Charging battery while connected

[leopard_pagan]

My battery.... or reg/rec is buggered!
Charge battery Sunday night for 6-7 hours, bike starts fine every day until friday/saturday when it takes longer on the button to get it going!
every time i have charged it i leave the battery in the bike but not connected. mon 7Am in the dark trying to put battery terminals back on isnt easy!

so can i charge the battery left connected?
i know loads of people have trickle chargers, i have no immobiliser.

also can someone remind me what the readings are for finding a buggered reg/rec?

Bike switched off battery reading:
bike idling:
Bike revving.. at what revs + reading:

will check it friday when its lowest as we have digital meters at work.

[zul_cbr]

also can someone remind me what the readings are for finding a buggered reg/rec?

Bike switched off battery reading:
bike idling:
Bike revving.. at what revs + reading:

based on my little experience,

for buggered reg/rec,

ignition off - < 12.0 V
idling - > 14.5 V
revving @ 5k RPM - > 15.0 V

[mattUKNC]

Leaving it all connected up should be fine, when using an Optimate or similar it's the same thing.
Hope you get it sorted, with the colder days coming you'll need a good battery.

[leopard_pagan]

that or charge it every damn night!

its not an optimate charger, just a normal ol 12v battery charger.
when i hook it up it shows 90% flat!
mon am when i unhooked it it showed 50%... 6-7 hours didnt seem to charge much!
thing is to test a battery they need it all day!, charge it fully-deplete it-then charge it again!
i cant do that as bike is only transport!

getting van sorted as i type, blew a head gasket few months ago. picking head up from being skimmed today. fitted back on van sat/sun.

[zul_cbr]

that or charge it every damn night!

its not an optimate charger, just a normal ol 12v battery charger.
when i hook it up it shows 90% flat!
mon am when i unhooked it it showed 50%... 6-7 hours didnt seem to charge much!
thing is to test a battery they need it all day!, charge it fully-deplete it-then charge it again!
i cant do that as bike is only transport!

getting van sorted as i type, blew a head gasket few months ago. picking head up from being skimmed today. fitted back on van sat/sun.

or your battery has coming to its end of life ?

[leopard_pagan]

its not even 2 years old!
or am i expecting too much from it?

tested it out yesterday
bike off: 12.92v
idle: 13.90v
5k rpm: 13.60v

i will test it again Friday as that seems the lowest day.

[Cammo]

Those readings look fine.

Check the voltage at the same revs as this after you get back from a ride, that should shed more light on whether it's the battery, bike or charger. Finding which of these is at fault should be a fairly simple process to you LP!

A good peak charger (not a constant trickle charger - there is a difference!) will maintain the battery properly and are cheap these days. Using one of these at least narrows the problem down to the bike charging system or the battery itself. I use a single charger unit and fit fly leads to my batteries to use it on all of my bikes.

[leopard_pagan]

it is a full on charger i use. dont own a trickle as i ride the bike every day.. theory is it maintains its self!
also no alarms fitted to drain battery.

i need to test the output from the alternator later to see if its that. that was a re-con from GF 2 winters ago. replaced battery same time.

[leopard_pagan]

popped in to see my friendly auto electricians to test the alternator.
they also checked the battery and found there was NO acid in it! bone dry!
yes i am well aware its a maintenance free type.... topped up with acid, will charge it again tonight and start looking for a new one!

[zul_cbr]

popped in to see my friendly auto electricians to test the alternator.
they also checked the battery and found there was NO acid in it! bone dry!
yes i am well aware its a maintenance free type.... topped up with acid, will charge it again tonight and start looking for a new one!

acidity level for the battery should decrease over time. your battery problem seems normal though. go get yourself a new one, before it going to melt your CDI.