Charging system question/issue

[earlfor]

We'll get ya fixed. Its just going to take a little hunting and pecking. :-)

Earl

Excellant! Steps an idiot like me can understand. I will follow those steps this weekend. I have already tightened the wire at the starter and the ground at the trans is also good, I checked that the other day as you had instructed.

Thanks to all of you for help, I'll get back with the results.

[Anonymous]

Back agian. earlfor, I performed the tests you had outlined for me and I believe you are correct that the R/R is toast. I hooked the battery to the charger and charge it to 13 volts. I didn't have to wait long before it fell below 12.8, it did this in less than 15 minutes, icould see it going down like a clock doing a count down..

I then bought a new battery, started the bike and tested at the battery while the bike was at 5000 rpms. It measured around 12.85 or so. The longer I let it run at 5000 rpms the more it went up, but after about 20 - 30 secconds it still hadn't reached 13 volts yet. Was there a certain amount of time I should have ran this test for, or should it have been at atleast 14 volts right from the start?

Anyway, at that point I tested the stator. I pulled the connections loose as you had said. I identified the wires, in my case there was one yellow, and a couple of white with different color stripes on them, one was a green stripe, the other I can't remember for sure right now, maybe blue. I got over 80 volts at each of the three tests.

So I think this indicates that my stator is ok, as it is putting out enough volts at all phases, but my R/R must be shot because those volts aren't making it to the battery, at least the 14.0 - 15.5 that should be.

Am I correct?

[earlfor]

You are right on. Your stator is good, the AC voltage output is fine. The R/R is not rectifying it. The new battery solves part of your problem in that the old one would not hold a charge. (dont charge a cycle battery at more than a 2 amp rate) Its not a good idea to start a bike with a battery charger on boost. The increased voltage could have been the reason for your R/R's demise.....cant be sure though. Also, when charging the bike battery, disconnect it from the bike. As an alternative, you can remove the red DC R/R wire from its connection to the battery. That way, your charging system (stator and R/R) are not subject to the charging current. At a 2 amp rate, it is probably not necessary to do this, but I do because I dont want to take any risk whatsoever of cooking my stator or R/R. Costs too much to keep replacing them. :-)

The R/R should output something between 14.2 and 14.8 at 5k rpm. 14.5 to 14.8 is average. Yes, you need a new R/R Some people have had good luck with used R/R's off ebay or otherwise, but I am not one of them. :-) I've always been a diehard Electrex guy, but since the company has changed hands, it appears (from various posts) that there may now be a problem with their quality control. Consequently, I recently replaced the R/R on my 1150 with a Ricks R/R. Also, cycle recycle carrries various R/R's at a decent price. Additionally, I havent heard any negative feedback from those using Honda R/R's. That may be a alternative also. Cycle recycle also carries the Honda part. You can find them at

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/

Then there's bike bandit, Dennis Kirk, Ron Ayers, etc.

Earl

Anyway, at that point I tested the stator. I pulled the connections loose as you had said. I identified the wires, in my case there was one yellow, and a couple of white with different color stripes on them, one was a green stripe, the other I can't remember for sure right now, maybe blue. I got over 80 volts at each of the three tests.

So I think this indicates that my stator is ok, as it is putting out enough volts at all phases, but my R/R must be shot because those volts aren't making it to the battery, at least the 14.0 - 15.5 that should be.

Am I correct?

[Anonymous]

Well, one way or the other I'm going pick up an R/R. I'll let you know how it turns out after I install it.

Thanks for all your help and patience. I was ready to just give up on this at one point, glad I didn't.

Thanks again!

[earlfor]

Nah, dont give up. Just keep pecking away at it. :-) :-) If you run into any more bugs, post a yell. No matter what has happened, there will always be someone here that has been there, done that and can help you out.

Earl

Well, one way or the other I'm going pick up an R/R. I'll let you know how it turns out after I install it.

Thanks for all your help and patience. I was ready to just give up on this at one point, glad I didn't.

Thanks again!

[duaneage]

Actually, if there is more resistance, there will be less current flow, and likely less heating, depending on the mechanism by which resistance has increased. A short is a circuit that doesn't pass through whatever it was intended to pass through, but instead goes directly to ground. An internal short in the battery will cause high current flow in the charging system, stealing output from the lights, coils etc., while heating the wire to the battery. The way to test if this is the problem, is to assess the load that the battery puts on a charger.

Not necessarily. A LOT of resistance will lower current flow, but it is the resistance that generates heat in a circuit

Because....

You have to consider the dead short on the other side of the resistance. In a circuit with absolutely no resistance there will be no heat across it.

What causes problems in connectors is the resistance from poor connections, this leads to heat in the connector and further deterioration.

Consider the TOTAL amount of resistance from beginning to end. The resistance from oxidized wire and bad connections get trapped in a circuit with a short or bad battery and you have a small fire

[Anonymous]

Lets imagine a wire going from a battery to a head light and from the head light back to the battery through ground. If there is a bad connection in the wire from battery to head light or on its return trip to the battery, heat will be given off by the bad connection as well as the headlight but the total heat (watts) given off by both will be less in total than if the bad connection was not there at all. The headlight is designed to radiate heat and is very good at it but the bad connection is not. I to think that the battery is suspect. It could be trickle charged, left to sit for a while then tested for voltage.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, 3phase. Well put.

[Anonymous]

Changed the R/R and so far, so good! Thanks to All! I have another question, but I'll open a new thread for that one.

[earlfor]

Cheers! :-) :-)

Earl

Changed the R/R and so far, so good! Thanks to All! I have another question, but I'll open a new thread for that one.