1. Some members were not receiving emails sent from XJbikes.com. For example: "Forgot your password?" function to reset your password would not send email to some members. I believe this has been resolved now. Please use "Contact Us" form (see page footer link) if you still have email issues. SnoSheriff

    Hello Guest. You have limited privileges and you can't "SEARCH" the forums. Please "Log In" or "Sign Up" for additional functionality. Click HERE to proceed.

Battery not taking charge after 300km

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by broberg, Jul 19, 2013.

  1. broberg

    broberg Member

    Messages:
    216
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Sweden, Östergötland
    I took quite a long ride yesterday, ran like crap, fouling nr4 plug etc (only nr4)

    But anyhow, my current issue is that according to my dials (that have a volt-meter built in) My battery is down to 10V, and this get's noticed when slowing down and it goes down to idle and the dials die due to lack of power.

    BUT accordingly to the dials while at aprox 2k i get 14V output (going from 13.5-14.6 depending on rpm), and then on idle it registers 10.2 on the battery..

    Have I missed to connect something or is it just that the battery is so low that it can't take the charge from the bike? I will hook the battery up to a charger and get it up to 12v before I ride it home and see if it drops or stays at 12v after the ride.
     
  2. bikeboy929

    bikeboy929 Member

    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Location:
    mahtomedi, mn
    did you build the volt meter yourself? or was it stored outside over winter? it might not be getting a good reading.

    first thing i would do is check with a multimeter you already know is good and see what the voltage is at idle, and at 2k. if that reads 10.2 at idle also, then you have a problem.

    if you find you do have a problem, then you need to " trouble shoot" the electric system, there are great flow charts for this that i can link for you so you can find the problem( bad ground, connection, RR, or stator), but if your bike really is at 10.2 at idle, i would think that your battery would give out really quick from over pulling, and wouldn't hold a charge at all, so i assume its a bad reading
     
  3. bikeboy929

    bikeboy929 Member

    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Location:
    mahtomedi, mn
    one more thing i guess, did you wire anything extra on your self? heated grips, or cell phone charger or such?
     
  4. jmilliken

    jmilliken Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,572
    Likes Received:
    46
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Location:
    Dillsburg, PA
    are you getting constant spark to #4? Any other wiring mods?

    +1 on double checking the idle voltage with a multimeter
     
  5. jmilliken

    jmilliken Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,572
    Likes Received:
    46
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Location:
    Dillsburg, PA
    also - what type of battery do you have, lead acid, AGM, LiON?
     
  6. adrian1

    adrian1 Active Member

    Messages:
    1,818
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Australia
    How old is that battery. If suspect get a Motobatt. What voltage are you getting when bike is running at 3000K?
     
  7. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    21,283
    Likes Received:
    418
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Rural SE Michigan 60 miles N of Motown
    My original voltmeter does leave a tad to be desired, accuracy wise. That being said, at speed I usually see the needle parked just above the 14V mark, right next to where the red starts.

    Put a real voltmeter on the terminals and see what you're getting at >2200rpm. If you see 14.5 ~ 14.7VDC then the problem isn't the alternator.
     
  8. broberg

    broberg Member

    Messages:
    216
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Sweden, Östergötland
    Gave the battery a charge and hooked it up again, no change on the dial, but the multimeter on the battery shows 2 volt extra .. so 10.2 on the dial is actually 12.2 on the voltmeter.
    And when showing 13.5> it's about 0.5 lower on the battery side

    But thats the thing, I get such a drop in the voltage when going from gear to idle sometimes that my dials looses power and reboots.
    When that happens the dials show 9V before going black.
    (The dials has a direct connection from the battery and a signal input from the ignition).

    Can I add something as a buffer to stop this from happening, that given that this voltage drop is normal on these old bikes?
     
  9. bikeboy929

    bikeboy929 Member

    Messages:
    56
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Location:
    mahtomedi, mn
    this might help
    http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/f ... iagram.pdf
    if your bike is running right it shouldn't be at 9v, or 11v at idle( adding the extra 2 volts again, if i understood correctly.

    what kind of dials do you have? maybe try disconnecting them and test your voltage at idle with and with out them to see if they are pulling to much power.
     
  10. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    9,751
    Likes Received:
    2,097
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Beaver Falls, PA
    does this bike run with the headlight on all the time? if so, try unplugging it and see what happens.
    sounds like the battery has seen better days.
     

Share This Page