Low voltage

[palerider]

Hi Everyone,

My 2006AE is putting out 13.7 volts at speed. The mechanic thinks that's okay, but I would like to see more. I know electrical issues are difficult to figure out. Anyone have any suggestions about what to look at and/or how to increase the output?

[Festus]

How old is the battery?

[palerider]

Brand new.

[ionbeam]

Is that right at the battery posts? Using what to measure the voltage? Where did you put the ground lead of the measuring device? In a perfect world you will be measuring directly across the battery terminals with the engine turning >2,000 rpm (after letting the engine run for 3-5 minutes after starting, allowing the battery to recover from starting the engine).

Are there any electrical accessories turned on?

The Gen II seems to have a lot of voltage loss between the RR and the battery terminals. Some have resorted to supplemental wiring harnesses. I do agree with the tech, you don't have a problem or fault, you are perceiving a 'not preferred' situation.

Anyplace from 13.4 to 15.5 volts on the battery terminals is good, though on a FJR you probably won't see more than 14.5 ever. With 13.2 volts at the battery terminals it starts to get worrisome, that is the lowest voltage which will maintain/charge the battery. At 12.8 volts at the battery terminals the charging system is tapped out and the battery is being discharged --or-- a large voltage drop in the harness is happening and the battery is being discharged. You can usually find this severe type of voltage drop in the harness by the laying on of hands (it'll be hot) or it will be melted. Usually groping touching the connectors is how you will find the heat.

On a Gen II I wouldn't be too concerned about 13.7 volts unless you are planning to add some ampeater accessories.

[DesignFlaw06]

In the automotive world, 13.8 volts is nominal. Why are you thinking you have an issue?

[palerider]

Is that right at the battery posts? Using what to measure the voltage? Where did you put the ground lead of the measuring device? In a perfect world you will be measuring directly across the battery terminals with the engine turning >2,000 rpm (after letting the engine run for 3-5 minutes after starting, allowing the battery to recover from starting the engine).

Are there any electrical accessories turned on?

The Gen II seems to have a lot of voltage loss between the RR and the battery terminals. Some have resorted to supplemental wiring harnesses. I do agree with the tech, you don't have a problem or fault, you are perceiving a 'not preferred' situation.

Anyplace from 13.4 to 15.5 volts on the battery terminals is good, though on a FJR you probably won't see more than 14.5 ever. With 13.2 volts at the battery terminals it starts to get worrisome, that is the lowest voltage which will maintain/charge the battery. At 12.8 volts at the battery terminals the charging system is tapped out and the battery is being discharged --or-- a large voltage drop in the harness is happening and the battery is being discharged. You can usually find this severe type of voltage drop in the harness by the laying on of hands (it'll be hot) or it will be melted. Usually groping touching the connectors is how you will find the heat.

On a Gen II I wouldn't be too concerned about 13.7 volts unless you are planning to add some ampeater accessories.

Using a voltage meter at the battery posts at 2500 RPM. Not planning to add anything. Thanks very much, Ionbeam. I feel better about this now.

[raYzerman]

13.7 is fine. Battery fully charged at 12.9. I will often see 14.0 at cruise after the battery has been recovered from starting the bike. Go ride.

[palerider]

Thanks, raYzerman! After the "dead from the waist down" debacle, I'm a little paranoid about electrics.

[Harald]

My 07 was down to that and for me it became a problem when running heated gear/grips in the winter, especially when at idle during stops. I bought a new harness that goes between RR and the battery from Jack at roadstercycles.com and suddenly I'm seeing 14.2 on my built in voltmeter (connected directly to the battery through a relay) when rolling down the road and very little drop when full heated gear activated. I'm guessing you don't have that need in LA though?

[palerider]

Maybe a couple of days a year. But I don't ride only in LA. Thanks for the tip about Jack.

[palerider]

My 07 was down to that and for me it became a problem when running heated gear/grips in the winter, especially when at idle during stops. I bought a new harness that goes between RR and the battery from Jack at roadstercycles.com and suddenly I'm seeing 14.2 on my built in voltmeter (connected directly to the battery through a relay) when rolling down the road and very little drop when full heated gear activated. I'm guessing you don't have that need in LA though?

I tried to email jack at roadstercycles.com and tried browsing the URL www.roadstercycles.com. The latter website is for sale, and the email bounced back. Do you have any current contact info for him?

[ionbeam]

I dunno, I went to http://roadstercycle.com/ and got the web site with no issues. Note that my URL doesn't have the S at the end of ...cycle(s). Give 'er a click

[Harald]

Sorry about the mistype on the URL, but looks like Ionbeam hooked you up. Dcarver over at the other FJR sandbox did an extensive write-up on the harness if you want to read more details.

[palerider]

Sorry about the mistype on the URL, but looks like Ionbeam hooked you up. Dcarver over at the other FJR sandbox did an extensive write-up on the harness if you want to read more details.

No prob. I got there, and Jack was great. Thanks for the heads up.

[Brodie]

Hey palerider,

Get the auxiliary harness for your Gen. 2 FJR, it will bring the voltage back up to 14.1-14.2 volts at above idle speeds.

The voltage drop on my ‘06 AE got down to 13.3 before I built my aux. harness; which was right at the SHORAI battery standing voltage with ignition off. That was with all the fuses pulled on my FUZE Block, thereby reverting my bike back to OEM electrical demand only - no electrical farkles powered at all. I was afraid the bike was close to discharging as I drove down the highway, not good when 1500 miles from home.

Since building and installing my aux harness, my DATEL volt meter measures a strong 14.1 across the battery terminals. I since ditched the SHORAI battery too.

In my opinion all Gen 2 bike’s are prone to this age induced voltage drop.

Brodie

[palerider]

Thanks Brodie. I haven't yet had a chance to install the new harness. Will post with results when I do.