still dead

[Guest]

OK I had the rectifier, and stator replaced last year. And I replaced the battery, BUT the dam thing still can't hold a charge. Please, what's next to look at. It doesn't have an origional headlight, Its a square one. Possible problem? Please help.

[Wingnut]

First see if the bike is charging. Put a volt meter on the battery and with the engine running above idle (say 3000) you should see 13.5 or more volts. If that is good then your charging system is good. Is it possible you have something on your bike causing a drain on the battery. That is easy to check for too. Disconnect one battery cable in the shade or dark area. With the key off, gently touch the battery wire to the battery terminal several times and watch very closely. If the bike has a drain on the battery you will see a tiny spark when the wire touches the terminal. Sometimes you can hear a little tic noise. There should be absolutely no spark with the bike off. If you do have a spark that is a problem. Start pulling the fuses one at a time and repeat the battery test until it doesn't spark anymore. At this point you will have at least found the circiut that is giving you a problem.

[Anonymous]

Hello
I ditto everything Bob said and will add another thought or two. Disconnect the battery overnight after it is definatly charged and see how it performs in the morning. If the bike starts up immediatly or if it has a full charge that you measured with a meter, then the battery is obviously ok and you are dealing with a leak. If the battery is now dead, you have found the problem. It may not be the only problem but it most probably is. If you are desperate or disgusted, install a battery switch to prevent the leak from draining the battery presuming that it is a circuit leak and not a bad battery. Myself, I just bought a parts bike today. It appeares to be an 80 or 83 gs 1100 with a Katana motor and an 89 katana 750 front end. It has set back foot controls and three boxes of spare parts. It didnt have any of the pieces I want for my 83 gs 1100 but I bought it anyway because it comes with great Metzeler rubber and cool triple spoke mags, good sprokets and chain ect ect. But I digress. As an industrial electrician I know that your problem like all electrical problems is simple, finding it can be less simple. Look wherever you were last. Could the regulator be leaking back through a defective diode? Go with everything as set out by Bob first.

Don

[earlfor]

Re: still dead

Just becasuse components are new, I do not assume they work. Did you check your stator output after the install? Did you then check your R/R output? Did you do an amp leakage check on your battery when everything is turned off (bike not running)?

to find the probem, you must know what your AC output is in the first place, what the AC to DC conversion rate is and what the battery state is.

Earl

OK I had the rectifier, and stator replaced last year. And I replaced the battery, BUT the dam thing still can't hold a charge. Please, what's next to look at. It doesn't have an origional headlight, Its a square one. Possible problem? Please help.