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Re: Alternator Thu Apr 20, 2023 11:25 am
Two Wheels Better

Moderator

Number of posts : 4997
On "tenders" and battery maintenance: if you do have a slightly weak battery, one that's unable to take a charge from a battery maintainer-type of charger due to its voltage being lower than the threshold for the charger to pick up the battery connection to begin to charge, use a 6V/12V charger and start off on the 6V side until it gains enough voltage to then allow you to switch it over to the 12V side where it may begin to fully charge. Of course, having a battery get that weak means it's likely on its way out anyway - that's not always the case - but you can often get a battery back to at least useful for a spell.
I have an Odyssey PC680 that was a warranty take-off from a police bike - given to me in 2014 due to a swollen case - that I use a shop battery to this day which has dropped to 7 or 8 volts a coupla times after hard use. It'll still start a bike, run an accessory air pump, and is used as a 12V source for testing, etc. Its static voltage is 12.6 as I test it right now and loadtests (Midtronix) as good.
A footnote: my Big Block K100/K1200 has no instruments, or diodes of any kind added, which starts, runs, and charges at 14.4 volts. Excitement enough?! It has had a 9amp (lasted 5+ years) and now 12amp li-ion battery fitted.
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"If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain. Do you know which philosopher said that? Dolly Parton. And people say she's just a big pair of t*ts." - David Brent
1970 R60/5, '77 R75/7-R100, '85 K100, '87 K75C, '87 K100RS, '93 K11 Big Block, '93 K1100RS, '95 R100-Mystic, '96 K1100RS, 2 x '98 K1200RS, '00 K1200RS, '02 K1200RS, '03 K1200GT, '04 R1150R, '04 R1150RT, '05 K1200S, #1 '06 K1200R, #2 '06 K1200R, '07 K1200R, '09 K1300GT, '13 R1200RT-P & 2022 S1000XR
All of life is a foreign country. - Jack Kerouac, author (1922 - 1969)