'68 dream loses charge quickly

[DeaneKY]

Just like the subject says. I'm an imbicile when it comes to electrics, so don't worry about talking down to me. The electric start is strong when the battery's fully charged. Electric start is useless below 11.4v, but still starts 1st or 2nd kick. Anything in the low 11v's and I'm kicking like a mad man. It'll start but dies shortly thereafter (no accessories on). That's not unusual I'm guessing. The problem is how quickly the battery loses charge.

After sitting for a week, charge was 10.8v. Trickle charged up to 11.9, fired right up, rode up and down my yard a couple times. 3 hours of sitting and I'm kicking like crazy again. Starts twice, but dies right after. Multimeter reads 9.63v...whaaa?! Trickle charging now.

So, before ordering a new battery, what should I look for and how should I test it? Test light? Grounds? Any common issues? The horn doesn't seem to work, but that's the only electrical issue I've noticed. Only had the bike less than a month. Can't wait to ride without fear of being stranded at the gas station, work, or worse yet, have it die at an intersection. I'll continue to search the forums, but any advice here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[LOUD MOUSE]

How old is the battery.
Why didn't ya give a location where ya at when ya joined this forum? . ...............lm

Just like the subject says. I'm an imbicile when it comes to electrics, so don't worry about talking down to me. The electric start is strong when the battery's fully charged. Electric start is useless below 11.4v, but still starts 1st or 2nd kick. Anything in the low 11v's and I'm kicking like a mad man. It'll start but dies shortly thereafter (no accessories on). That's not unusual I'm guessing. The problem is how quickly the battery loses charge.

After sitting for a week, charge was 10.8v. Trickle charged up to 11.9, fired right up, rode up and down my yard a couple times. 3 hours of sitting and I'm kicking like crazy again. Starts twice, but dies right after. Multimeter reads 9.63v...whaaa?! Trickle charging now.

So, before ordering a new battery, what should I look for and how should I test it? Test light? Grounds? Any common issues? The horn doesn't seem to work, but that's the only electrical issue I've noticed. Only had the bike less than a month. Can't wait to ride without fear of being stranded at the gas station, work, or worse yet, have it die at an intersection. I'll continue to search the forums, but any advice here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[DeaneKY]

I sorta sped through the registration. I'll add that location. I'm in southeastern KY. Not sure how old the battery is, though it looks fairly new. I'm ordering a new one. Which is correct - the one I have now (12n9-4b-1) or what I see come up more commonly in searches (12n9-3a)?

[LOUD MOUSE]

Thank you for adding the location info.
Ya may find someone on the forum lives near ya.
Lets hope a new batt will get ya going. ........lm

I sorta sped through the registration. I'll add that location. I'm in southeastern KY. Not sure how old the battery is, though it looks fairly new. I'm ordering a new one. Which is correct - the one I have now (12n9-4b-1) or what I see come up more commonly in searches (12n9-3a)?

[e3steve]

Sounds like the charging system "isn't". After fully* charging the battery try to get it running and check the voltage at the batt terminals whilst at around 2-3000rpm; you should see circa 12.5 - 13V within a short space of time after starting.

It also sounds like the battery has been left to sulphate within the cells and isn't holding its charge for long. If you need a new battery, this one is worth checking out.

*Your part# denotes a 9Ah batt, therefore if your trickle charger is 500mA (0.5A) then a full charge (from zero) would be attained in 18 hours (9÷0.5). Standard fitment for a Dream (touring) should be 11Ah for most markets(?) (allowing for winker support, which the US models didn't get), but a 9Ah should be fine with a healthy charging system.

[DeaneKY]

Well, I thought the new battery would solve the problem. Charged up nicely, sat overnight, at 12.6v. Used the electric start due to a rare hard start yesterday morning (suspected blown head gasket I didn't detect until a few minutes ago). Rode about 45 miles, made a couple quick stops, battery was at 12.2v. Rode another 30+miles, battery still at 12.2v. Rode another 75 miles back, battery still over 12v. Sat overnight, and this morning took 2 kicks to start, battery back down to 11.8v. So, the battery seems to be staying charged just fine on long rides at 50-60mph, but let it set, and the battery drains.

I always use the kick start instead of the electric start (except for the isolated incident mentioned earlier), and don't use the lights or leave the key in the ignition. A cursory glance revealed no frayed wires or bad grounds. So, any clues about what I should check first? Again, don't feel bad for talking to me like a 5 year old. I hardly know a thing about electrics, but I'm trying to learn. Thanks!

[Wilf]

I wonder if your rectifier is leaking--allowing a small current to flow backwards through it? After bringing the battery to full charge, you might try removing the positive connection at the battery and inserting an ammeter. With the ignition key off, there should be no current flow.

Wilf