free website stats program voltage gauge | Harley Davidson Forums

voltage gauge

reme

New Member
I have a 2010 ultra classic. I was riding the other day and looked down and my volt gauge was reading 12 volts at idle. gave some throttle and wen't back to 14volts. cruising it it at 14volts. no starting issuse lights don't go dim when gauge is at 12 volt's should i be concernd or is these normal.
 
Up to 14.5 volts at the highest would be normal as the engine slows down so does the charging system producing less volts at idle
So pretty well normal

Brian
 
12 volts at idle isn't far away from where it should be. Remember on that bike the drain of all the lights will pull the reading down just at idle too.
 
I have a 2010 ultra classic. I was riding the other day and looked down and my volt gauge was reading 12 volts at idle. gave some throttle and wen't back to 14volts. cruising it it at 14volts. no starting issuse lights don't go dim when gauge is at 12 volt's should i be concernd or is these normal.

Your bike has EITMS, so depending how long you were idling, the engine may have gone into heat management. Not sure what happens to the charging system in that situation.

TQ
 
First, I wouldn't be concerned with 12 volts at idle. Second, hard to get a precise read with the voltmeter on the bike.

I'd check it with a digital voltmeter, if I was really concerned.
 
First, I wouldn't be concerned with 12 volts at idle. Second, hard to get a precise read with the voltmeter on the bike.

I'd check it with a digital voltmeter, if I was really concerned.

I agree with you 100% about the meter used. Forget the dash gauge as being accurate and use a quality handheld multimeter.

The part about 12.0 volts at idle is true for a 2001 that has a single phase stator (your Avatar). But with the new 3 phase systems, idle voltage is quite high. I actually have 14.0 volts at idle which surprised me the 1st time I measured it. I was not expecting that at 1000 RPM but my Dyna does not have touring current drain.
 
Wow Hoople... 14V at idle? That's something else... but, like you said, you don't have the same current drain.

It's funny... we all know that we can't trust the gas gauge or (on touring bikes) the air temperature gauge... yet, we expect the voltage gauge to be spot on. Honestly, it's a shame that Harley can't get it right for the money they charge.

:)
 
my '10 does thes same thing going up to almost 16 volts when engine is at 2500. since i keep the battery on charge for the parasitic draw, i'm not worried. just hard to believe the gauges are this far off. my '01 rk does dim the lights at a stop but it has all the lights of the classic plus some. no issues here either.
 
my '10 does thes same thing going up to almost 16 volts when engine is at 2500. since i keep the battery on charge for the parasitic draw, i'm not worried. just hard to believe the gauges are this far off. my '01 rk does dim the lights at a stop but it has all the lights of the classic plus some. no issues here either.


You may want to verify that voltage at the battery with a meter before you cook the battery if it's accurate voltage reading or not.
 
Back
Top