Motorcycle battery - correct voltage running and stopped? There are some basic principles about the battery that are easy to follow, but other parts can be a bit more complicated. The carburetor may also have a fuel leak which leads to the engine starved from the right amount of fuel it needs to run efficiently. Motorcycle Battery maintenance tips. Car batteries have far more capacity than motorcycle batteries. (The procedure for measuring the battery voltage was previously described in the multimeter section.) Why Do Motorcycle Tires Cup? With ignition on and engine not started it measures 12.85 dropping rapidly to 12.70 within 15 seconds. Next, start the bike and run the engine at about 2000 rpm and measure the battery voltage again. The actual number of the voltage is not terribly important. A good battery should read between 12.4 to 12.6 volts, 12.6v being optimal. When running at a normal slow cruising engine RPM, the voltage across the battery terminals should stay over 14.3 volts even with full load, like lights, heater blower, and everything else, running. Understanding this concept may seem a bit complicated, but if you keep reading I can explain exactly what happens with the battery during an idle and what you can do to optimize the power your motorcycle provides. Tires are one of the most important things on any vehicle in regard to performance and safety. Most motorcycles require a 12 volt battery. Essentially, the motorcycle is always providing more amperage and voltage than the battery currently has. In order to start a motorcycle, you need at least 12.2 volts, or a … If you take a digital reader and connect it to the battery while its running it’ll say something along the lines of 13, 14, or 15 volts. The starter should be running at normal speed. While that is true when the bike is running, it’ll go back down to 12.6 -ish when you turn it off. If you intend on doing this for longer periods of time or doing it several times in one day, be sure to give the motorcycle a good few revs while it’s stationary so you can ensure that battery gets the charge it needs. Hook up your DVOM in the same manner you did for the standing voltage test, and have an assistant thumb the starter. The full range of the battery is from just over 14 volts (when being charged by the bike running at high RPMs) down to 10.5 volts (under heavy load, for example, when the lights are on and the bike is being started). That is such a small amount that if you let your motorcycle idle for 10-15 minutes, you’re really not charging your battery all that much. Fully charged and in peak condition, each cell has a voltage across it’s terminals of 2.1v. The battery is fully charged, but when I go to crank it, it cranks extremely slowly, then the steady clicking sound of a dead battery. Start the engine and check the voltage while doing so. During an idle, the stator is outputting a small amount of excess amperage that will provide that little charge to the battery, but not enough to do a full complete charge. Didn’t find what you needed in this particular post? Help diagnosing start up/battery drain problem. While the battery is often the culprit of issues a motorcycle can have, it likely isn’t your problem in this case. If you have any comments, questions or have other ideas, please reach out via the Contact Page. AGM batteries may have slightly higher voltage readings after a full charge. With charger unhooked voltage reads 13.85. It should be around 12 Volts. The stator is always outputting the 13-15 amps, but the more revolutions inside the engine provides more voltage. Then, measure the voltage from tab to tab, just like before. Content is king and will continue to be rolled out. A battery tender for a motorcycle is a device that plugs into any standard AC wall outlet and transfers power via amperage to a motorcycles 12-volt battery to keep it charged. How can I tell if a flat car battery is charging when hooked up to a trickle charger? Not starting? More specifically, the carburetor may have a vacuum leak which means there’s too much air in the air-to-fuel ratio the carburetor is giving the engine. If the voltage drops below 9.5 volts while starting the engine, it means that one of the battery cells is … But it is such a small amount of charge that it will not be able to top off a battery, especially a battery that is about dead. What you are looking for is … This is the proper voltage that will allow the battery to recharge properly. They are only called this to distinguish between other types of batteries. 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