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Any Electrical whizzes out there that can do a calculation?

Started by atokad, June 07, 2009, 08:47:05 AM

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atokad

So, I've done the RR direct to the battery modifications. Rode today for 338 miles over 11 hours, 7.5 hours of active riding.

Heated grips on for maybe 1.5 hours (intermittently), Garmin Zumo 550 on the whole time, direct wired, so left on even during the 3.5 the bike was not running.

Got home, hooked bike up to Battery Tender Junior (as it always is) and noticed it took 6 hours to get back to full charge. Seems much longer than usual amount of dis-charge.

QUESTION: How dis-charged was my battery?? Tender Junior charges at 750 ma/h. Battery is a Stock 2006 Tiger battery. (sorry didn't pull it out to see what it is rated at)

PS, this is a U.S. version/model.

Thanks in advance!

Stretch

How old is the battery?  It may not be in top condition any longer.

My GPS is direct-wired also, but it's a Garmin 76CSx handheld that can run all day on two AA batteries.  I know the large display of a Zumo requires more power than the little one on my 76, but surely not so much that it would put a serious drain on a healthy battery.

It is also possible that your charging system isn't keeping up with the bike and accessories.

Rig up a voltmeter across the battery terminals so that you can see what's going on in the Electrical Room while you're riding.  You should be seeing at least 13.8 volts DC at cruising speed with the accessories off, preferably 14-14.5

atokad

Stretch,

The battery is the original, bike is a 2006.  The only accessories I have are the Zumo and the Triumph heated grips.  

Guess next time I'm out for a long ride like that the first thing I'll do is check the battery to see what the volt level is before putting it on the Tender.

Stretch

Is the bike starting okay?  Maybe Autozone will load-test the batery for you.

It seems to me though that a long ride like that should have been enough to completely recharge the battery after numerous starts, idling with accessories on, etc.

Volts at the beginning of a ride won't tell you a lot.  You need to know what's going on with the charging system while you're riding.  If you have a multi-meter, rig it up with alligator clips etc. so you can see what kind of voltage the bike is producing at cruising speed.

oxnsox

Without knowing what your actual load was, by measuring it, and as Stretch has said knowing some voltages then its not possible to guess the maths.
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