I was having some starting problems and after some testing, I found that the battery was bad. In part of those tests, I checked, with a clamp voltmeter, if the battery was being charged while the bike was on, but I found out that on idle(~1300RPM) the battery was being discharged at a rate of 1 to 1.5A, it's was only being charged when the engine was above about 1700RPM, from 1300 to 1700RPM the amperage drawn gets lower, until the 1700rpm spot where it begins to charge. Depending on the RPMs, the charge rate is up to 6A, which looks about right to me.
I replaced the battery, the other one really was bad, but this problem of it discharging on idle still remains.
Edit: Oh, the bike is not at all old, 2007 GS500E, with 9200kms on it
Yep, perfectly normal. Many short rides without revving the engine will also drain the battery faster. Get a battery tender junior- well worth the price in the long run.
I have an icharger 106b+ which is also suitable for Pb batteries, but if this discharging is normal while on idle I'm sure that I only had a problem because the battery was already not good, as if the bike already came like this 4 years of life for a battery is not that bad.
Thanks for the input :thumb:
Quote from: Yuri. on March 18, 2011, 09:40:14 PM
I have an icharger 106b+ which is also suitable for Pb batteries, but if this discharging is normal while on idle I'm sure that I only had a problem because the battery was already not good, as if the bike already came like this 4 years of life for a battery is not that bad.
Thanks for the input :thumb:
It's normal for a battery to go bad in about five years. Some last longer but don't count on it. You are describing the normal operation of your charging system. If you could turn the headlight off at idle it would erase the current deficit, but our bike has no such switch. (unless you put one in!)
Pull the connecter off the headlamp bulb and redo the tests. If you dont see a change its fair to assume there is a problem :thumb: