Voltage on Shtartup

[bill lumberg]

I bought a nifty voltmeter that plugs into the glove box a while back. Being lazy, today I left the glove box open, and noticed the meter flash red when I was starting (read it with a German accent please) the bike. When I start the bike sometimes, the meter will drop to 10. something and flash red. Once it even dropped to 9. something when cranking.

It continues to show 14+ at idle, even with heated gear.

The bike has not suffered any insults like being left on or short trips with heated gear lately. It is ridden every day unless I’m traveling.

Failing battery, or just a meter that needs to be ignored?

Signed-
“Traveling with a fully charged jump pack”

[ionbeam]

TMI (Too Much Information). Close the glove box door. Did the engine spin at a healthy rate when you engaged the starter? If yes, that's all the information you need to know about cranking voltage. If the cranking voltage drops too low the engine spin rate will be too low too.

[Red]

Bill,

Any dirty or corroded electrical connections can cause a voltage drop, which may or may not affect starting. At the risk of being obvious, each battery cable has two ends.
Otherwise, I would expect that the battery is slowly dying.
Nothing extends the life of an aging lead-acid battery better than a Battery Tender (or any smart charger with an automatic de-sulfating operation).

[raYzerman]

This bike and battery isn't that old, nothing you've said in recent posts indicates concern. I'm in the "close the glove box door" camp, you should be able to hear notice slow cranking. Don't know anything about your meter, how it buffers, is slow to react or overreact, tolerances,etc.... the mofset regulator should limit charging voltage to 14.4-14.5 max.

[bill lumberg]

Wise advice.

[FJRoss]

Does it start easily without struggling?
If it is left to sit for several days (without a tender), does it still start easily?
If the answer was yes to both questions, ride more and worry less.

If it is struggling to start, check the starting current. If it is north of 80 amps, the voltage drop may be due to excessive drain due to a starter going bad so it is worth putting a DC clamp-on ammeter to check current draw to make sure.

If it starts OK the day after a ride but struggles after sitting for a few days, it could indicate a battery with a high self-discharge rate which would mean that its days are numbered. Parasitic electrical draw of a healthy FJR is VERY low so just sitting for a few days (or weeks) should not impair the ability to start the bike unless there is a problem with the battery.
I just started mine in a cold garage after sitting idle for the last ten weeks. Battery was not disconnected from the bike when I parked it in mid-November and was not on a tender. (9 year old battery but only 66,000 miles) I don't usually start the bike at all during winter hibernation but thought I would check it out and do a mid-winter charge top-off. Nice to hear the bike purr again, even if I can't ride it anywhere. Ran it long enough to get fully up to operating temperature (10+ minutes). Maybe another 6 weeks...

[Hppants]

There's a voltmeter on my radar detector. The FJR's stator is strong. Even with high beams, heated grips on WFO, and the heated jacket liner, I still manage 14.3-ish under way. Without all of that draw, 14.5 to 14.6 is the norm. Since the r/d is wired to the accessory fuse box under the seat, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm loosing a 10th of a volt at the R/D readout.