Charging system.

[sissy mary]

Bought a new battery about a month ago. Good quality one to boot. Idiot/battery light came on and off over last 2 week ends. Now on all the time. Hit battery with a load tester and it showed it was bad? Charged it up and no light? Is this because battey is full? If no charge I would think light would be on all the time? It would not be the first time I had a new battery die soon after install. Anyone had a charging issue where they had to replace any part of the elec system? I don't remember any post on this subject before?

[Scumeda3]

No issue with mine.  Dealer put a battery in mine April 2011.  Still have the same battery and about 18k miles on it.

[MaryK]

You need a voltmeter to test the charging  system.  Most buy a digital multimeter (Wal Mart or Sears about $20)

Then charge the battery fully.  Put the scooter on the center stand and open the battery box if not already open
Measure the voltage at the battery with the engine off. (12.5 volts)
Start the engine and measure the voltage at Idle (may be below 12.5)
measure the voltage as you increase the rpms: at  2000 and 3000 rpms

The voltage should increase as the rpms are increased and reach 13.5 to 14.5 volts, but never excess 14.5 volts.
There is no need to exceed the 3000 rpms in this test. 

AND you need to be sure that the rear wheel does not touch ground as you are running the engine and making the voltage measurements.

If the voltage on the battery never increases beyond 13.5 volts then there is a problem with the alternator or the rectifiers.
If the voltage exceeds 14.5 then there is a problem with the voltage regulator.
If the voltages are good, then the battery needs to be tested under load at an  electric shop or auto parts store.

Ride Safely,

[Urbestfriend]

Under Xciting 250 See Possible Charging Issue.  I replaced stator and rectifier.  Runs and holds 12.98 Volts and registers 13.1 to 13.5 at idle.  Be sure to buy gasket that holds engine halves together.

[sissy mary]

Had battery checked. Perfect. Bought a multi meter at Harbor freight. Hope I can figure it out. Thanks to all, and mostly to Mary K, good answer.

[MaryK]

Our multimeter from harbor Freight worked for about 2 years, so it should be ok for this project.
You may need to buy or make up something to hold the test leads to the battery during the test, or have an extra pair of hands to help.

The meter should have 2 test leads, a rotary switch and 3 sockets for the test leads to plug into.
Set the rotary switch to 20 volts DC.  Plug the black lead into the black socket. Plug the red lead into the red socket that is labeled AC/DC/Ohms.
(Not the 10A socket).

Touch the red lead to the + of the battery (red wire) and the black lead to the - of the battery (black wire).
On our scooter the battery is accessible by removal of it cover.

Have fun.

[sissy mary]

MaryK. I had the battery checked out at battery plus where I bought it, and it checks out perfect. I want to do a battery current leakage test to determin if it's a bad voltage regulator/rec. If it does not read 0.5 Ma max, and then when I disconnect the reg, and it reads the leak down discharge rate of 0.5, then it is a bad reg. Any points of how to do this? And what is the set up on the harbor f multi-m? Thanks for info so far.

[MaryK]

We have never performed the test that you mention.
It sounds like you are checking to see if there is current loss from the battery through the rectifier.
If that is the case, you disconnect the red (positive) cable from the battery.
The meter should have a mA current setting on the switch.  Set it to the range higher than what you want to read.
Disconnect all fuses from the fuse box
Connect one test lead from the meter to the + battery post. 
Connect the other test lead to the red wire that you disconnected from the battery.
Change the meter switch to a different setting if out of range.

Then you need to disconnect the regulator/rectifier (R/R).  I have no idea wher you do that.
After the disconnect, perform the same measurement again.
And compare the results.

We test rectifier by the resistance of the diodes.  see U-Tube for an example.How To Test A Bridge Rectifier With A Digital Multimeter DMM
Many motorcycle rectifiers have 6 diodes instead of 4. 

You disconnect the R/R from the stator and from the battery.  Then use the 2000 ohm scale to compare resistances as per the video.

I hope you manage to figure this out... Keep asking if you have questions.

Scoot Safely,

[sissy mary]

Thanks, to do this leak down/regulator test you have to disconnect where the reg plugs in. You remove the seat and storage boot/box. The regulator is bolted to the left side of frame area under the boot/box. Thanks again.