hey guys,i got a 1986 quadrunner 250.i cant tell if its charging or not,the meter says 12 volts even reving it up.it will run without the battery.how can i tell if it is charging and if not why.where do i start looking?
thanks guys,your the pros

 

if it runs without the battery then its charging,it may not be charging enough for what the bike should have and if it wasnt it would die

 

i dont know but you can start the bike with the satarter and some times the starter seems to drag,ive tried 3 starters they all do the same

 

you might just have a weak battery or bad cables

 

You should have anywhere between 13v and 14.5v when the engine is running. If you have 12.6v which is most a good battery will have, (2.1v per cell) then your not charging. Check your voltage coming out of your voltage regulator. It should be about 14 to 16 when revved. If not chances are that's your problem. Although it could possibly be your stator also. You will need to look in a manual and do a resistance check to make sure there isn't a open or short in your charging coils.

And like mucky said, make sure its not a weak or bad battery. I've had one battery in my day that would actually pull a load when attempted to be charged. It was on a streetbike that I replaced all charging components on, and come to find out it was the battery all along. Lessoned learned.

 

thanks guys ill try that