Ducati Diavel Service Manual: Checking the battery charging system

To check the current flow of the recharging circuit, use the "dds" diagnosis instrument, which is equipped with an inductive clamp-type amperemeter: refer to chapter "testing the battery charging system", sect. 6 - 11 With the dds diagnosis instrument you can determine the engine rpm required for the alternator to produce sufficient current to charge the battery, feed the injection/ignition system and all the electrical equipment on the motorcycle. When applied to a cable, the clamp-type amperemeter detects the magnetic field generated by the current passing through that cable.

The tester performs an automatic calibration routine using its own transducer. If the measured current is a positive quantity, it means that generator is feeding all electric items and charging battery at the same time. A negative value means that charging system is not powering the loads and a significant amount of current must be supplied by the battery, which is discharging at the time of the measurement.

Or it is possible to use a multimeter (sect. 6 -11, Diagnostic instruments); connect the multimeter probes to the battery terminals, select the dc scale on the instrument and check for the presence of 14.5 V+/-0.5 At an engine speed of 3000 rpm.

Important

If polarity is reversed when clamping the ammeter onto the cable, the sign of the readings will also be reversed, giving rise to incorrect diagnosis.