Charging issue (Stumped)

[TiggerKZN]

Morning all, i hope you are well.

So...
Last night i replaced my R/R as the original was faulty. Also installed a new battery same time.
Started the bike, tested 10.8v at the battery @ idle. Revved to 3000 and tested 7.8v
Took the bike around the block and it wont rev past 4500.

Tested R/R and stator as per the stator papers and all checks out.

Was told: 3x yellow wires to stator, black to - and red to +

Please help.
TIA

This is the R/R I installed.

 

[2BRacing]

Hi TiggerKZN

I am not an electrical expert, but have spent hours reading posts here by member Posplayr, who has links to all the info in his signature.

Just a few comments from reading your post:

1) even though a battery is "new", it should still be charged for 24 to 48 hours before installing it. It is best to use a modern "smart" charger like a CTEK and not an older "non-smart" charger.

2) with a new battery, your voltage readings are so low that I mistrust your voltmeter. Make sure it measures accurately by comparing the readings with another known good voltmeter.

3) do the Quick Test as linked in member Posplayr's signature, starting with a fully charged battery again, and report all the readings here.

4) I see that you have found the Stator Papers and done the tests and say your stator and R/R "check out". That cannot be completely correct if you are really only getting 7.8V at 3000 rpm. Disconnect the 3 wires from the stator to the R/R and measure the AC volts between all 3 stator wires at 5000 rpm and report the readings here. Also measure the AC voltage between the 3 stator wires and a good engine earth point at 5000 rpm and report the readings here.

5) if your voltage readings are truly so low, you appear to have serious high resistance problems at your wiring connectors. Clean all the connections as described by member Posplayr.

6) remove the headlight switch wire loop from the third wire of the stator if you have not already done so, and connect the 3 stator wires directly to the R/R. Not sure why you bought that particular new R/R, when a huge number of posts here recommends the SH775 series type, with explanations as to why this type of R/R is better than the shunt type of R/R which you have bought.

7) implement the Single Point Ground (SPG) wiring system as described by member Posplayr.

You may ask why I am recommending all these steps above? On my GS850G which I have always kept inside and babied since new, the voltages as per the Quick Test were about 2 to 3 volts too low. So last year, for the first time EVER, I looked at the bullet connectors from the stator wires to the R/R, and found them heat damaged (no surprise really!). I cut off the bullet connectors and crimped on spade terminals with a good open-barrel terminal crimper, connecting the 3 stator wires directly to the R/R without going through the headlight loop on the one stator wire. I added the two extra earth wires as per Posplayr's SPG schematics, and cleaned up all the connections at the fuse box and all connectors. Guess what? Charging voltage immediately back to where it should be! So as a total electrical noob, I just followed the often repeated instructions here on GSR and read (and re-read many times) Posplayr's posts and achieved the desired results.

Although I have sourced a SH775 R/R, it was not installed at the same time I did the above. I intend to install the SH775 during my winter maintenance in a few months time.

Hope you have similar success!

 

[Brendan W]

What symptoms were with the original fault and have you checked that the stator didn't get damaged.
Check for no continuity between phases and no continuity between each phase and ground (side casing).
With the bike running and the stator disconnected from the r/r you should be getting up to 80 V ac between the stator legs, 1-2, 1-3 & 2-3.
These are no load tests may not reveal issues that surface once the stator is loaded up.
What exactly are the red and black connected to?

 

[posplayr]

Morning all, i hope you are well.

So...
Last night i replaced my R/R as the original was faulty. Also installed a new battery same time.
Started the bike, tested 10.8v at the battery @ idle. Revved to 3000 and tested 7.8v
Took the bike around the block and it wont rev past 4500.

Tested R/R and stator as per the stator papers and all checks out.

Was told: 3x yellow wires to stator, black to - and red to +

Please help.
TIA

This is the R/R I installed.
View attachment 54568

Something seems to be dragging your battery down.

Normally I do a "Quick Test" (see link in my signature) step one checks if the battery is OK.

You did not list your voltages and don't know if you did the leg ground test in Phase B, but at this point, it doesn't matter. You have so something more fundamental wrong with the low battery.

That R/R (cheap shunt ) is likely going to give you problems.

 

[Steve]

Nobody else has asked yet, so I will, ... what bike are we discussing?

The principles are the same for all bikes, but there are detail differences between the years and models.

Also consider adding that to your signature. Does not have to be fancy. Look at Brendan W's signature, just a bike. 2B Racing has just a bit more. I am probably at the other extreme, with links to pictures, but it's nice to see what bike we would be discussing.

By the way, thanks for at least providing your location. THAT helps a lot, too, as we won't be recommending the breakers down the street from us as a place for you to visit.

.

 

[argonsagas]

As others have said, a new battery does not come fully charged, and should be brought up to full charge before installation in the bike (or any other vehicle)

Yes, right out of the box they do sometimes have enough power to start an engine, but the very low voltage reading you show coupled with the inability of the engine to rev (which is expected when voltage is low) says you have A:very poor connections B: you have something drawing too much current from the battery, or C: the charging system is defective. I would strongly recommend you make a supplementary ground connection between the battery and frame and ensure the R/R is properly grounded, as well as corrosion is very common, and it can be your electrical system's worst enemy.

Re-run the stator and R/R checks as Brendan suggested . This is particularly important because if there is a short somewhere it can damage either or both of these parts. whether they are new or old.


If the checks show they are still OK, then look at both poor connections and possible short, as it appears that the charging system is not getting its new supply to the battery so the bike is running on battery power, and not the system power.

 

[Redman]

First, before get to charging problem, the battery voltage is way low, battery needs to be charged. Preferably with a maintainer charger (1 amp or less) for a good 12 hours at least (till green lite comes on solid).

as far as your charging system, either it is entirely not working and/or is not connected.
tell us specifically where the red and black wire are connected.
If you want to say black wire is “grounded” you will need to be more specific. If you say is grounded at the solenoid mounting bolt... well, you may find that is not actually a good ground. But for now, just tell us where you have connected the red and the black wire.

Are you you saying you have changed r/r and no improvement.....?
what test did you originally do on the stator and r/r and what results caused you to condem the r/r.......?

and now what stator paper test have you done and what results...?

 

[hillsy]

That R/R (cheap shunt ) is likely going to give you problems.

I was going to say that looks like a $5 Chinese job.

 

[posplayr]

I was going to say that looks like a $5 Chinese job.

The absolute cheapest. Used costs more than that.