Triumphrat

unummyu · 06-01-2006

I got on the bike yesterday morning and it wouldn't start. I knew the battery was getting low as it didn't kick over as fast as it had a few weeks ago. I hope it's only the battery and not the charging system. I checked the voltage at the new battery 13.5 volts after an all night charge with a trickle charger. Turned the bike on this morning and the voltage drops down to about 12.3 volts. Started it and it turned over quickly and started right away. The voltage was at 14 volts. After about two minutes the voltage gradually dropped back down to 12.3 volts and remained there at idle. (EDIT... should have written 13.5 not 12.3 at idle). All seems normal but I would like to be able to monitor the voltage.

The point of this post is...Has anyone tried a Kuryakyn LED battery gauge?

LED Battery Gauge

Or has anyone added a voltmeter to his/her bike?

Thanks,

[ This message was edited by: unummyu on 2006-06-02 05:18 ]

DFWBiker · 06-01-2006

I had this voltmeter installed on my Sprint for a few weeks:

Volt Meter

I put it next to the heated grip switch and i looked/worked great. I gave it away when I had the Whistler radar detector installed in my gas guage opening since it has a built-in voltmeter.

rodneybrown · 06-01-2006

John,
In my opinion, having a voltmeter is like having half the picture. Unless you have both an ammeter and voltmeter you can't tell what's really going on. Your battery can go down to 10.5 or so volts and still be good if your charging system isn't working right and your battery can be bad if you measure 14 volts while the alternator is running BUT almost no current is flowing to it. In my opinion the best gismo out there is a Kisan chargeGuard. It's pricey but you KNOW what's going on with the battery and charging system. You can see one at Kisantech.com
Rod

vinnyf · 06-01-2006

Rod, I would certainly agree that having only a voltmeter is like half a picture, but half is probably still better than none, don't you think?
John, many of these bikes don't charge at idle, especially with the headlight load. If you rev the bike to about 3K and it's still not going up to 14+ volts, you've got a problem.
Finally, I haven't tried the Kuryakyn, but the last time I was troubleshooting I picked up a cheap LED gauge meant to plug into an automotive lighter and ran it temporarily spliced into a convenient point in the system. Wouldn't try that long term, but that gauge was under $10, told me what I needed to know, and now it's available for the "fleet".
Good luck, please keep us posted.
vinny

unummyu · 06-01-2006

Rod,
That's right, knowing current flow will give a complete picture and I did look at that exact meter. However, 200 bucks isn't in the bike budget right now. $40 is more in line since I need to get some hurricane protection stuff for the house pretty soon. BTW, I'll be looking for temporary housing should we need to evacuate this hurricane season...Rodney????? :???:

rodneybrown · 06-01-2006

$200 is why I haven't bought one too. They do have one for $150 without the charger, but that's steep too. Vinny, that's true, but if I'm not going to "know" what the problem is I'd just do it an even simpler way. I pretty much just listen to how long the bike cranks before starting. If it starts taking too long then I put my multimeter across the terminals, both connected and unconnected. When I run it, it should be around 14 volts. If a fully charged lead acid battery isn't 13.8 volts after full charge it's probably on the skids. If the voltage changes erratically with the throttle you have bigger fish to fry. Actually there is a cheaper way to go, but I don't like killing brain cells anymore (too few left) making one. You can get a high impedance shunt type of ammeter or even use a voltmeter across a shunt so you don't have to route high current to a fairing mounted meter. You can get them on web but have to research a bit to get the right item.

John, if da big winds try to blow Charlie Town away common up. I hope you like big dogs who wake you in the middle of the night :-D

[ This message was edited by: rodneybrown on 2006-06-01 13:59 ]

unummyu · 06-02-2006

Quote:

John, if da big winds try to blow Charlie Town away common up. I hope you like big dogs who wake you in the middle of the night :-D

Rod,
You mean dogs like this? My little girl Tosshia.

rodneybrown · 06-02-2006

Yukon (Siberian Husky) and Xena the Warrior Princess (Malmut/Shepherd mix) would be happy to take Tosshia on a tour of our back yard. At least your dog has some deterent qualities, sled dogs just show the burglers the way in.

unummyu · 06-12-2006

OK, I got the Kuryakyn LED battery gauge and installed it with velcro Sunday. I like it, it's just a little too bright, maybe the magic black tape over the light sensor will cure that.

yerguy · 06-24-2006

Hey guys

I stumbled across something that's cheaper and easier than the voltmeters suggested here.

Sometime ago, I made the acquaintance of one of the hard core Iron Butt riders who happenes to be one of the electronics engineers working at JPL. Amongst the many gadgets he had on his BMW K100LT, he had this one 'itsy-bitsy" LED sticking out of the dash. Asking him about it he tells me it was a single LED element that illuminated different colors to indicate battery condition/voltage.

He also informed me that the vendor specialized in the OEM connectors used on Jap/Brit/Italian bikes and cars. I needed these to construct "jumper" cables and hoses in order to run the engine with the fuel tank removed and attendant hoses/wires still connected in order to adjust the throttle bodies...just like the dealer does.

At Electrical Connection they do in fact have a single multi-colored LED that indicates battery condition/voltage. Take a look at the web site and the LED unit. Just drill one small hole, connect two wires and you're done.

Make sure you read the link and test from Motorcycle Consumer News. They tested the unit and found it to be very accurate.

www.electricalconnection.com/meters

Hopes this helps.....