[mike438]

ihave a 91 tw200 with almost 20,000 miles, ive had it for 7 years now. im starting to have a problem with the battery. i cant keep one in it. i have to buy a new one every year. about halfway through the year i have to start putting a tender on it every night. the voltage regulator puts out 12 volts at idle and about 13.8 at light to mid throttle. someone told me i might be getting the volts but not the amps. just wondering if anyone could help me out. thanks.

 

[peruano]

Or perhaps you have a constant low draw on the battery even when the bike is off. I'm not sure how you diagnosis that but on a 20 year old electrical harness there are potential sites for shorts, chaffed insulation etc. Consider this rather than the relatively expensive replacement of cdi or other electrical components. JMH suggestion. Tom

 

[RodneyReed]

I had a drz400 and after about 8 years the wiring harness started having problems from corrosion, etc. It was only about 150 for the whole thing, so I simply replaced it and never had another problem.

 

[rm_hm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o

 

[qwerty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o

I would not test for amps. If you have a short with low enough resistance, you'll fry your meter.



Instead, remove the + battery cable from the battery, set the meter to its most sensitive ohms setting, and check the ohms between the positive battery cable that would normally be attached to the battery (but isn't) and the negative battery cable still attached to the battery. If there is not infinite resistance, you have a voltage leak.

 

[rm_hm]

If he had a parasitic drain bad enough to blow a meter he would be popping fuses like crazy and seeing a big spark when disconnecting either battery terminal. My cheap meter is also good for 20 amps dc



As long as you don't try starting or running the bike during the test I would think you would be quite safe.



With my voltmeter set to dc volts I see a little over 14 volts at the battery terminals with bike in neutral and engine revving.



If you indeed have poor charging start checking your charging system from one end to the other.



Past charging threads



http://tw200forum.co...0/ShowPost.aspx



http://tw200forum.co...1/ShowPost.aspx





You could always buy a monitor