battery showing just under 13v on dash

[psalliss]

as above dash is showing just under 13v on it when i come to start it. the bike is on battery charger most of the time but was sat for a few months prior to me getting it from garage and had to jumped off a booster to get it going. should the battery show more than that? is it worth sticking a new one it.

[dunlop0_1]

Check the charging voltage with a multimeter should be around 13-15 volts on tickover. Check the main charging fuse (30/40 amp) hasn't blown.

[psalliss]

thanks mate will check that. seems to start ok. not instant but started 3rd time after being laid up for 5 months the other day when i took it for mot

[skidlids]

Does it have an alarm as that will pull the battery vilts down over a period of time

[psalliss]

yes has a datatool. its permenantly on an accumate charger.

may get a new battery stuck in when belts get done. occasionaly get yellow engine light which i think may well be linked to battery

[simonducati]

I was getting 11.7 voltage on the battery I charged it up and read it within one day it went back to 11.7 and just stayed at that voltage which I thought was okay as you can imagine it a 12 V battery! But reading up on this forum you can find out that everybody says it needs to have at least 12.7 to start.
Anyway I ended up changing the battery and now it's staying at 12.7 so I expect it to start easier from now.
I will find out in a few weeks when I get the bike back on the road, I dropped it the other day and without a clutch cover I ruined the clutch and need to order new parts so it's in the house at the moment ;-)

[skidlids]

Unloaded batteries should measure 13.2 Volts as each cell when fully charged is 2.2V with 6 cells in total.
Adding a load will bring the volts down, most modern bikes have a minimal load due to modern electronics.
Alarms also have a current draw that loads the battery and will always drag down the voltage a small amount.
Often the colder the temp the lower the volts so bikes left outside over night or during the winter will also suffer a drop in voltage
Then i suppose the accuracy of any volt meter also needs to be considered.

[simonducati]

That's good to know, when I get the bike back on the road I will check after I give it a good ride.