2005 FJR 1300 - Battery Voltage

My 2005 FJR 1300 (that I just bought a month ago) came with a voltage meter but it's not fully functional. The LCD display flickers on and off, so I've ordered a new one. What I noticed before it completely died the other day, was that it seemed to fluctuate between 12v and 23v.

What I'm wondering is... what's a valid voltage range? If the 23v is not normal, maybe it was just part of the LCD display malfunctioning...? Thanks in advance for any input or thoughts.

Apologies for the duplicate post.

12V is flat, anything below is trouble if it stays that low. 10V or below could be a damaged battery, only charging and doing a load test will tell.

12.8V is fully charged. Some may show a slightly higher voltage .... maybe 13V for a while, that's okay.

Running engine, no electrical extras ... Should read around 14.2V to 14.5V. Much more than that and the regulator is suspect (and it will fry the battery).

As you increase the electrical load, the voltage will drop. As long as it remains above 13V the battery is still charging, albeit slowly. You can dip below 13V for a while, but then the battery is discharging, so turn things off asap.

This all depends on a good voltmeter connected across the battery with as few connections as possible.

FJR electrics run on 12V negative ground just like your car. Normal resting voltage for a fully charged battery is in mid to high 12's with high 13's to 14 volts with the bike running at speed.

When running a lot of electrical extras, watch the volt meter and keep it above 12.8 ish so you don't discharge the battery. Your 23 volt reading is definitely not right. Probably flaky due to the device going bad.

--G

Wow! I'm a newbie to this forum (and forums in general) and am surprisingly happy with the quick resposes and wealth of knowledge. Thanks!

A 12 volt lead acid battery has six cells, each generates 2.2volts when charged. 6x2.2= 13.2volts

Your charging system should maintain battery voltage at 13.2 volts.

The Gen I tech manual specifies unregulated voltage at 14.1-14.9 volts

The Gen III tech manual specifies regulated voltage at 14.3-14.7 volts.

When diagnosing problems I was taught that the first thing to check is battery voltage. I get concerned on any vehicle if the battery voltage is below 13.2 volts.

Thanks everyone! I replaced the voltage meter and it's working like a charm now. The LCD screen was bad which was causing the crazy fluctuation between 12v and 23v. All is good now in my FJR world...