Bad battery after ~3 months?

[incarceration]

Okay I just measured the voltage on the battery with it taken out of the bike and it's at 12.89v

That should be plenty to crank the motor over.

I'm going to hook it up to my roommate's charger in a few minutes when he gets back.

In the meantime I'm reading that page I found:

https://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfacts.htm

Knowing the voltage, does this tell me anything? It seems like the battery is getting recharged by the motor like it should? Is it the starter?

[tkent02]

okay i just measured the voltage on the battery with it taken out of the bike and it's at 12.89v

i'm going to hook it up to my roommate's charger in a few minutes when he gets back.

? ? ?

[incarceration]

Why the question marks?

I'm gonna take it to a place and see if they can charge it for me cause it's below the 13.5v that the guide recommends\references

[koolaid_kid]

No, your battery voltage is fine. The guide is speaking of the charging voltage. While the engine is running, battery installed in the bike.

[incarceration]

Ah.
Okay, I'll put it back in and do the guide when it stops raining lol.
It's been raining off and on all day here in Tallahassee.

[eil]

An unloaded voltage test doesn't say anything about the condition or charge of the battery. A lead acid battery can be almost completely discharged and still read 12V on a voltmeter. To test it right, you need to apply a decent load to it and then check the voltage. They make a tool for this.

Or just hook it up to the trickle charger until it says it's charged, then you know it's good. Then you can proceed with the charging system tests mentioned above.

[tkent02]

Or just hook it up to the trickle charger until it says it's charged, then you know it's good. Then you can proceed with the charging system tests mentioned above.

Except you still don't know the battery is good.

[incarceration]

An unloaded voltage test doesn't say anything about the condition or charge of the battery. A lead acid battery can be almost completely discharged and still read 12V on a voltmeter. To test it right, you need to apply a decent load to it and then check the voltage. They make a tool for this.

Yes, I am well aware of this. But you will not have the same voltages of a "completely discharged" (even when that definition means it is dead verified by 0V) battery that are not the same voltage of what it should be for a specific situation. Besides, this battery was putting out 12.89V on its own, disconnected, that's almost 13V, not 12V.

Anyway, I put the battery back in and it's reporting above 13.5V when idle and (actually around 14.8V idling) and well above 14.5V when going to 5k RPMs.

So, per the guide, it says to check the positive lead coming from the positive terminal of the battery to the RED wire of the VRR? How do I do that?

I've uploaded 2 videos of the procedure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzGIDxTR8F8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExYdBI2__BM

[posplayr]

Yes, I am well aware of this. But you will not have the same voltages of a "completely discharged" (even when that definition means it is dead verified by 0V) battery that are not the same voltage of what it should be for a specific situation. Besides, this battery was putting out 12.89V on its own, disconnected, that's almost 13V, not 12V.

Anyway, I put the battery back in and it's reporting above 13.5V when idle and (actually around 14.8V idling) and well above 14.5V when going to 5k RPMs.

So, per the guide, it says to check the positive lead coming from the positive terminal of the battery to the RED wire of the VRR? How do I do that?

I've uploaded 2 videos of the procedure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzGIDxTR8F8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExYdBI2__BM

There is a modified phase A test where you test t he voltage drops at 5K RPM. I don't know why the original papers ever specified the test at idle, but that is when the least amount of current is running to the battery.

Make sure you do these two tests and report the results for diagnosis.
STEP #2 MEASURE POSITIVE LEAD VOLTAGE DROP
STEP #3 MEASURE NEGATIVE LEAD VOLTAGE DROP


Link to Revised PHASE A of Stator Pages:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3970459/stator-papers-phase-a-pdf-may-13-2012-10-43-am-55k?da=y

ORIGINAL_STATOR_PAGES

The most important thing to do checks at 5000 RPM which is typical cruising speed. You might find that you will need to clean your fuse box to get the positive side voltage drops below 0.2V at 5000 RPM. In steps #1 above you should of gotten most of the connections between the R/R(+) to battery (+) in good shape except the fuse box.

Also while it is a bity late you might look at the Quick Test. It would have given your charging system a quick one over including confirming the battery was good enough to test the charging system

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?p=1272192#post1272192

Also when doing the voltage drop tests at least pull the seat off and stab the battery center posts and compare to the corresponding R/R connections..

[incarceration]

Hey! Thanks for the quick response and the updated Stator Papers!

