Shoe48 wrote:
Batterymart.com ,, I have a SLA battery aand its been in two bikes now ,, I have been checking the voltage drop since it has been sitting ,, Still the same after a few months ,,
Your unloaded voltage is not the test/check you need to do, as you will get 13VDC across a battery that is so "dead" it would not even light a flashlight bulb. Your battery's ability to provide ample current is the true test to perform. "Well how do I do that?" you ask. Well I'm real glad you asked that question. The following procedure applies to any bike, any battery, every time. The simplest test, if you want to get a useful indication of your battery's capacity, is to first pull the wires off the spark plugs. Then have a friend hold the starter button so the starter is cranking the engine over, with the lights on and any other electrical "drain" you can come up with. While this is going on, hold your voltmeter across the battery posts. Your cranking voltage should drop no lower than 10.5 volts or so. Certainly no lower than 10VDC.
Further, if you literally hold your test leads on the posts, as opposed to the cable clamps, then you have also eliminated the battery connections as a possible problem. If you think your battery is dead/discharged, then first charge your battery, then do the test before buying a new battery. If your battery will charge, then you do the test the way I have described, and the battery voltage does _NOT_ drop appreciably with your meter connected at the posts, _not_ the clamps, then you have a loose connection on at least one clamp. Either that, or something else is not allowing the starting voltage and current to make it's way to the starter circuit.
Flame throwers to the up and ready position!?
Further still, if you do have your lights on, you engage the starter, and the battery is weak, then the lights will always go out, because the voltage drop across the battery will not supply power to lights if it won't supply power to the starter. This little observation can tell you when the battery/charge circuit needs some attention before the battery is completely gone. Not always, as the battery can just fail totally and suddenly, but it will usually give a sign first. If your starter button is pushed and the lights do NOT dim or go out, then it is not the battery that is at fault, and you need to look at the starting circuit.