trouble shooting a battery issue for my buddy's RC51. he bought a volt meter so we can see what the battery is doing, but he bought a pretty generic one. It doesn't have a 12 volt setting, just a 9 volt setting. When we plugged it into the battery, the battery showed 12.2 volts, but didn't have enough juice to turn over when we started cranking.

9 Volts selected = 12.2 Volts indicated...

How strong is this battery?

and no, there isn't a gigantic elephant in the way...

 

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......................go buy that right type of tester.

 

yeah i dunno why he bought the 9v. I'm trying to save him some money by becoming a post ***** to see if anyone knows the answer

 

this is what he bought...

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...2345000P?mv=rr

 

How is this related to math?

 

because if you're testing a 12v battery with a 9v tester, isn't there some ratio you can use to figure out what's going on? or would the 12.2v indicated be accurate? it's a brand new battery, but it doesn't have the juice to turn the bike over. it's really weird.

 

Bawhahahahhaha. Thats for testing actual 9v batteries. You turn it to the left to 20v

 

^ lol durrr

20v is going to be the range sort of..

 

haha yeah screw it. this is his problem, not mine

 

LOL, yes, just turn the dial to the 20V setting. Get rid of the crappy Craftsman and go buy a Fluke. EVERY man needs a Fluke meter in his toolbox.

Was the battery pre-charged, or did you have to add the acid yourself? If it wasn't already pre-charged, it's best to add the acid, then charge the battery according to the manual (usually 10-15 hours at 2 amps). Even if it WAS pre-charged, sometimes the dealers only hit them with a little juice.
Have you checked voltage while trying to crank the motor? IIRC, it should be close to 14v or 15v while starting. The battery could read 12.2v at the posts, but still might not be charged enough to provide the power needed to crank the motor.
On a side note: I want a RC51 so bad. I have been scouring eBay and Craigslist for the perfect one.... it's only a matter of time...[8D]