Battery voltage question

I have my bike battery in the house on a trickle charger and I'm mildly suspect that it may be going bad. With the battery at full charge then disconnecting the charger how much drop in voltage should I expect over a few days? I'm sure it'll drop slightly, but what's enough to decide if it's bad? Anything over 12v good to go?

Kind of a newbie question, but gotta pick it up somewhere.


EDIT: 13.22v is top end for this battery right off the charger.


Thanks,
Chip

 

you will find a little drop in voltage.. but if it drops significantly from 13.22 right off the charger to below 12 V in a few days you probably are correct in that your battery is going. you could keep your volt meter handy and check for drop every 12 hours or so.... how old is the battery? some say that if you trickle charge /battery tender the battery will last forever.

 

That 13.2V is really just a surface charge resulting from the charging. It usually disipates to the real level in about an hour or so. A normal,fully charged, resting voltage is 12.7-12.9V for a newer battery. I have one that has been down to 12.3ish for the last few years, that has never failed me. If you are very concerned about it, a load test is the best way to prove if it is still serviceable, or not.

:crazy:

 

This morning I checked it with the volt meter (after about 6 hours off the charger) and it's down to 12.75v. I'll see if it stays leveled off there for a few days or if it drops to below 12.

If it hangs outi near here for a bit I'll call it good still.

Thanks for the info.

Chip

 

Quickie load test, have the battery charged up. Connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals, move the run switch to off and hit the starter button. If the voltage drops below 9.5- 10V, the battery is going south.

 

It's not a huge deal, I'd just like to save the cash if I don't have to spend it. I do appreciate the responses though!

Right off the charger 13.22v, 12.75v(6hours off charger), 12.65v(12hours off charger).

 

OOPS.......... My newbness is showing. hwell:

 

I'm gonna call this battery good and start tracking down grounds to check for any kind of corrosion. Anyone have a guide to ground points to check? Are there common ones that need to be checked regularly on a 6th gen?

Here's the link to my original problem that led me to suspect a possible faulty battery.
http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/32516-6th-gen-stalled-will-not-restart.html