[Ducati Scotty]

To anyone with a a stock battery and a voltmeter, can you start the bike and check the charging voltage at the battery while revving the engine a bit?  I'm having some charging issues lately and I wonder what voltage other people are seeing.

Thanks,
Scott

[GlennF]

B5 with stock battery which is fully charged, connecting a meter between battery +ve terminal and the engine casing.

12.3 - 12.4 volts idle
12.8 volts with engine reving in neutral

EDIT ... I think these voltages are reading a 0.5 volt or so low, probably because of the way the meter was connected.

[Ducati Scotty]

Thanks

Anyone else care to chime in?  I'd like a few readings from different bikes.

Scott

[Arizoni]

A new battery should deliver slightly over 12 volts if nothing is turned on.
With the engine running at an idle and the headlight on the voltage at the battery should be about 12.5 volts.

With the engine speed above an idle speed the system voltage with the headlight on should be at or approaching 14 volts.

An older battery may be producing only 12 volts with nothing turned on but with the engine running the voltage I mentioned above should still be obtained.

[jartist]

Don't forget SinghG5's video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6GnwkCXPi4&feature=channel_video_title

[GlennF]

Don't forget SinghG5's video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6GnwkCXPi4&feature=channel_video_title

yeah those voltages look about right.

I am pretty sure I was dropping about 0.5 to 0.75 volts due to a dodgy connection with my meter.

[Ducati Scotty]

Thanks guys.  I should explain a bit more.  I'm only interested in actual readings from UCE bikes with the stock battery.  My bike recently has had some issues so I'm just trying to get a sample set of actual charging voltages.

The spec in the manual is 12.2-13.5V @ 3000 RPM, which seems unreasonably low to me.  Singh's video is great and what I expect but you can see he has a Yuasa battery, not stock.  Shouldn't matter but I'm just trying to limit the variables.

Right now my battery is about 12.6-12.7V at rest (good), 12.2V with the lights and ignition on (also good) and gets up to 13-13.5V with a decent rev, never about 14.1V even with the lights off and high revs.  That (13/14V while charging) seems maybe just a tad low to me, especially never getting above 14.1,  Every other 12V vehicle I've ever had goes to about 14.4V when really rolling.

I've measured both the resistance (0.9-1.0 Ohms) and raw output (50+V AC) of all my alternator coils, they're good.  I'm mostly interested in max charging voltages.  I'm wondering what the range is since the spec seems very low and I've never seen anything else that doesn't go to 14.4V or so.

Thanks,
Scott

[Vince]

     Modern regulators charge at lower voltages than older bikes. They also reach peak charging voltage sooner and stay there longer. This enhances battery and regulator life. Your readings are fine. The system is designed to recharge a good battery, with one regular starting attempt, in about 1/2 hour of regular riding. If you are taking short rides-10 to 15 minute-  the battery will run down. I often see this issue with new bike sales as the customer goes to all his friend's houses to show it off. The onset of cold weather also encourages shorter rides.
     On rare occasion charging can be intermittent. The extra vibration from riding, as opposed to bench testing, can open up a wiring break in the regulator or stator. If your ammeter is not dropping as you ride you have no worries.

[Ducati Scotty]

Thanks Vince.  My commute route is about 12 miles, mixed highway and side roads, and takes just about a 1/2 hour.  I have a voltmeter on the bike (the LED one from NField Gear) and it's always on so no intermittent problems.  It cycles back and forth at power up so it would be obvious.  It's at one green LED whild moving (13-13.9V) and just below that at idle, aournd 12.5-12.6V on a real voltmeter.

Scott

[singhg5]

My commute route is about 12 miles, mixed highway and side roads, and takes just about a 1/2 hour.  I have a voltmeter on the bike (the LED one from NField Gear) and it's always on so no intermittent problems.  It cycles back and forth at power up so it would be obvious.  It's at one green LED whild moving (13-13.9V) and just below that at idle, aournd 12.5-12.6V on a real voltmeter.

Scott:

I fully understand your concern and I also feel that the charging is less than optimal in our bikes.

I have had similar experience - riding for 1/2 hour mixed or back roads does not fully charge the battery. Now I changed my gear shifting habit and keep it in lower gear (higher rpm, better charging) much longer than before.

I have 18 tooth (instead of 17 tooth OEM) sprocket which also affects it. eg., at 45 mph on speedo, the bike is happy in 4th or 5th gear but I keep it in 4th instead of shifting to 5th. I purposely do it so that rpm is elevated a bit for better charging of the battery. If I keep shifting to higher gears as soon as I can, my battery (even brand new ones) weakens more than it should.

[Ducati Scotty]

Thanks Singh.  I'm keeping a close eye on the battery, both with the on-board LED voltmeter and frequent checks with a more precise regular meter at home.

Perhaps I will need to use a tender now and then

Scott

[prof_stack]

Thanks Singh.  I'm keeping a close eye on the battery, both with the on-board LED voltmeter and frequent checks with a more precise regular meter at home.

Perhaps I will need to use a tender now and then

Scott

The battery tenders pay for themselves in a couple of years.  The little voltmeter gizmo from Nfield never gets to TDC of the gauge, which tells me that the voltage probably is not much above 13V.  This weekend I'll fire up the old Fluke multimeter and get some real data.

