1982 GS750E Charging/Staring problem

[Blue Hyena]

Began with a new battery....bike starts fine. After warm up, she won't restart with enough juice to restart...after seveal trys...I get the starter clicking sound. ...cranking voltage is 5volts, then 4, etc....down to nothing. I have noticed that the battery voltage slowly declines each day from the day prior. battery Voltage remains at say 12.6volts even at 4000rpms and idle.......is the battery not being charged ?
Should I clean connections from the positive battery cable and work backwards? Should I replace the Rect/Reg first ( where's the best place to get one?)....then if no effect, the Stator?
Thanks in advance .
BH

[tom203]

[QUOTE=Blue Hyena;1282632]Began with a new battery....bike starts fine. After warm up, she won't restart with enough juice to restart...after seveal trys...I get the starter clicking sound. ...cranking voltage is 5volts, then 4, etc....down to nothing. I have noticed that the battery voltage slowly declines each day from the day prior. battery Voltage remains at say 12.6volts even at 4000rpms and idle.......is the battery not being charged ?
Should I clean connections from the positive battery cable and work backwards? Should I replace the Rect/Reg first ( where's the best place to get one?)....then if no effect, the Stator?
Thanks in advance .

You guessed it! Your charging system is not working correctly. Search this forum for stator paper tests ( I'd provide a direct link but my computer skills are marginal ). There's a quick test for the impatient and a thorough test for those who must have it all! Don't buy anything until you determine what's broke.
Cranking a battery to 4 volts is a bad habit- do you have a multi meter to test stuff?

[koolaid_kid]

First, DO NOT replace anything until you know what is the problem. Parts replacement mode is not tolerated on this site.
But seriously, find out what is wrong first.
Start here: http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_garage.htm
Scroll down to the stator papers and start at the beginning. Log any and all errors and report back.

And welcome to the site, BassCliff will be along shortly.

[duaneage]

You probably have a bad RR, maybe a bad stator too since the Regulator can damage the stator if the bike is run for a long time with a bad RR.

I provide Honda RR kits for 45 dollars delivered that are more robust than OEM and operate better as well. I have plenty of inventory and ship immediately.

PM me for ordering detail if you find out you need one.

[Redman]

BH,

Welcome to GSR.

Sounds like you have a meter, since you stated battery voltage of 12.6.

And you say the voltage decreases some every day.
Yep, that sounds like charging system not charging.

The stator papers is a very detailed proceedure for checking lots of things on the charging system and the charging system wiring. But the first step is just a general overall check of the entire systems functioning, and that is to run engine at mid rpms and measure battery voltage, should be high 13s or better yet low 14s, and you say its not, you say its 12.6 (which is probably about what it was before running the bike, right).

Tell us more what you find.

And tell us where you are located.

and.. oh, wait a minute.... You havent posted a picture of bike. Can not give any more advise untill you post picture of bike
(jokeing)

.

[posplayr]

Began with a new battery....bike starts fine. After warm up, she won't restart with enough juice to restart...after seveal trys...I get the starter clicking sound. ...cranking voltage is 5volts, then 4, etc....down to nothing. I have noticed that the battery voltage slowly declines each day from the day prior. battery Voltage remains at say 12.6volts even at 4000rpms and idle.......is the battery not being charged ?
Should I clean connections from the positive battery cable and work backwards? Should I replace the Rect/Reg first ( where's the best place to get one?)....then if no effect, the Stator?
Thanks in advance .
BH

Sounds like you have basically already done a quick test (see linky in my signature). So starting the stator pages you will fail the first section which sends you to check your stator. You should check for shorts and then 80 V at 5K RPM (as per the stator pages).

If the stator fails it has to be replaced; put it back together and see if it works and if not then go back to the R/R.

But yes to answer the question you shoudl always make sure that yur grounds are properly conencted and the connections are clean. Although I shoudl mention clean/dirty connections will not effect the stator openloop voltage tets.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Blue Hyena,

You'll find a link to The Stator Papers in your "mega-welcome". You'll find guides to testing and repairing the charging system on my little website. You'll also find lots more electrical help on the Electrical Odds and Ends page of my website. Your battery needs to "see" around 14.5vDC at 5000 rpm (output from the regulator/rectifier). Your stator needs to output around 70-80vAC at 5000 rpm. All of the electrical connections, fuse box, bulb sockets, etc, need to be checked, cleaned, and/or repaired. Run the ground wire from the r/r directly to the negative terminal of the battery. Make sure all of the frame grounds are clean. If you need a new r/r, Mr. duaneage is a great guy to work with. Check Mr. posplayr's link above for a real education about "GS Charging System Health". Let's get started.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Blue Hyena]

1982 GS750E Charging/Starting

Thanks to all for the solid advice. I'll share my findings after this weekend. Also, will get around to posting a pic of the GS.
Thanks ! BH

[Blue Hyena]

1982 GS750E Charging Starting- changed R/R

Prior to changing here were my voltage readings:
Ignition Off =12.73 volts
Idle = 12.15 volts
4000 RPMs = 12.15 volts


After Changing the R/R, the readings were:
Idle = 13.18
4000 RPMs = 14.47 volts


Am I good to go ?

[spyug]

Sounds like you are back on track. Having said that, I'd still suggest a few things. If you haven't already clean and or replace all electrical connections in the charging circuit. These are always a source of on going issues.

Also, I'd suggest plumbing in a voltage meter to keep an eye on things as you ride around. I use cheap analog meters ment for cars, around $10 or less from stores like Autozone and Harbour Freight (Princess Auto in Canada). I've also gotten digital meters from E-bay resellers that work well.

I completely cleaned and tuned up my charging system a year or so ago and it has been working flawlessly up until my last ride back in June. On that ride I noticed it stopped charging for about 20 minutes but came back to life just before I had to park it for my trip to the emerg re: my bum ticker. As I've been out of comission for the last month and a half recuperating I haven't had the energy to check into it yet but its on the list for winter "maintenance".

The charging issues are common to most all older bikes and I've run across them on 3 of the last 4 that I've refurbed and in my experience a lot of them come down to these corroded and generally nasty connectors. Fresh spades are your friend.

Enjoy the ride.

Cheers and welcome,
spyug

[tom203]

I completely cleaned and tuned up my charging system a year or so ago and it has been working flawlessly up until my last ride back in June. On that ride I noticed it stopped charging for about 20 minutes but came back to life just before I had to park it for my trip to the emerg re: my bum ticker. As I've been out of comission for the last month and a half recuperating I haven't had the energy to check into it yet but its on the list for winter "maintenance".

That's weird to suffer a temporary charging outage! Are you sure your meter just didn't have it's own battery problems? How old is your battery? Standard or AGM type? get healthy!

[Blue Hyena]

Prior to changing here were my voltage readings:
Ignition Off =12.73 volts
Idle = 12.15 volts
4000 RPMs = 12.15 volts


After Changing the R/R, the readings were:
Idle = 13.18
4000 RPMs = 14.47 volts


Am I good to go ?

A week and 30 miles later, my readings are as follows:
Idle = 13.30 volts
4000 RPMs = 15.00 volts


Thanks to All for the solid advice on this Forum.
Thanks,
BH

[tom203]

A week and 30 miles later, my readings are as follows:
Idle = 13.30 volts
4000 RPMs = 15.00 volts


Thanks to All for the solid advice on this Forum.
Thanks,
BH

Sounds slightly high, but let's not be too fussy! What r/r did you get as a replacement? This is a common problem, so others could use your input.

[Blue Hyena]

1982 Suzuki GS750E Electrical R/R

Ordered an Electro Sport