Is my scoot charging correctly? By scootaway (Read 1,090 times)

[scootaway]

Is my scoot charging ok with the following readings:
Idle 14.49 volts
cruise speed with fan on 13.30 v
cruise speed with fan on as well as headlights 12.26 v.

If this is not really good what suggestions to make it better. I would like to see at least something over 14 with fan and lights on, is it possible?

Something I noticed is that the 14.49 at idle drops to 14.48 when I ref it up to about 4000rpm

[tvnacman]

change over to leds on every light you can . what is the reading your getting at idle with the headlights on and no fan ? and the same on the hwy . If the fan runs for a very short time like 30 seconds and your cruise and or idle charge voltage is over 13.5 I think you should get by . you could always run the engine without headlights while gearing up , this will recharge your battery from sitting and or starting . Then you get to where your going shut the lights off while you remove your gear .

John

[scootaway]

Thanx John I will check that out over the weekend and let you know.

[JR]

All the lights run off of the R/R and don't have anything to do with the strength of the battery while starting it. They run off of the voltage produced by the stator/R/R when starting in fact if you notice they go as the engine goes, while you are turning it over you see dim lights and when it starts they immediately brighten.

Your voltages on this scooter are what to be expected with the 244cc because the stator is smaller/weaker than it's linhai sister.

Change all of your bulbs to LED's and even with the lights and fan on with a good solid battery she'll hold, 13.0Vdc or better.

JR

[scootaway]

John, headlights no fan I read 13.85. JR remember this wiring of my Jonway runs off from the battery as I can have full lights on without engine running

[JR]

Yes I forgot you got the Euro version but still with a full LED conversion you'll gain 0.5 to 0.75Vdc which will keep you over the hump even with the fan and lights on.

JR

[cruiser]

The Euro version does take the blocking diode out of the equation which could cause a lose of .5 volts or more. Like JR says, even with that advantage, you will still need to do all the tricks to help out the charging system.

Looking for more than 14 volts charging with everything running is a stretch for these scoots. You really don't have to have that much voltage to charge the battery. Anything above 13 volts will charge the battery. My scoot will give me at least 13.6 volts with everything on (two 35 watt HID's, fan, and electric fuel pump). 14.2 volts with one headlight off.

I have the original R/R and have done the LED changeover. I also changed the radiator fan to a more efficient model which saved about 2 amps and I also upgraded the charging circuit wiring. I also have 7 watt LED running lights which do not really save much power (1 watt), but they are really bright and could be a backup if you ever lose your headlights. Very noticeable in the daytime. Most people use the 1 watt LED's which could save another 5 watts of power. I just received LED replacements for my dash lights and this will give me another few watts of power saving when installed.

With the above changes and changing over to the original vacuum fuel pump, I might be able to pull over 14 volts with everything running. Really no need at this time.

Some members have upgraded their R/R's by using a unit from Oregon Motorcycle. The main advantage with this is the added reliability and the ability to handle a much higher output than what our scoots can supply. Let us know how things go.

[scootaway]

The one big draw back is that fuel tank in front of the fan. I am pretty sure if we can swap them around the fan will work much less. I am surprised (to my knowledge) that nobody has attempted and published such a swap around.

Many thanx for the input JR, Cruiser and John

[cruiser]

Aug 27, 2012 8:12:14 GMT -6 scootaway said:

The one big draw back is that fuel tank in front of the fan. I am pretty sure if we can swap them around the fan will work much less. I am surprised (to my knowledge) that nobody has attempted and published such a swap around.

Many thanx for the input JR, Cruiser and John

You're welcome, scootaway.

There is no room in front of the gas tank for a radiator/fan system. The main reason is the gas tank. The gas tank used in the Linhai scoots is shaped to allow a radiator setup in front of the tank. It is lower and longer than the 244cc tank. The tank used for the 244cc is the same as the 150cc that uses the same body. No problem with the air cooled 150cc.

I believe the tank in the Linhai scoot will not fit the 244cc because of interference with a frame member at the rear of the tank.

Sooo, the fan running should be no problem with a charging system which is running at peak with all the helper mods. However, this is OK only if the cooling system is happy. The only way I see to improve the cooling is with an additional small radiator like this:

.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1057808" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1057808

[richardthescooter3]

How do I use this volt meter to check my battery?

Attachments:

[scootaway]

Volt meter black wire into COM port and red wire into VMA (center) port. Turn dial to DCV 20. If engine is off you can check the battery strength by touching the red wire to the positive end of the battery + (red cover) and black to the negative - end of the battery. Hopefully the meter will read somewhere close to 13 volts, not less than 12.4 +-. If the engine is running you can do this identical test to see the condition of the charging rate of the charging system and you should see a reading of somewhere to the better side of 13v and if you ref the engine up this reading should climb to over 14v. Hope this helps. This site offers many technical advice and pretty soon the boffins will also reply to your post. Remember to place the scoot on the center stand when you ref it up.

[richardthescooter3]

Thanks scootaway

[cruiser]

Aug 30, 2012 8:58:51 GMT -6 richardthescooter3 said:

How do I use this volt meter to check my battery?

Here's the owner's manual so that you will know all the functions:

manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/98000-98999/98025.pdf

[richardthescooter3]

Thanks cruiser