Rectifier/Charging Qurestions

[TPL]

12.7V at idle and you are drawing on battery and not charging, If your going to keep your rides close to home then try it as it is and see. All the voltages you show are too low IMO.

[Rocketman]

I agree. I'd like to see 14-14.2. Hitting Ebay this week for a replacement rr. Just wondering..I have a 5 wire rr now:
solid yellow to stator
white/blue stripe to stator
solid red (+)
White/black stripe (-)
White/Red Stripe ???????

Anybody know where this wire goes to?

[BassCliff]

I agree. I'd like to see 14-14.2. Hitting Ebay this week for a replacement rr. Just wondering..I have a 5 wire rr now:
solid yellow to stator
white/blue stripe to stator
solid red (+)
White/black stripe (-)
White/Red Stripe ???????

Anybody know where this wire goes to?

Hi,

It sounds like you still have the loop of wire to the (probably non-existent) headlight switch still in the circuit. The headlight switch would remove one phase of the stator when the headlight was turned off. This supposedly prevented over-charging the battery. You can take those wires out of the circuit and connect the three "yellow" output wires from the stator directly to the input wires of the r/r unit. See the stator replacement and R/R replacement guides on my website. This is explained in the Stator Papers too.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[refeicul]

well to test most of today's battery's you can get a gravity tester for your battery from an auto parts store they are about 2$. Now IF your r/r is bad i just replaced mine with a ricks electrosport r/r for not that much

[Rocketman]

Before I pull the plug for an Electrosport (or any r/r), I just want to run this by you to see if its time.

Digital multitester plugged on battery posts.. original/oem setup first, and 2nd numbers with red r/r unplugged and by-passed directly to the battery (+) using an in-line 20 amp fuse...

............BEFORE ..........AFTER
Initial idle 13.37v ....... 12.90v
2500 rpm 14.03v ...... 13.28v
5000 rpm 13.89v ...... 13.40v

Seems when I did the by-pass to eliminate possible (+) side corrosion, the readings went down. Why?

Next, I tried the positive lead voltage drop as instructed using the r/r red output wire, etc. Multimeter started at only 4.1v at idle. When I opened throttle to 5000 rpm, it increased to 14.9v for about 5 seconds, then went back down to 4.1v for another 5 seconds, then back up to 14.9, etc., etc. and continued this cycle. Is this telling me anything significant?

[TPL]

Before I pull the plug for an Electrosport (or any r/r), I just want to run this by you to see if its time.

Digital multitester plugged on battery posts.. original/oem setup first, and 2nd numbers with red r/r unplugged and by-passed directly to the battery (+) using an in-line 20 amp fuse...

............BEFORE ..........AFTER
Initial idle 13.37v ....... 12.90v
2500 rpm 14.03v ...... 13.28v
5000 rpm 13.89v ...... 13.40v

Seems when I did the by-pass to eliminate possible (+) side corrosion, the readings went down. Why?

Next, I tried the positive lead voltage drop as instructed using the r/r red output wire, etc. Multimeter started at only 4.1v at idle. When I opened throttle to 5000 rpm, it increased to 14.9v for about 5 seconds, then went back down to 4.1v for another 5 seconds, then back up to 14.9, etc., etc. and continued this cycle. Is this telling me anything significant?

Your R/R is shot, as is mine. FH012AA mosfet simple.... Gray connectors get the stator wires, black connectors to the battery. I have one on order as well as a new stator.

[posplayr]

Before I pull the plug for an Electrosport (or any r/r), I just want to run this by you to see if its time.

Digital multitester plugged on battery posts.. original/oem setup first, and 2nd numbers with red r/r unplugged and by-passed directly to the battery (+) using an in-line 20 amp fuse...

............BEFORE ..........AFTER
Initial idle 13.37v ....... 12.90v
2500 rpm 14.03v ...... 13.28v
5000 rpm 13.89v ...... 13.40v

Seems when I did the by-pass to eliminate possible (+) side corrosion, the readings went down. Why?

Next, I tried the positive lead voltage drop as instructed using the r/r red output wire, etc. Multimeter started at only 4.1v at idle. When I opened throttle to 5000 rpm, it increased to 14.9v for about 5 seconds, then went back down to 4.1v for another 5 seconds, then back up to 14.9, etc., etc. and continued this cycle. Is this telling me anything significant?

What you should have seen is either no change between the BEFORE and the AFTER or a slight increase in voltage.

If you are measuring from the R/R(+) plug to the Battery (+) you should be seeing less than 0.2V no more than 0.75 volts at 5000 RPM.

Something sound very fishy with (+) side voltage drop measurements; untill they make more sense it is hard to conclude anything.

Did the voltages go back up after restoring the original R/R? It is possibel the stator is dying in which case you would not be able to go back to the better volatges. Regardless the huge drops you are seeing don't make much sense.

[posplayr]

Your R/R is shot, as is mine. FH012AA mosfet simple.... Gray connectors get the stator wires, black connectors to the battery. I have one on order as well as a new stator.

That pic is a bit simplified, it doesnt show the frame ground or harness ground. The positive side is only one way to connect the R/R.