I just performed that test (no video as it's too dark) and here are my results:

NEG (BLACK) lead of DMM connected to POS (RED) lead of battery and POS (RED) lead of DMM connected to RED wire on far RIGHT of VRR (voltage regulator\rectifier) resulted in ~0.1VDC idling, when revving engine up to ~5,000 RPMs, the DMM reports ~0.6VDC.

POS (RED) lead of DMM connected to NEG (BLACK) lead of battery and NEG (BLACK) lead of DMM connected to NEG (BLACK\WHITE) wire on far LEFT of VRR (voltage regulator\rectifier) resulted in ~0.08VDC idling, when revving engine up to ~5,000 RPMs, the DMM reports a MAXIMUM of 0.3VDC

So, per this new guide, it still suggests the POS (RED) lead from VRR to the POS (RED) of the battery. How do I go about checking this? The reason I ask is it seems to go up under the seat and into other sorts of wire wraps and stuff. Or is there an easier way?

BTW, the other part of your post I couldn't get as it's far too dark to pull the seat off etc, and, here in FL, when it gets dark, the mosquitoes come out in SWARMS lol. I'll do those tests again and report back + a video if I feel necessary or someone would feel so inclined to want one

Thanks

[posplayr]

Hey! Thanks for the quick response and the updated Stator Papers!

I just performed that test (no video as it's too dark) and here are my results:

NEG (BLACK) lead of DMM connected to POS (RED) lead of battery and POS (RED) lead of DMM connected to RED wire on far RIGHT of VRR (voltage regulator\rectifier) resulted in ~0.1VDC idling, when revving engine up to ~5,000 RPMs, the DMM reports ~0.6VDC.

POS (RED) lead of DMM connected to NEG (BLACK) lead of battery and NEG (BLACK) lead of DMM connected to NEG (BLACK\WHITE) wire on far LEFT of VRR (voltage regulator\rectifier) resulted in ~0.08VDC idling, when revving engine up to ~5,000 RPMs, the DMM reports a MAXIMUM of 0.3VDC

So, per this new guide, it still suggests the POS (RED) lead from VRR to the POS (RED) of the battery. How do I go about checking this? The reason I ask is it seems to go up under the seat and into other sorts of wire wraps and stuff. Or is there an easier way?

BTW, the other part of your post I couldn't get as it's far too dark to pull the seat off etc, and, here in FL, when it gets dark, the mosquitoes come out in SWARMS lol. I'll do those tests again and report back + a video if I feel necessary or someone would feel so inclined to want one

Thanks

0.6 and 0.3 volts means you are loosing 0.9V at 5000 RPM. If the regulation is 14.5 (typical), then you will be down to 13.6V max at the battery.

It is in the connections. Get some naval jelly and dielectric grease and follow the schematic for the red leads. If all else fails the positive side can be fixed with a fuse straight to the battery but I would see if you can fix the stock current paths. Also need to clean the fuse box. After cleaning flow solder into the connections and then use dielectric grease on the remaining connections.

[incarceration]

Where is the fuse box located typically? Under the seat? I remember looking for it awhile back and never found it but I never really dug deep.

Are we talking like a 45min job here or like an entire weekend job?

Thanks for the info.

Btw, are you calculating the 0.9VDC loss because I reversed the polarity when taking the 2 measurments from the battery to the VRR?

[posplayr]

Where is the fuse box located typically? Under the seat? I remember looking for it awhile back and never found it but I never really dug deep.

Are we talking like a 45min job here or like an entire weekend job?

Thanks for the info.

Btw, are you calculating the 0.9VDC loss because I reversed the polarity when taking the 2 measurments from the battery to the VRR?

No I'm adding the positive and negative drops.

The other way to do it a little more complicated is to measure the R/R output at 5000 rpm and then the battery voltage at 5000 rpm. You will probably find a 0.9V difference.

It usually takes a few hours of mucking around, but nothing too intense. Fuse boxes are normally under the left side cover. Your may only have a single fuse; I did not check.

[cowboyup3371]

According to the parts fiche, you only have a single inline fuse off the positive post of your battery.

[incarceration]

I have 1 fuse coming off of the positive at the junction of the terminal end that connects to the starter relay. I don't know of any other fuses.

Is that what you're referring to, cowboyup?

Also, I've checked out the wiring schematic, and not sure what this part is that i squared off in a green square:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/627/i4y.png

Any ideas what that symbolizes on that wire? Cause that is the wire I have to find and if there's any identification of what those things are on the wire it would potentially help me find the wire.

Thanks guys!