drewby89
22-08-12, 11:48 PM
Hello,
I have a '99 SV 650s. I bought it about a month ago and it came with a Datatool Veto alarm installed. This being my first bike, I didn't realise how much of a drain the alarms are, I didn't have an Acumen / Optimate plugged in and it had a flat battery when I went to start it a few days ago (one or 2 slow cranks followed by starter relay clicking)
I measured the voltage across the battery - 11.2V. I bump started it, went for a ride for an hour or so and all seemed well. So I thought.
When I came back from the 1 hour ride, the battery voltage was as follows:
bike off: 12.5V
ignition on: 12.2V
voltage during cranking: ~10V
Idle voltage: 12.8V
4-5k rpm voltage: 13.0V
That seemed a little low to me. Out of interest I left the bike a couple days, came back and re-measured the same voltages to see if the alarm had drained much. I found the following:
bike off: 12.2V
ignition on: 12.0V
voltage during cranking: ~10V
Idle voltage: 13.0 - 13.2V
4-5k rpm voltage: 10-11V
Now it seems when I rev the engine, the battery voltage DROPS rather than increases! If I rev to 6k+ it drops to 8V!
I'm not sure how much to trust these readings, as it seems the battery probably isn't fully charged.
I suspect I have a combination of a slightly old and tired battery with a faulty reg/rec. If anyone has any suggestions on my problem please let me know.
I want to charge my battery to full charge and do the same test to get the most accurate results, which brings me on to my next question:
How do you charge a battery with the datatool alarm attached? The alarm handbook says I shouldn't charge the battery with the alarm armed. I'm borrowing a battery charger and I'd like to just put the croc clips onto the battery terminals on the bike, but I don't want to mess the alarm up. Can I just unplug the battery and remove it from the bike, or will this also mess with the alarm?
Ideally I'd like to replace the battery because I don't know the history or health of the current battery.
Any help with these issues is greatly appreciated, bike's meant to be going for an MOT in a few days!
I have a '99 SV 650s. I bought it about a month ago and it came with a Datatool Veto alarm installed. This being my first bike, I didn't realise how much of a drain the alarms are, I didn't have an Acumen / Optimate plugged in and it had a flat battery when I went to start it a few days ago (one or 2 slow cranks followed by starter relay clicking)
I measured the voltage across the battery - 11.2V. I bump started it, went for a ride for an hour or so and all seemed well. So I thought.
When I came back from the 1 hour ride, the battery voltage was as follows:
bike off: 12.5V
ignition on: 12.2V
voltage during cranking: ~10V
Idle voltage: 12.8V
4-5k rpm voltage: 13.0V
That seemed a little low to me. Out of interest I left the bike a couple days, came back and re-measured the same voltages to see if the alarm had drained much. I found the following:
bike off: 12.2V
ignition on: 12.0V
voltage during cranking: ~10V
Idle voltage: 13.0 - 13.2V
4-5k rpm voltage: 10-11V
Now it seems when I rev the engine, the battery voltage DROPS rather than increases! If I rev to 6k+ it drops to 8V!
I'm not sure how much to trust these readings, as it seems the battery probably isn't fully charged.
I suspect I have a combination of a slightly old and tired battery with a faulty reg/rec. If anyone has any suggestions on my problem please let me know.
I want to charge my battery to full charge and do the same test to get the most accurate results, which brings me on to my next question:
How do you charge a battery with the datatool alarm attached? The alarm handbook says I shouldn't charge the battery with the alarm armed. I'm borrowing a battery charger and I'd like to just put the croc clips onto the battery terminals on the bike, but I don't want to mess the alarm up. Can I just unplug the battery and remove it from the bike, or will this also mess with the alarm?
Ideally I'd like to replace the battery because I don't know the history or health of the current battery.
Any help with these issues is greatly appreciated, bike's meant to be going for an MOT in a few days!