Test to make sure charging system is working
- Thread starter Baja 252
- Start date
The few I've checked in the GARAGE, no cooling and only ran for 5 seconds or so a couple times surprised me. I measured battery voltage first, it was 12.6, I started the ski, and got 12.8
I thought it wasn't charging so I checked 3 skis the same way, all did the same.
I remember seeing higher voltages in the past but I had the water hose hooked up and was running a new stroker engine in with lots of starting, think I remember seeing 13.2 about
So if you do a quick test and see .2V higher than battery voltage it's changing
I thought it wasn't charging so I checked 3 skis the same way, all did the same.
I remember seeing higher voltages in the past but I had the water hose hooked up and was running a new stroker engine in with lots of starting, think I remember seeing 13.2 about
So if you do a quick test and see .2V higher than battery voltage it's changing
- Location
- California
Put a volt meter on the battery then when you rev the engine up to around 4,000 rpm you should see around 13.5 volts if everything is working. 12v or less and you aren’t charging.
That's not what I saw.
Not seeing that is what made me chase my tail thinking it wasn't charging when it was
- Location
- the jetski grave yard
hillbilly trouble shooting 101 is anything over battery voltage is charging.
if the battery is fully charged, it may be hard to tell if the system is working.
hold the red button down and crank it for a minute so it don't start right up. that should lower voltage.
an amp meter is the proper tool for checking any charging system.
if the battery is fully charged, it may be hard to tell if the system is working.
hold the red button down and crank it for a minute so it don't start right up. that should lower voltage.
an amp meter is the proper tool for checking any charging system.
- Location
- Riverside, CA
Testing battery voltage is common, but can lead to misdiagnosed problems.
Back when I was a young mechanic; charging systems were easy to diagnose,
but difficult to confirm the parts that were replaced were actually working. This
was because Kawasaki promoted using the battery voltage test.
Honda had a better solution, test for a positive charging amps. An even better
test is (on a motorcycle) all lights on at one time and then observe negative amp
draw (should be measured with an engine off). Start the engine and slowly rev the
engine rpm up and witness the breakeven point and later a positive amperage
supply to the battery.
Some engines you can disconnect the battery and test amps in series (that is how
I was taught) . Other engines required different solutions. The safest way to test
amp draw these days is a small amperage clamp sensor.
Bill M.
Back when I was a young mechanic; charging systems were easy to diagnose,
but difficult to confirm the parts that were replaced were actually working. This
was because Kawasaki promoted using the battery voltage test.
Honda had a better solution, test for a positive charging amps. An even better
test is (on a motorcycle) all lights on at one time and then observe negative amp
draw (should be measured with an engine off). Start the engine and slowly rev the
engine rpm up and witness the breakeven point and later a positive amperage
supply to the battery.
Some engines you can disconnect the battery and test amps in series (that is how
I was taught) . Other engines required different solutions. The safest way to test
amp draw these days is a small amperage clamp sensor.
Bill M.