[Rocketman]

What you should have seen is either no change between the BEFORE and the AFTER or a slight increase in voltage.

I agree and that's what I was hoping for by bypassing the hot lead through the harness and going direct to the battery (+), but everything went backwards. Used similar guage wire as the stock rr+, and thought it was the 20amp in-line fuse, but I doubt that had any impact.

Did the voltages go back up after restoring the original R/R?

Yes. Everything returned to normal after I re-plugged the red wire back into the original harness plug.

If you are measuring from the R/R(+) plug to the Battery (+) you should be seeing less than 0.2V no more than 0.75 volts at 5000 RPM.

This confuses me, and I apologize again. But what exactly am I comparing the .2 to .75v drop to? Is it a before and after comparision, comparing the stock volts at 5,000 rpm, to the new volts with the multimeter connected to the rr(+), or is it the volts at idle vs. the volts at 5,000 rpm with the meter installed? And why the heck am I getting this cycling fluctuation between 4.1 and 14.9v? Is this test supposed to result in a steady voltage read out?

[TPL]

That pic is a bit simplified, it doesnt show the frame ground or harness ground. The positive side is only one way to connect the R/R.

Yes, it is just intended for connection points to the mosfet R/R

I intend to ground as you have shown in your thread, I am also taking your advice to solder in stead of connect.

Now what about the positive side, why any other way?

[posplayr]

I agree and that's what I was hoping for by bypassing the hot lead through the harness and going direct to the battery (+), but everything went backwards. Used similar guage wire as the stock rr+, and thought it was the 20amp in-line fuse, but I doubt that had any impact.



Yes. Everything returned to normal after I re-plugged the red wire back into the original harness plug.



This confuses me, and I apologize again. But what exactly am I comparing the .2 to .75v drop to? Is it a before and after comparision, comparing the stock volts at 5,000 rpm, to the new volts with the multimeter connected to the rr(+), or is it the volts at idle vs. the volts at 5,000 rpm with the meter installed? And why the heck am I getting this cycling fluctuation between 4.1 and 14.9v? Is this test supposed to result in a steady voltage read out?

see attached for better explanation, there are alot of crimps between the R/R(+) and the battery(+). That is why alot of people opt to just run a direct wire between R/R and battery. It changes the current flow though.

[Rocketman]

I think my bike and I are feeling much better today. I spent the last two days replacing wire ends and connectors, pulled off the main ground wire and cleaned both ends of it up on a wire wheel. Cleaned and polished most every (+) and (-) connector I could reach involved with the charging system. I'm still going to solder the fuse box wires and replace all the fuses later, but for now, I think the new numbers sound OK:

Bike off with full charge.....13.03v
Lights on for 15 seconds ...12.40v
Initial Idle ......................12.85v
2500 rpm .......................14.13v
4000 rpm .......................14.00v
5000 rpm .......................14.00v
Final Idle ...................... 13.45v

These numbers seem improved over the previous ones, the battery will be charging better, so I think I am good to go. Will most likely replace the R/R anyway, as a 30 year old stock r/r could be questionable, but at least the urgency is out of the way.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice, and good talking to Duane. Who would have thought any one head could have such a wealth of electrical information?

We'll talk again.
Larry

[posplayr]

I think my bike and I are feeling much better today. I spent the last two days replacing wire ends and connectors, pulled off the main ground wire and cleaned both ends of it up on a wire wheel. Cleaned and polished most every (+) and (-) connector I could reach involved with the charging system. I'm still going to solder the fuse box wires and replace all the fuses later, but for now, I think the new numbers sound OK:

Bike off with full charge.....13.03v
Lights on for 15 seconds ...12.40v
Initial Idle ......................12.85v
2500 rpm .......................14.13v
4000 rpm .......................14.00v
5000 rpm .......................14.00v
Final Idle ...................... 13.45v

These numbers seem improved over the previous ones, the battery will be charging better, so I think I am good to go. Will most likely replace the R/R anyway, as a 30 year old stock r/r could be questionable, but at least the urgency is out of the way.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice, and good talking to Duane. Who would have thought any one head could have such a wealth of electrical information?

We'll talk again.
Larry

Well it looks marginal, and you maybe revising it in 6 months. The Quick Test is to help in diagnosis not as a final checkout.

You should measure the voltage drops as shown here.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1427966&postcount=26

[Rocketman]

I tried running a direct lead with a 20 amp fuse from the RR+ to the battery + to eliminate any potential voltage drops on that leg, and my voltage readings went down instead of up. No explanations were given as to how that could happen. So, trust me, I am taking your advice, but the results are confusing.

[posplayr]

I tried running a direct lead with a 20 amp fuse from the RR+ to the battery + to eliminate any potential voltage drops on that leg, and my voltage readings went down instead of up. No explanations were given as to how that could happen. So, trust me, I am taking your advice, but the results are confusing.

Did you measure the voltage drop? That is the only feasilble way of measuring how good your R/R to battery connections are.

As you might have sensed, I did not particularly like those R/R connections (you new connections) but the test above would be an nonsubjective discriminator.