voltage regulator test?

[Kham]

there it is, "something you should know". honky explains things very well.

[Kham]

OK, I lied. One morething;

You may have had a problem before jumping it, which may be why the battery died in the first place. Drains can be hard to locate. Could be something as simple as a wire that is grounding out on the frame, or a bad speedo/tach (if they are electronic); maybe a bad switch somewhere. Hard to say, but if you have a Honda, they are known for having the voltage regulators go bad because they are undersized and can't disipate heat adequately, at least on the bikes from the late 90's.

i put hte kickstand down and left the key on.

[rbrais]

Good to know, thanks!

Like I said, just going by what mechanics have told me. Maybe they are wrong, too. I don't have the technical knowlede to give a sure answer.

[rbrais]

i put hte kickstand down and left the key on.

Well, I guess you found your original draw.

Now you need to figure out why it won't hold a charge.

[nt650hawk]

Simple explanation you cannot fit a car battery into a motorcycle battery.

[Kham]

Well, I guess you found your original draw.

Now you need to figure out why it won't hold a charge.

where you from?

i need to figur eout if the original regulator is still good.

[rbrais]

CT.

Sorry, not good with testing things like regulators. I let the shop diagnose it than fix it myself if I can. Swapped my stock Honda Super Hawk R/R with one from a 2001 R-1. Works great and is much larger than the Honda was; and it has cooling fins.

What kind of bike is yours?

[Cheese]

Can someone take over? My arms are getting tired.

Honci is correct. Current capability of the charging system makes no difference. In fact, the current potential of the car battery itself is more than the charging system could produce so turning the car off doesn't "current limit" anything.

If you don't understand the water analogy, think of the dome light in a car. It's drawing ~0.05 amps from the battery when it's on. The battery it's connected to is capable of delivering 100 amps. Do all 100 amps flow to the dome light? The motorcycle battery you're jumping is like the dome light. It will only draw what it needs to charge. Nothing more ...

[Kham]

It will only draw what it needs to charge. Nothing more ...

just to add - it draw according to what the regulator tells it to i should say.

[Wishbone]

Honci is correct. Current capability of the charging system makes no difference. In fact, the current potential of the car battery itself is more than the charging system could produce so turning the car off doesn't "current limit" anything.

If you don't understand the water analogy, think of the dome light in a car. It's drawing ~0.05 amps from the battery when it's on. The battery it's connected to is capable of delivering 100 amps. Do all 100 amps flow to the dome light? The motorcycle battery you're jumping is like the dome light. It will only draw what it needs to charge. Nothing more ...

Stop making sense. This is the interwebs and I will not stand for it