[Ducati Scotty]

Stack, are you getting one green or two?  I get one (13+V), and according to my meters the second green comes on right at 14V.  I can get the second one to come on if I kill the headlight and run at speed.

Scott

[GlennF]

So far I have not had battery issues however Aussie bikes can be run with the headlight off, I have replaced most of the dash lights with LEDs and I very rarely use the electric start.

[Ducati Scotty]

I've got a C5 with no kick so I either use electric start or find a hill

I disabled the US 'always on' feature for my headlight so my switch works.  The can give me a nice little boost when I need it to start but I can't legally drive around like that.  I'm also considering switching everything but the headlight to LED.  I have to see how many watts it would really save.  In general, it's just the dash and tail light on when I'm running which doesn't seem like that much, the headlight is the real hog.  Of cousre stopped waiting for a turn you can add the brake and turn signal while the bike is at idle, not so good.  It would be nice to have a lower draw overall though, with the benefit of almost never burning out a hard to reach bulb.

This may all be a side effect of the 55/60W headlight I was running and the fact that most of my trips are my 1/2 hour commute to work.  I may be operating at the edge of the envelope, longer trips or lower headlight  wattage might work just fine.  So far I seem to be doing well now that I've switched to a 35/35W headlight. 

The 55/60W headlight seemed to be just fine but I went and checked my records.  For one reason or another I never really ran more than a few months on the larger headlight without charging the battery, usually for something unrelated.  That could be how long he slight discahrge takes to add up to a noticeable problem.

We'll see.  Keep the info coming pelase

Scott

[prof_stack]

Stack, are you getting one green or two?  I get one (13+V), and according to my meters the second green comes on right at 14V.  I can get the second one to come on if I kill the headlight and run at speed.

Scott

Yep, that's all I get, one green.  Occasionally I get two greens but not for long.  At a stop it will pulse if the turn signal is on.  No big deal, though, the battery tender sets things aright when I'm home.  Would I need the tender for a long trip.  I doubt it, but it is not very heavy.  The new yellow Yuasa tender might be better than the older BT.

[Ducati Scotty]

Stack,

Are you getting green at idle with lights on?  And are you running the 7" halogen headlight with the 55/60W halogen?  Where is your LED meter connected to the system?

I should clariffy.  At Idle with lights on I get two amber and no green.  Once I get rolling/revving, even ust a bit, that's enough to get me one green with all my lights on.  I never get above 1 green with the lights on.  If I'm going at a good clip and turn off the headlight but not the running lights I can get the second green to flicker a bit.  My LED meter is connected to the small 4W lamp inside the 7" headlight.  I'd like to run it to a switched source in the electric box closer to the battery to get  a better reading with less loss.

The battery tender is not the answer I'm looking for.  All that means is I can re-charge the battery when I get home.  I want the bike to be charging just by riding it.  If it doesn't I'd be reluctanct to take another long multi-day ride.  I don't have a kick start and if the battery is slowly discharging the whole time I'll end up stranded somewhere.  It may also mean that something in the system is slowly going downhill since the bike used to charge and isn't any more.

If you're getting one green at idle with the 7" 55/60W headlamp then my system output is way below yours.  Even if you've got the stock headlight, I'm running 35W right now so I should get a green too.

Scott

[prof_stack]

Yeah, I typically have four lights on.  The left two amber and then two green.  Once in a while there are three green lights, if I am up and going, but usually not.

If I have a turn signal on at a stop sign the 4th green will blink as if it is threatening to stay off.

I have a 7" headlamp that was put inwhen I bought the C5. 

The voltmeter is attached to the key switch, that's what Ducati Seattle did.

[Ducati Scotty]

I'm guessing you have the 7" Halogen just like I did, 55/60W.

Ah!  I think we may be reading exactly the same but with different colors.  My LED meter sweeps when the power comes on so I can see all the LEDs.  There are 9 total in the following color sequence: R R A A G G A A R.  So I have four lights on at idle ( RRAA ) then 5 at speed ( RRAAG ) and maybe 6 if I kill the headlight and just have the running lights ( RRAAGG ).  It sounds like your colors start out AAGG instead of RRAA.  And if I have the 55/60W bulb in instead of the current 35/35W then it reads a little lower all around.

I'm guessing you've never seen any charging issues because you're good friends with your Battery Tender while I don't think I should need mine

Scott

[prof_stack]

I'm guessing you have the 7" Halogen just like I did, 55/60W.

...
I'm guessing you've never seen any charging issues because you're good friends with your Battery Tender while I don't think I should need mine

Scott

I became a believer in the BT when my '89 HD Electra-Glide did not need a battery swap in over 6 years.  For me they are needed since my bikes are usually only ridden on the weekends.  My commute is by car or bicycle. 

If you are a daily rider, you are probably okay if your commute is more than a few miles.

[Ducati Scotty]

I'm reluctant to use one if it's going to mask charging system problems until I take a long ride and end up stuck way out in the middle of nowhere.  On the other hand, if it turns out my commute is just not long enough to recharge the bike then I may have to.  My Ducati never needed one and my commute was 30% shorter but the RE is a different bike.  And looking through some things in the parts catalog last night, the Euro bikes get a 55/60W headlight stock so I would think the system could handle it.  We'll see, still keeping tabs on several things. 

Thanks again for all the info,
Scott