SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
Defective battery or charging problem or other?
mike the bike:
Unless you're using a clamp meter, a multimeter can only measure current when connected in series with the battery. In other words, remove the positive lead from the battery and connect the meter leads in between. For this reason, most people stick to measuring voltage.
Bryanj:
BIG THING multimeters DO NOT measure high current so if you put one in the press the starter button its goodbyeee meter
K2-K6:
I'd initially suspect the battery may not be quite right as indicated by Bryan.
12.3v after charging is on the low side, suggesting it's impaired. Reasonably accurate check is to charge it fully with it removed from bike, then record volts after about 15 minutes, then just check battery voltage and record each hour over the day. Healthy, it should stay about 12.6v to 12.9v over a 24 hr period. Heading south from 12.4v usually indicates they've not much practical life left in them.
What can you do with this? Probably only one of the adapting chargers that can pulse charge it up toward 17 volts to try to revive it's status. This attempts to de-sulphate the plates to improve performance, but if you've not got one of the chargers it would be better money spent on a new battery to be honest, especially if it won't hold above 12.3v sitting on it's own disconnected.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/quad-bike-atv-batteries/varta/ytx14-bs/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_KzhoYyn6gIVia3tCh24wwAcEAQYAiABEgIo3fD_BwE it may be this size? But these battery and this supplier are very good.
Because your voltage stays steady when running with lights switched on, that suggests the load in that circuit is taking the place of the battery and allowing a smoothed response from your regulator.
One way to check easily, if you've a car, is to remove bike battery and connect bike to car battery with jump leads. Then start and see if voltage is stable from your regulator (effectively using a known good battery to eliminate the bike one)
To do this, connect positive to your bike's red battery feed, then wrap it in something to insulate it from touching anything else, then connect the earth straight to anything substantial on the bike's engne/ frame. Afterwards, remove earth first.
billdn:
Thought I'd take the plunge and buy new battery, the old one must be over 4 years old , and if was throwing a curved ball into the equation , technically by replacing it with a known new one should prevent any tail chasing - alas would appear was not battery. Did same voltage test as before and had similar results although voltage did jump up to that specified now and again and the horn worked.....then it didn't and the voltage input remained around 12.3-12.5v! So began testing rectifier with multimeter and cable broke off probe and which point when to pub, oh couldn't but opened a can instead.!!!
mike the bike:
Check the resistance of the yellow wires from the alternator. Yellow to yellow, yellow to other yellow, other yellow to the other yellow.
They should all read roughly the same.
Also check each yellow to earth , should test infinite.
If you've got one or two phases missing, it would account for bad changing.
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