charging issues xj

[chevy45412001]

batt. charged 12.66 volts

hooked it up across batt 12.66 steady,turn on key drops to .22 v pulled all fuses no change. disconetc volt reg no change. (by the way dash lights do not come on,untill i put charger on 10a and leave it charge.) turn off key 12.66 volts. out of time i work second will dig further Sat morning.btw thanks for the help now and to come i'm sure.

[DiverRay]

If the voltage dropped to .22volts when you put a load on it(turned on key) the battery is probably toast!
The easy way is if your DVM will do 10 amps on the amp range. then just disconnect the positive lead off the battery, and put the leads from the DVM between the battery and the cable. This will cause the DVM to be in series, or in line with the cable you pulled.
Turn on the key, and read how manny amps there is going through the cable. If it is less than 5 amps, you need a new battery.
Batteries can go bad, as vibration can cause parts to brake off internally and short across the plates. They can also "sulfate", and that will short them out. The normal battery should hold about 12.8 volts on a full charge, and only drop to about 12.6 volts with just the key turned on.

Ray

[chevy45412001]

thanks diver r

well i didn't make it to work 1/2 way there guess what happened? good guess. my freakin truck batt light came on and the gauge droped to 8 volts. This is not my day.... so i stop at a midass they check it alt is bad. anyway... bike went down to -.75 when i turned on the key. I'm off to get batt xschanged now,i just bought it sat ............ when i get it charged up and in i'll chime in again so i can check out all the system to see why i fried a new batt. thankxs again and again..

[chevy45412001]

should be ok

XSchanged the new batt for a new batt. Filled to level and charged with brand new 1.5 a charger. put it on the bike checked voltage it's 12.33. started bike right up it did.brought it up to 1,500 rpms per diver insructions got 14.23 v. so does this mean every thing is good? because this is how the other batt started life witch only lasted two days. oh well they were two glorious days anyway

[John]

Those are good numbers

Now, disconnect the negative cable at the battery and place a test light between the cable and the battery. If the light comes on, there is a draw. Start pulling fuses one at a time until the light goes out, that will tell you which circuit has the short. You can do it with a meter too.

[chevy45412001]

still issues

why can't i listen to good advice? (dumb kid syndrum i guess) i'm going to replace the brushes as per Jerry. now the tach and dash lights go out. still have 12.3v but with engine up to 3,000rpm or so only getting 13.3 v max. i got a used volt reg and swaped no difference there. So if the brushes fix it great,if not IT WILL BE UP FORE SALE. As much as i love my bike it is 24 years old and my only bike. i live to far from work to be stranded.worse case the bone yard wanted 159 plus tax for a reman windins part of the alt system.And i just can't go there. not at 3.00 gal for gas.

[John]

Hey Chevy

I have an alternator you can try out for your xj. I don't have the rotor (the part attached to the crank). I also have an xj regulator you can try out. This stuff all worked when I stripped the bike 10 years ago, and has been kept indoors since. PM me if you're interested.