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Post by 1980thumper on May 16, 2007 23:09:05 GMT -5
hey my bikes been doin some weird stuff recently, i left the lights on for a while last week and the battery drained a bit, the next couple of runs i went on i had my lights off to try and charge the battery a bit but the battery has now run down so much that when i turn the ignition on the neutral light doesnt even have enough power to light up. as soon as i kick start her she powers up. i charged the battery for a few hours today and when i put it back in there was no difference whatsoever!
when i rev her the lights get brighter, when i pull a brake the headlight gets BRIGHTER and when the indicators are on they take power away from the headlight.
the battery has done less than 1000miles and i was wondering if its a crap battery or if its something more serious....
please help!!
Damo
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Post by canucksrf on May 16, 2007 23:47:05 GMT -5
Sounds like the rectifier, or regulator. If you're not getting 14-15 volts at the battery at 2000RPM do a continuity test of the rectifier...if that's OK then the problem is probably the regulator or possibly the stator.
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Post by 1980thumper on May 17, 2007 10:14:49 GMT -5
so its not that ive maybe knackered the battery? i was thinking that maybe when i rode it after leaving the lights on and discharging it the regulator sensed low voltage and fed a load in boiling it and possibly buckling some plates? im really crap with electics im afraid  Damo |
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Post by wotavidone on May 18, 2007 0:16:30 GMT -5
You need to look at whether the wiring of the bike is allowing the battery to discharge.
e.g. possibly crook rectifier.
Simple check is to disconnect the postive lead to the battery and see if you can measure any current flow. Obviously, you want no current flow with nothing turned on. The battery is connected directly to the regulator via a fuse, so if the regulator/rectifier is knackered it will discharge the battery, even with the key turned to off.
Trouble with batteries is that mileage is no indication of probable condition.
Much more important is age, length of time between charges, depth of discharge, etc.
Try taking your battery out of the bike and do a few simple tests as below:
Check electrolyte level is good, top up with distilled water.
If you have a clear case battery, shine a torch through it and see if you can see sulphate deposits shorting out a cell. Batteries slowly lose lead from the plates which falls to the bottom of each cell as a lead sulphate deposit. When this deposit gets deep enough, it shorts the cell out, then your 12 volt battery may never charge past 10 volts. (6 cells, 2 volts per cell)
Charge with a battery charger.
Measure volts with battery charger disconnected. Should see around 13 volts or maybe a bit more if it is straight off the charger.
Leave it overnight on the bench. Check volts again next morning. If still 12 volts or so, there's a chance your battery is OK.
Unlikely you bike fried the battery unless the regulator is U/S. They only have an 11 amp circuit, it would have to be the regulator letting everything go way past 14.5 volts, or if you have a really small battery.
I'd be praying for a crook battery, it would have to be cheaper than the regulator.
Mick
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Post by wotavidone on May 18, 2007 0:17:42 GMT -5
PS, when I say disconnect the positive lead I mean insert a meter in series for measuring the current.
Mick
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Post by 1980thumper on May 18, 2007 7:35:12 GMT -5
PS, when I say disconnect the positive lead I mean insert a meter in series for measuring the current. Mick ah right, i was a tad confuzzled there!! im night shift so ill have a good look soon. cheers Damo |
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