battery ??

[Jim B.]

Speaking of batteries, does anyone know why a 12 volt battery is charged at 14 to 15 volts? And yes, I really want to know.

 

[fin_676]

Speaking of batteries, does anyone know why a 12 volt battery is charged at 14 to 15 volts? And yes, I really want to know.

well in general terms there are 2.2 volts per cell x 6 = 13.2 volts is the capacity of a 12 volt battery but you never get a full charge so 12.8 volts is as good as you get
once you turn on the ignition key the battery starts to drain as the battery powers the electrical system
once the engine starts the charging system starts to produce a charge the charge that is given to the battery need to be higher than the capacity of the battery or it wont be taken in fully
as there are constant drains on the battery the charging system also needs to compensate for those

hope that in part answers your question
although I'm no expert on the subject have in the past had to scratch into the subject of charging to resolve problems

Brian

 

[Jim B.]

well in general terms there are 2.2 volts per cell x 6 = 13.2 volts is the capacity of a 12 volt battery but you never get a full charge so 12.8 volts is as good as you get
once you turn on the ignition key the battery starts to drain as the battery powers the electrical system
once the engine starts the charging system starts to produce a charge the charge that is given to the battery need to be higher than the capacity of the battery or it wont be taken in fully
as there are constant drains on the battery the charging system also needs to compensate for those

hope that in part answers your question
although I'm no expert on the subject have in the past had to scratch into the subject of charging to resolve problems

Brian

Thanks, fin_676. Makes sense to me.

 

[TUCKERFLHX]

check this out:

testing the charging system - harley davidson community

if your wife's bike has a wet battery (not a gel cell or "dry" type), then you do need to make sure that each cell has enough electrolyte in it to cover the plates. There should be a line across the face of the battery showing the correct fluid level in each cell. You can use di water to top up all the cells and then put it on a trickle charger out of the bike with a hose on the overflow to catch what burps out. Once you are fully charged (say around 12.5-12.8 vdc), clean off the battery well with lots of water and dry it with some paper towels. Put it back on the bike and hook it up. Then do the stuff in the link above to make sure your alternator (stator/rotor) and voltage regulator are working right.

You may notice that when mounted in the battery box, the fluid is higher on one end (probably the rear). Not much you can do about that as long as the box is mounted right. Just make sure that the overflow hose is routed all the way down and out the bottom of the bike about 2-3". If it is too short, get some new hose at the auto parts place.

Tq

i dont have any hose,so maybe the battery was supposed to be sealed. I called the hd dealer up the road beings thats where ill get the hd battery they said the would check my charging system,i needed a new front tire anyway so she'll be riding by saturday. Thanks for your suggestions.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their help on battery situation

 

[patoruzu00]

Hi
Verify if there is a charge lost. With a multimeter and the ignition off, check if there is a energy circulation.

 

[HarleyHarry]

I'm sure the dealer would love to sell you a new battery. Go to a battery shop and ask them to load test yours.