Gremlins

[Anonymous]

Had a friend come over to check electrics in bike to see what was causing it to ride less than 5 miles and start losing powewr. Couldn't find anything wrong, checked battery and charging system at battery putting out right at 14 volts when running,turned bike off left all electrics on for about 15 or 20 minutes battery only dropped to 11.7. Seems battery is strong...took for a number of short rides nothing happened.... :? :?

[earlfor]

Re: Gremlins

11.7 volts is a dead battery. A fully charged battery should read 12.6 to 12.8. A charging voltage of 14 is too low. The design point voltage of the R/R is 14.7. A charge rate of 14.5 to 14.8 is the normally acceptable range.
The charging rate should be measured with the bike running at 5000-5500 rpm. Also, disconnect the three yellow wire leads from your stator at the point they connect to your R/R. Measure the stator AC voltage between the three stator phases. At 5000-5500 rpm, you must have 80 volts AC on each phase. If you do not, you will have 14+ volts DC charging current coming out of the R/R, but you will not have the amperage to keep the battery charged.

Earl

Had a friend come over to check electrics in bike to see what was causing it to ride less than 5 miles and start losing powewr. Couldn't find anything wrong, checked battery and charging system at battery putting out right at 14 volts when running,turned bike off left all electrics on for about 15 or 20 minutes battery only dropped to 11.7. Seems battery is strong...took for a number of short rides nothing happened.... :? :?

[redliner1973]

If you left the battery ON without the bike running, for 20 minutes, and your battery was reading 11.7v, I would think your charging system was doing it's job. MC batteries do not have much reserve. However, Earl is right about the charging Voltage, slightly low. Most likely caused by the plug that the stator and regulator plug together at. these are notorious for even a small amount of corrosion causing LOTS of problems. cut it off and solder the wires together. It makes a BIG difference.
You say you ride 5 minutes and loses power. what power loss do you have? lights go out? engine cuts out? bike just totally goes dead? :twisted:

[Anonymous]

charging

If you left the battery ON without the bike running, for 20 minutes, and your battery was reading 11.7v, I would think your charging system was doing it's job. MC batteries do not have much reserve. However, Earl is right about the charging Voltage, slightly low. Most likely caused by the plug that the stator and regulator plug together at. these are notorious for even a small amount of corrosion causing LOTS of problems. cut it off and solder the wires together. It makes a BIG difference.
You say you ride 5 minutes and loses power. what power loss do you have? lights go out? engine cuts out? bike just totally goes dead? :twisted:

Could you tell me where this plug is located? I have my friend come over and check it............yhanks

[Anonymous]

Re: Gremlins

11.7 volts is a dead battery. A fully charged battery should read 12.6 to 12.8. A charging voltage of 14 is too low. The design point voltage of the R/R is 14.7. A charge rate of 14.5 to 14.8 is the normally acceptable range.
The charging rate should be measured with the bike running at 5000-5500 rpm. Also, disconnect the three yellow wire leads from your stator at the point they connect to your R/R. Measure the stator AC voltage between the three stator phases. At 5000-5500 rpm, you must have 80 volts AC on each phase. If you do not, you will have 14+ volts DC charging current coming out of the R/R, but you will not have the amperage to keep the battery charged.

Earl

Had a friend come over to check electrics in bike to see what was causing it to ride less than 5 miles and start losing powewr. Couldn't find anything wrong, checked battery and charging system at battery putting out right at 14 volts when running,turned bike off left all electrics on for about 15 or 20 minutes battery only dropped to 11.7. Seems battery is strong...took for a number of short rides nothing happened.... :? :?

You misunderstood me earlfor the 11.5 reading was after we let the bike sit with all the electrics turned on for 15 or 20 mins.

[redliner1973]

the plug (connector) is located behind the LHS sidecover, just aft of the plastic tool holder. It is the plug for the regulator. should have 4 wires to it. Add a ground wire from the body (mounting screw) of the regulator to the NEG terminal of the battery also. If you read past electrical posts' (search under 'stator' or 'regulator' or just 'ground wire' and you will get a wealth of info on this subject. :twisted:

[Don Lobacz]

If it is just losing power (no apparent electrical symptoms) then I would guess either a slow fuel starvation problem, possibly caused by a tank not venting.