasons I'm not that strong right now and there is no way I could have pushed the bike more than a few feet to get it off the road had the battery run out of juice on the way home. The area between my home and the shop is the downtown core so you can't just pull to the side of the road and leave it for a while. I didn't think it was prudent to take the chance.......
 
BigD_83 said:
I think the others are correct, Garth. If that 7V is what is registering when cranking it is toast. +1 on the absorbed glass mat battery. I will never go back to a wet cell if I have the choice.

Does this mean you are going to be riding more this season?
Click to expand...

I think so Derrick. I'm still weak but getting stronger so hopefully we can go for a ride sometime. Just putting air in the tires wasn't easy as I can't get it up on the center stand to rotate the tires. Took me twenty minutes to wheel it around to get the tires pumped up and climbing up the side of the bike to get back on my feet again. A video of it would probably have been a bit comical LOL. I'm going to call Edmonds and see if they have an AGM for my bike in a few minutes....
 
Garth, I've picked up a Sealed Lead Acid battery up for you from Edmonds, $59.00 your cost, retail was $99.00

I'll be at the shop in the AM

BTW., all Gel and AGM Batteries come fully charged so you don't have to wait for them.

David
 
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Kiwi Canuck said:
Garth, I've picked up a Sealed Lead Acid battery up for you from Edmonds, $59.00 your cost, retail was $99.00

I'll be at the shop in the AM

BTW., all Gel and AGM Batteries come fully charged so you don't have to wait for them.

David
Click to expand...

Thanks David. I'll connect with you in the morning.....
 
I think it is about a 99% chance your battery is toast. A battery is only about 25% charged at 12.2 volts and fully charged at about 12.8. Anything less than 12 volts is dead as in no capacity to do anything.
 
earlfor said:
I think it is about a 99% chance your battery is toast. A battery is only about 25% charged at 12.2 volts and fully charged at about 12.8. Anything less than 12 volts is dead as in no capacity to do anything.
Click to expand...

I hope you are right. It was 12.6 with the key on and with the lights and 12.2 with the key off. I just pulled it off the charger and it's 13,2 which I think is expected a few seconds after taking it off the charger. I'm hoping it is the " load " when starting that is the problem with the battery. The only other possibility is something between the starter being a poor connection or the starter itself. I'm about to find out when I ride over to pick up the new battery from David in a little bit.
 
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