Electrical confusion ??

Okay, here's my gripe. I have a 86 VF 400. I've had it running great for about a year now since i've picked it up. Its been parked for about 2 months (since I've had a broken leg :tongue: ). Now i go to turn it over and it's really slow. So i assume a dead batt. I charged my batt. Let it sit for a few days and it holds its charge at 13.1 not too bad right? so i stick it back in the bike. Now suddenly the starter doesn't even turn over the motor, all it does is make a rapid clicking sound. So i thought aww crap maybe the brushes on my starter are fried but here's the weird part I've put on my little 2 amp trickle charge charger, hit the starter out of curiosity and blam the motor turns over, albeit slowly but it turns over??? :crazy: ( oh ya and the batt is still at almost a full charge like 12.8 on a meter) so now I'm confused as hell and looking for assistance. Any ideas anyone??

 

take your battery cables off and give them a cleaning... thats all it sounds like it needs.....

 

^^^ What Crusty says... If it behaves the same way afterwords:

If there is anyway for you to hold the voltmeter probes directly on the terminals, see what the voltage is before you press the starter button and what the voltage does when you press the starter button. If the starter motor doesn't turn and the voltage goes way down, it's likely a bad battery, particularly because the starter motor turns with the assist of a small charger.

 

12.8 volts is not a full charged battery.
IT would be 13.8 volts approximately fully charged.

Each cell is 2.3-2.7 volts adds up to 13.8

How old is the battery?
I agree that I would clean the terminals too.

 

I had one acting the same way, 13.1-13.2v, it had a dead cell. When I tried to start it would drop to 7.3v.

replaced it and the new one holds 12.8 no load and drops to 11 something during starting.

I still have no idea how the voltage goes up some times when a battery is bad but I've seen it on several in the past.

 

Have to agree that the battery is probably the culprit. Battery voltage under load will tell the story.

 

Modern batteries are better than in the 1800's.
Also in the 1950's many cars had a positive ground.
Now we know which way electrons really flow.
If you do not believe me. Go out and measure a few car batteries and see what you get.
It will be 13V and change.

Just like an 8 bar blues is really 9 bars.
A dozen box of donuts is often 13.

 

If a battery is 13 volts it cannot have a bad cell.
Zero your meter out before using. Also do not let your fingers touch the metal part of the probe.

 

pretty sure it's correct, true rms and required to be calibrated semi annually for work. There might have been a glitch in my data logging software or on the lap top.