Charging Problem

Hi all, I put a new battery in last year, sense than I put a new Stater in. I went out to start er up and low and behold I have a dead battery. I had the battery load tested and it tested BAD. Can anyone tell me that the old Stater could have fried my old battery???

 

Mark:

You are now a member of "My regulator/ rectifier is fried" club.

You'll need a new battery and replace your old regulator/ rectifier with an aftermarket one from Rick's Electrics, Electro Sports or go to the Honda shop and buy an OEM replacement.

Let us know if you need additional help.

O-ya, do you have a manual?

BZ

 

Bubba's spot on here.

I bought my bike in April, the guy said he had just replaced the R/R the previous August with the upgraded Honda OE unit.

Fast forward to late July, my bike is getting harder and harder to start (seems like a dying battery) until one day, I stop for gas, and she's dead. No crank. So I bump start it and go to Advance Auto Crap. Buy one of their garbage batteries (yeah, the one with the 3 month warranty), and install it in the parking lot. Bike starts right up, no problems...

...Until a week later where the same exact thing happens. R/R is shot, wiring connection at unit is melted on the (+) pin. So I buy a new R/R (from a shady online retailer - not having the best of luck with parts so far! ) which was supposed to have cooling fins but didn't... I fab up a cooling fin setup with a Pentium 3 CPU fan and CPU heat sink. I also re-wire the entire charging system with 12 gauge heavy duty wiring.

But now I have another battery that is toast, but at least the R/R seems to be functioning fine!

 

testing a stator is easy using a volt-ohm meter, and directions are in shop manual or on this site, pinned under electrical questions...

Batteries will last longer if they are charged properly EVERY month during storage and can be ruined by letting slow, normal discharge lower voltage too far. Plate sulfation is caused by letting charge level fall too low and is not usually reversible.

 

VT:

Did the auto parts place charge the battery before they sold it to you?

That is very odd that a battery take a dive so early.

BZ

 

Hi Bubba, The Stater / rectifer has been replaced and than the battery crapped out. I did get a new battery last week, I charged it, and it seems to be starting andcrunning fine. I just want to make sure I don't just assume all is well, take off on a long ride and BOOM!!! dead battery.

 

Mark:

Do you have a multimeter to test your electrical system?

BZ

 

BZ-

No, it was dry when I purchased it, so my recollection above is a little skewed (hey, College was a blur). I had to fill it with acid, and trickle charge it for 12 hours.

I think a "on death's door" R/R combined with a new battery that was one step above a Duracell AA are at fault here.

However, you'd think that the parts store would try and do SOMETHING for me, seeing as how I still had the reciept and was only 32 days past the "warranty" when I tried to return it. I left the battery there for them to dispose of... I'm not paying another $10 to take it to my local dump. F that.

 

^^^^ What Bubba said! ^^^^

I'd hate to see you put a new battery in and, depending on your riding time, run your money down the toilet by having your chraging system not keep up with it.

For the the price of a couple batteries you can fix your R/R (as needed) and be charging happily for years.

A $20 multimeter can get the troubleshooting job done.

 

VT:

I'd cut your loses. I hate to say that but the most they would probably do is replace the battery, when you really need the money back so you can purchase a quality battery.

When you drop your new battery in, I'd put the multi-meter on her and see what readings you get. I'd take two readings. One with the bike started up and running fine without choke (pre ride warm up) and one immeadiatly after a ride. This will help eliminate the possibility of the intermitent working RR. Its not full proof, but its a good test.

BZ

 

Vlad is spot on Mark!

20 bucks will save alot of headache! And we will all be glad to expalin how you use the muti-meter. You can PM me when you get one and I can explain it over the phone if you'd like hone:

BZ

 

Hey Bubba, I was able to get my system tested, I was told I need to replace the rectifer. It is that box on the right side next to the seat right??? Do you know where or a site on the internet where I can get one? And how much do they cost?? Thanks Mark

 

Rick's Motorsport Electrics has them and they are probably about $130.

 

Vman is right. Rick's Electrics is one manufacturer and a good one too!

Dennis Kirk carries their brands at www.denniskirk.com under the metric bike selections.

If you need any more help, let us know!

BZ

And yes its that box thing

 

Thanks alot Vinny, The Honda shop near my house wanted $ 220.11 for the R/R. That is gonna save me a pile of dough.

Mark

 

when i just bought a new battery last weekend, i was told that if you charge with more than 12 amp's at a time it will burn up the battery ? so jusp starting form my dully or suburban will cook it ? now thats on a 86 or 87 only ? is this bulls//t ? and i just had to replace my RR and stater and i tested the new ones just to be safe

 

Hi guys I am having a similar problem. Recently purchased a RR and battery, but have no joy with starting bike after it is left sitting overnight, must be a high drain somewhere in the system but not too hot with a multimeter any ideas. PLEASE!!!!!!

 

If it's discharging overnight, something is shorted to ground. A rectifier diode (part of the R/R) can cause this, but other things can as well. To test for a drain, you need an amp-meter. Multi-meters usually have an amps scale. Disconnect the negative battery lead, and connect the negative meter lead to the battery and the positive to the negative cable. With the key off, you should have zero amps. If there is a draw, disconnect components until the drain goes away. The component that made the drain disappear is the culprit.


Lane

 

You can alos do the same test with a 12v test light.

 

you might also use the meter to confirm that charging is taking place by using meter at battery terminals and looking for ABOUT 14 volts when engine is running at 5000 rpm.

periods of idling may drain the battery because power is not sufficient at low rpms to overcome normal power use.