Leakage path to ground

mike in idaho · Post by **mike in idaho** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 2:05 pm

If you're really worried about voltage drain you could wire a 5 pole relay in the wire between the podtronics output wire and the battery terminal. Wire the trigger connection of the relay to the ignition coil circuit, then it will be isolated from the battery whenever the key is off. Hook the battery lead to #30 and the podtronics wire to #87. Terminal #87a (normally closed)will have battery voltage with the key off, that would be a handy place to plug in a lead for a battery tender hookup.

revlover · Post by **revlover** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 3:51 pm

The relay seems like the most economical fix and you still will retain the podtronics rect/reg you already bought. I was also thinking of the kohler unit too. Has anyone here experienced leakage with it?

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 4:43 pm

I agree Mike that a relay of the proper rating would mitigate any concerns over the switch not being able to tolerate the load.

Regarding the Kohler rect/reg, I have two lawn tractors with Kohler engines. Both are '97 models. I've never had a battery drain down on me. I get about 8 years out of a lawn tractor battery, maybe more. I think I'm on my 2nd battery on both tractors. Just had the one at home die so that will make 3 on that one in 18 years of operation. My guess is they don't leak to ground.

I'll take a look tomorrow and see if the regulator is in plain sight. If so, I'll test it for leakage.

regards,
Rob

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:02 pm

Measured my Kohler rect/reg on my tractor. I get 43Kohms to ground on the Battery terminal.

So, this equates to about a 0.2ma current draw on the battery. Not huge, but a drain nonetheless.

Looking at the wiring diagram, the regulator on the tractor is connected to BAT+ thru the ignition switch. When the tractor ignition is OFF, the battery is isolated.

Now I'm wondering if the Tympanium on my BSA has a leakage path to ground. It uses the same size battery as my CLL77.

Looking at the Podtronics installation instructions, they do show it being connected directly to the battery. I wonder how many riders with vintage Brit bikes find that they are finding low batteries for no apparent reason.

I sent my Pod back to the distributor with a description of my findings. We'll see what he says.

regards,
Rob