Just add I'd try summit like a 4A charger first I think that would probably be enough BUT as I already said if you reckon you can get a shiny new one out of the manufacturer then that's the rout I'd definitely go down John
John, as a general rule you should not charge a lead acid battery at more than 10% of its rated charge otherwise it risks damaging the battery through heat deformation or boiling. You need a slightly higher voltage to recover deeply sulphated batteries, rather than higher current and the bike chargers have this in their recovery program. In this case the battery is either DOA or there is an internal short on the R/R or elsewhere on the bike. Best to stick to a 1A charger for a bike battery and give it time. The recharge on this one really needs to be done off the bike and I don't think failing to do a commissioning charge is the problem. Failure to do that will however shorten the life of the battery.
Ok @Denzil the Ducati I respect your knowledge on all things electrical I was going on what I have done in the past and it has worked, what others have done and reported back and the Odyssey manual on their batteries, which are AGM In case I've been misunderstood, I wasn't stating that was the initial fault, merely a method to try to bring it back if the alternate was to just throw it away. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not & I hope that I made @Pavey aware of the risks, in previous posts I do agree that it should NEVER be tried in situ on the motorcycle, as it carries an element of risk, nor should it be tried on a healthy battery. On a healthy battery I charge at as low a rate as possible and leave it to come back on its own Thanks for the advice...................to the OP, @Pavey Denzel is well known on here for his consummate knowledge on all things electrical & although I have a lot of experience with electricity in a lot of different fields and applications I am not an expert on automotive electrical systems in general and Ducati in particular (just wanted to clear that up) John
Had a call from the garage today. They said the starter smells like it has burnt out but there is no visible damage, so i need a new one of them. They also said the starter is held on to the engine casing by a long bolt (which i presume is the one of the three you need to get to by removing the engine casing) and this long bolt has bent, so over time the movement of it has made an oval int he casing that should be round. And it needs new gears. The owner Duncan who i trust implicitly invited me in tomorrow morning to have a look as he didn't want to just go ahead and order parts etc without my consent. Did say the engine casing can't be welded so may potentially need a new one. Not the best of news really.
Me again, feel like a stuck record! Have fitted a new regulator and relocated it so it gets as much air flow as possible (on the side of the bike). The bike is now making some progress in that the battery is not draining as it was before (or certainly not fast enough to notice). It starts fine as it has been on an Optimate and shows 12.5v. The last RAC guy (I have met a few over the past few months) tested my battery and it showed on his fancy machine as being in perfect condition, so the current issue is that while the bike is running the battery is not getting a charge. I now have a multi meter from a neighbour, do I test the plugs coming out of the regulator like the guy in Jody's video above, and what reading should I be getting in order to prove its good or bad? Thanks, again.
Hi Pavey I was getting lonely So your bikes not making the elektricery. Things I'd do Check the wires and connections between reg/rec and alternator, especially yellow wires out the alternator to the reg/rec, any plugs in that line and earths for reg/rec. You're looking for burning dodgy connections etc: If all good there, disconnect the 2 yellow wires (or 3 if its a 3 phase alternator). Start the bike and measure AC volts across the yellow wires at idle, 2k & 3k RPM you should be getting 30-40 V AC at around 3K (if there are 3 yellow wires measure them all 1-2, 1-3, 2-3 they should all give around the same). Any low and its the alternator If that's good then the checks in @Jody's video is the way I'd go I do hope you start getting some luck soon John
This may sound like an old school technique but is it worth a 'bump start' just to be sure the engine will run if turned over via a bloody good push. If she fires into life after a push then at least you can conclude your problems lay somewhere around the battery or starter. Good luck pal.
