Need some help from Seadoo owners

Six2Life · Jul 7, 2012

Could somebody who owns a VS supercharged or similar model measure the voltage of a fully charged battery and the charger output and let me know what it is?

I am using an aftermarket charger and want to see if it is doing an ok job of charging the battery.

faster7581 · Jul 8, 2012

a charged battery should be around 12.4-12.8 volts... but you need a load tester to check battery condition..

jamesb · Jul 8, 2012

On a 12 volt battery, 12.4 volts after charging with a good charger is scrap.

A proper charger should take several hours to bring a low battery up to about 14 volts, and then drop to 13.2-13.8. If it goes to 15 volts it will cook the battery. If it never goes above 13 the battery won't charge.

The battery should stay at 12.6 to 12.8 for days (actually weeks) after it is removed from the charger.

You need an accurate voltmeter for this.

The battery is rated at 12 amp hours, but that is the 20 hour rating at 1/2 amp discharge.

The charger should be no larger than 2 or 3 amps or it might cook the battery, unless by aftermarket you mean expensive smart charger.

Six2Life · Jul 8, 2012

The battery was about 12.6V when I stuck it on the charger. It wasn't totally dead but pretty close. The charger is rated to put out 13.2V at .5A. When measured with no battery attached the charger produced 13.7V. This is what it brought battery voltage up to after a day or so of charging. The charging current was initially right at .5A and tapered off to only a few mA as the battery reached 13.7V.

My concern is that the battery nameplate gives a standby voltage of 13.6 - 13.8. So according to that I should be good. But it also states a "cycle use" voltage rating of 14.4 - 14.7. So what I'm unsure of is if the battery should be charged to the higher range for full capacity.

jamesb · Jul 8, 2012

Those little batteries don't hold up to scooter use well. That is why the 20 hour discharge rating is silly. You need to load test it, The battery should last 90 minutes at 5 amps before it drops to 10.5 volts, which is where you stop testing or you will damage the battery.....A 55 watt car headlight or 60 watt RV 12 volt bulb will do it.
It is not unusual to see a tired battery only last a few minutes.

Use appropriate material, tools, and care.

Kids, don't do this at home.

Six2Life · Jul 8, 2012

Forget about the battery for now. I need to know if the CHARGER is doing it's job. I don't have a factory charger to compare my charger to, hence the request for information on the performance of the factory charger. There is no point in load testing the battery if it is not receiving a proper charge.

jamesb · Jul 8, 2012

The charger should be 1-3 amps and take several hours to bring a good discharged battery to 14.5 volts and drop back to 13.2-13.8. You can't test open circuit voltage on a charger. If the battery was 12.6 volts it was almost fully charged. Or scrap. Or you need a better meter. You can't forget the battery, you don't really know what a charger is doing with a bad battery. 500 ma is a bit small but should take 12 hours or more to fully charge that battery.

Six2Life · Jul 8, 2012

I'd say the battery was on the charger for just over 24hrs. I know 500mA is pretty low and will take a long time for a charge, but if it works I am ok with it. It has been off the charger for about 12hrs now and I just measured the voltage as 13.14V . So it's close to the 13.2 - 13.8 range you mentioned. Just trying to determine if the charger I have is good enough to keep me from having to spend $70 on a replacement factory charger.

My voltmeter is quality so I don't think it is causing any misreadings.

jamesb · Jul 8, 2012

There is no magic to factory chargers, but cheap ones can ruin a battery by overcharging. Seadoo didn't design the battery, it is commonly used in computer emergency power supplies. Any good 1-3 amp charger will do the job.

Need some help from Seadoo owners

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