baben 11,724 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 I know, this should be simple but it is me. How can I tell whether my battery is being charged as against just being a knackered battery. Bike lives on an optimate but today, after a ride I just got a click when I tried to restart it. Bike is 2017 and only has 7,000 miles on the clock. Link to post
KingJames 1,262 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 14 odd volts across the battery terminals when the engine is running should be readable, around 12 something when engine stopped. Link to post
Rick 236 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Check the connections are not loose. Batteries can fail after quite a short time, and sometimes show up as OK on smart chargers, but are still on the way out. 1 Link to post
Johnnie Mototrans 2,766 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 1 hour ago, Rick said: Check the connections are not loose. Batteries can fail after quite a short time, and sometimes show up as OK on smart chargers, but are still on the way out. I bought a new Lidel smart charger a few months ago as my Halfords model had gone haywire. I had several spare and dubious batteries to play with. As you say a couple showed as being fully recovered when they were actually dud. Link to post
Spindizzy 7,109 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Peak chargers only help so much. Even a duff battery can give good voltage but have lost near all its capacity and ability to deliver starting current. Batterys kept topped up last longer but it's not magic suspended animation. Link to post
baben 11,724 Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 Baby is probably the most cheaply built motorcycle from Japan but it does not pretend to be anything else! Battery gets a lot of abuse - heated gear and grips etc. I shall have a look tomorrow - hope it is just a dead battery as otherwise who knows what is going on? Link to post
poldark 1,512 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Invest in one of the these then you can check your cars & bikes. https://www.that auction site.co.uk/itm/282137850944 Link to post
Slowboy 20,506 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 1 hour ago, baben said: Baby is probably the most cheaply built motorcycle from Japan but it does not pretend to be anything else! Battery gets a lot of abuse - heated gear and grips etc. I shall have a look tomorrow - hope it is just a dead battery as otherwise who knows what is going on? See if you can find out how many watts each of those is drawing. It might be that the alternator is near its limit. From what I can find It puts out 289 watts to drive everything. Don’t know what the core load is. grips draw say 1.5 amps say at 14 v so 14x1.5 = 21w Jacket say similar so another 21w only an extra 42W Headlight draws 55w, So that’s 97w accounted for. don’t know what ignition, tail light, instruments, battery charging draws, but it won’t be a lot, say 100w at a guess It looks like there should be enough electrons....... 1 Link to post
listener 11,188 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 43 minutes ago, slowboy said: It looks like there should be enough electrons....... Yes, but are there enough 'holes'? 2 Link to post
Slowboy 20,506 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Just now, listener said: Yes, but are there enough 'holes'? or are there too many electroffs.? 1 Link to post
Rev Ken 6,332 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Just now, listener said: Yes, but are there enough 'holes'? That's when I lost it! I'm alright with valves and electrons, but transistors with holes going the wrong way....... 1 Link to post
Trev 18,683 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 42 minutes ago, slowboy said: See if you can find out how many watts each of those is drawing. It might be that the alternator is near its limit. From what I can find It puts out 289 watts to drive everything. Don’t know what the core load is. grips draw say 1.5 amps say at 14 v so 14x1.5 = 21w Jacket say similar so another 21w only an extra 42W Headlight draws 55w, So that’s 97w accounted for. don’t know what ignition, tail light, instruments, battery charging draws, but it won’t be a lot, say 100w at a guess It looks like there should be enough electrons....... I think that's likely to be the problem, particularly in the cold weather and with a 4 year old battery on a budget'ish bike. A new MotoBat will probably give you the edge My Himalayan only puts out 220w (tinternet says so must be true) and I've noticed that with grips and Keis vest on highsih setting it is sometimes sluggish on the starter even when I only stop for a couple of minutes. I tried it without any heated kit switched on t'other day and it spun up a treat. It's probably not fitted with the best quality battery in the world so if it proves a problem I'll swap for a MotoBatt or perhaps Li (not sure on that) and see how that goes. Another option is a LED headlamp to saves a few watts but that could be more trouble than it's worth. Failing that I'll have to go to the back up bike for Winter riding Link to post
davebike 943 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I go for a battery test, not charging voltage check, but I would suspect battery, 3 years and fairly low miles Yes batteries live longer with lots of use ! Link to post
MatBin 5,087 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) My stock R80RT would flatten the battery after a 2/3 days riding in town in winter, no extra heated items, just the standard fittings. There was a voltage regulator in the wiring that prevented the alternator from pushing any charge into the battery until the engine was doing 4000 rpm, swapped it out for Police spec one and swapped 'parking' light bulb for a higher wattage one so I didn't have to have main headlight on but could still be seen. Winter was always the worst time as I generally rode less enthusiasticly and used the low down torque so didn't really spin the motor fast enough. Had a similar problem with one of my Sprints in winter, less than optimum battery and not enough revs. Road home from work, 10 miles, had started fine, stopped for petrol mid way and wouldn't then re-start. Edited February 4, 2021 by MatBin Link to post
jeremyr62 2,560 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Old bikes were great..... Link to post
Grumpy old man 4,682 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Hi @baben I don't understand electrical things so I'm with you. Wouldn't it be nice if some one could do an online or preferably face to face beginner guide to motorcycle electrics. Anyone up North capable of running a course? Of course after lockdown. I'd even be willing to travel South and camp for a week for an intensive course. Providing it wasn't too expensive. Link to post
baben 11,724 Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Good morning gentlemen. Well, I found my old multimeter which has not been used for twelve years or more, if ever. Bike has been on optimate all night and charger shows green. Hmm, reading across terminals is erm .02V. Well that cannot be right since the motor started up quite happily and lights etc are on. And across the terminals with motor running, erm, 0.2V. so it's off to South American river for a new multimeter....... 2 Link to post
Johnnie Mototrans 2,766 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Did you check the battery in your multi meter? 1 Link to post
Xactly 5,428 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Are you sure it’s set to the right range, probably 20v? FWIW I think the battery has probably had it. Leaving a knackered battery on charge props it up. That’s why I only put mine on Optimate once a month. Link to post
bahnstormer 905 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 If a new battery is the order of the day, I can recommend Motobatt . The bonus (for me) is that they have 2 positive and 2 negative terminals, making it much easier to attach all the accessories neatly. 1 Link to post
baben 11,724 Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 New multimeter on order, arriving tomorrow - will confirm dead battery and then get a motobatt assuming it fits. Link to post
Xactly 5,428 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 1 hour ago, bahnstormer said: If a new battery is the order of the day, I can recommend Motobatt . The bonus (for me) is that they have 2 positive and 2 negative terminals, making it much easier to attach all the accessories neatly. Yes, Motobatt for me too, for the same reason + they have high cranking amps so spin over the engine more quickly. The only downside is that they do tend to just die when they’ve had enough. Link to post
Thosoneill 301 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 On 04/02/2021 at 10:30, Xactly said: Are you sure it’s set to the right range, probably 20v? FWIW I think the battery has probably had it. Leaving a knackered battery on charge props it up. That’s why I only put mine on Optimate once a month. I have the battery permanently connected to the battery - am I doing something wrong Link to post
PoppetM 16,847 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 37 minutes ago, Thosoneill said: I have the battery permanently connected to the battery - am I doing something wrong I am assuming you meant battery permanently connected to the Optimate, and likewise I am doing the same and having pretty green lights. I am guessing I will find out when I try to turn the bike on.... 1 Link to post
baben 11,724 Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 I have always kept my bikes permanently on an Optimate but at the end of the day, age and abuse will finish it off. The Versys battery is not a well known make - I tried a Google search on the nonsensical name in the owner's hand book and came up empty! 1 Link to post
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