Charging system test

Thanks for your comment about digital voltmeters Greg.
I have a small digital voltmeter display on my 850 and an Alton.
The charging and voltages I see are working very well. I always ride with my headlight on and
whether I have it on or off, I get an intermittent and temporary drop of about .5 volts- for say a second or two,
then it pops back to where it was.
This happened with my Boyer which I replaced with a Trispark - and it still happens.
I have a Podtronics and substituted another and it still happens.
What I wonder is: What is causing this intermittent voltage drop?
I figure it must be the rectification.
Love to hear your thoughts as there is a little bug inside me that because I can observe it, it says "fix it!"
Dennis
Vancouver

The tiny, ultra portable DMM's I have used are MORE than accurate enough for automotive/(myrrsickle) electrical system troubleshooting. Repeatable.
Accurate.
There when you need it.

I carry one on my snowmobile as well, to test engine management components.

DennisMo said:

Thanks for your comment about digital voltmeters Greg.
I have a small digital voltmeter display on my 850 and an Alton.
The charging and voltages I see are working very well. I always ride with my headlight on and
whether I have it on or off, I get an intermittent and temporary drop of about .5 volts- for say a second or two,
then it pops back to where it was.
This happened with my Boyer which I replaced with a Trispark - and it still happens.
I have a Podtronics and substituted another and it still happens.
What I wonder is: What is causing this intermittent voltage drop?
I figure it must be the rectification.
Love to hear your thoughts as there is a little bug inside me that because I can observe it, it says "fix it!"
Dennis
Vancouver

Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with a Boyer or Tri-Spark ignition.

I quit using Podtronics long ago since their output is extremely noisy and can be inconsistent and they should not be used with Tri-Spark ignition which is the only ignition I use.

If it happens often enough to actually work on, then connect an analog meter and see if it dips when the digital meter does. If so, the dip is real and it's most likely the Podtronics switching on and off while regulating and nothing to worry about. If it doesn't then your digital meter is lying to you and there's nothing you can do except maybe change out the Podtronics.

Also, where is the meter connected. If directly across the battery I would be concerned. The minimum voltage is the battery voltage. If you're fully charged and the Podtronics is usually raising the voltage by .5 volts, that's too much - but again, might be the digital meter lying to you.

Thanks Greg. my digital meter display measures voltage at the coils. The voltage does dip intermittently by 0.5 volts, but the voltage never goes above 14.4 volts before dipping

DennisMo said:

Thanks Greg. my digital meter display measures voltage at the coils. The voltage does dip intermittently by 0.5 volts, but the voltage never goes above 14.4 volts before dipping

Click to expand...

You may have a bad connection somewhere. There are many between the battery and coils. Fuse - 2 connections, master switch 2 internal and 2 external connections, more connections under the tank, two connections to the handlebar switch console, one kill button, more back to the coils, and the gorund connections.

A connection that made but not perfect will drop voltage so a connection that is partly coming and going can drop your voltage. See: https://gregmarsh.com/MC/ViewPDF.aspx?key=uvd

YING said:

Michael,
That was the reason I originally posted this question.Why have a multi-meter if I don’t know how to use it for testing my charging system.
Mike

Click to expand...

Just a couple weekends ago I was in my garage, AKA the shed to others, I was poking around with my Multimeter and thinking, is the most used tool own?
Unlike many here, I only have 4 M/C's, a nice little starter set. I am forever using it on one of them.
I just recently bought set of alligator clips that plug into it. Now it's even better.
Why did I wait so long?

I have a Fluke 15b for the garage and a 117 for special occasions. Never had an issue with any car, truck, boat , MC or home electrics. Only time I had to resort to an analog was for golf carts.
I have had problems with DVOM’s with small or button batteries, they can be touchy with resistance or capacitors. If the batteries are not 100% they become inaccurate. They are decent for rough troubleshooting on the road, but I would not trust them for anything else.
This is just my experiences with them, others my differ.