Charging system with bad battery

[Fuser]

Okay so I picked up my new project bike ('75 that had been sitting 5-6 years) a couple weeks ago and I've been sorting it out bit by bit. I put off buying anything including a new battery until I could go through the carbs and fix the hack job wiring. When I picked up the bike I was told that it wasn't charging and my first thought was that I was going to need to drop some dollar on a PMA swap but tonight I traced down yet another wiring issue.

The bike has been stripped down to effectively a chopper harness with 2 switches. Switch one turns on the ignition system and switch two turns on both the headlight/tail light AND the charging system (at least the voltage regulator portion of it).

I think this is why the bike wasn't charging.

Anyway, with the lighting on and the bike running at idle I had a whopping 8.6V and when rev'd my voltmeter read 13.5V. My question is, do these sound like acceptable numbers considering the battery is shot? I just want to make sure that this sounds about right before I order a battery and wire to build a new harness.

Thanks a ton!

 

[xjwmx]

When you rev it the voltage goes up, so it sounds like charging is basically working. You can get a new battery at auto parts stores, no need to order. People have had bad experiences with Walmart batteries. Even if charging isn't working, you can't do much diagnosing without a good battery, so you need one anyway.

 

[Fuser]

Thanks xjwmx. I was pretty sure it was time to buy one and I appreciate the confirmation. I'll be picking up a maintenance free battery this week.