Slight Electrical Short!

[Argee]

Hi Folks,

Any chance of a little assistance? I have a 1982 GS1100GL and I've got electrical issues - not as many as before though after a recent new stator and battery!

I have a slight electrical short and I wonder if anyone's got any clues as to what it might be - before I start working my way through the electrical diagrams.

I have found that if I don't ride the bike for a couple of days, the battery goes flat. I am happy that the system charges okay, and the battery is new. I did connect an ammeter in series between the negative lead and the negative terminal and even with the key out of the ignition, there is a tiny flow of current.

Ideally I'd like to find and fix the problem, but I wonder if putting a battery isolator switch in might be the most effective way of getting by if I can't find the short.

As ever, any advice or clues gratefully received!

Thanks,

Argee

[Matchless]

It may not be a short. It could be that someone connected something to the non switched battery side, which now is not switched off by the key.

Do you have a regulator with a sense wire fitted by any chance?

I would pull the fuses and see if the current drain you measured goes away and then just start chasing it to the source. You will need to follow it on the wiring diagram though.

[rustybronco]

How much is a tiny amount?

you can try pulling fuses and see if the current draw goes away.
check the diagram and see if the R/R stays in circuit or if you can unplug the positive leg. the R/R could be a possible source of the current draw as well.

[Steve]

I would not necessarily call a small load a "short", but that's beside the point.

It won't matter if the key is in or out of the ignition, as long as the key is in the OFF position.

Any chance you have the forks locked with the key in the PARK position?

If so, that's your problem. The PARK position (key turned all the way to the right) will leave your tail light on, which will drain the battery in an hour or so.

If you want to lock the forks, turn the key all the way to the left, to the LOCK position.

.

[Argee]

Hi All!! Thanks for all your responses!
Matchless - Good steer to hoik out the fuses. Turned out that with the main fuse in (even with all the others pulled) I got a drain of ~95mA [ which at ~12.1V I think is ~127ohms!!! - whatever use that is!!]
rustybronco - Yep! I think it is the R/R! Once I found it, I took it off and it's now in front of me and doesn't seem to be testing as it should from the maintainance guide!
Steve - fair point! A proper 'short' would be far more spectacular!! I did manage to find the park setting the day I bought the bike..........I then spent a couple of hours and the best part of half a can of WD40 before I could persuade the key to release the lock!! That particular key position is now marked as 'Ere be Dragons'!!
Has anyone taken a R/R apart before - or am I going to need to buy a new one? Any hints on a good place to buy from?

Thanks all again!
Argee

[Argee]

Matchless - just to answer your question, the r/r that I have only has the 5 leads and no sense wire.

I understand that Honda R/Rs are far more robust. Does anyone know which part numbers will do as an upgrade?

[Steve]

Has anyone taken a R/R apart before - or am I going to need to buy a new one? Any hints on a good place to buy from?

There have been a couple of attempts to build a new replacement, but I don't know of anyone who has taken one apart (successfully, anyway ).

I understand that Honda R/Rs are far more robust. Does anyone know which part numbers will do as an upgrade?

Yes, Honda R/Rs are highly recommended here. There might be a thread or two in the archives about which ones to look for, you might even find a hint or two on BassCliff's site.

If you want to go pretty much "plug and play", just about any Honda R/R that looks like the one you have will do. There is some newer technology (uses more-efficient transistors) in the FET-based regulators. I find the best deals by searching eBay for "honda regulator (foreman,rubicon,rincon)" Sort by price, lowest first, then look at the connectors. (I usually don't get into bidding wars, so I just look at the "Buy it Now" items.

You will see a bunch of them that have one connector, like this:


What you want are the ones that have TWO connectors, like this:


Very minor wiring necessary to install one of these, and they are just a bit larger than what is on your bike now, but will last forever.

.

[Matchless]

See this thread for more info:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=134690

[Argee]

Matchless - That's a thread and a half!!! Loads of good gen though!

Thanks Steve!

Further to your reply, I like the idea of replacing my broken R/R with an upgraded one, but I'm not overly keen to buy a second hand one (but I wouldn't rule it out.) Are there any 'After Market' manufacturers who make good FET R/Rs?

From Matchless' original list, I would guess that I should ask for a R/R for a 2007 Yamaha YZF-R1, as that uses the FH-012AA R/R that is discussed at length.

Am I right in thinking that the Honda Foreman/Rubicon/Rincon R/Rs are the SHC variety? Actually, if I was to go for an 'After Market' one of these, what bike should I specify - as most of the dealers seem to list parts under bike type rather than the part specification itself.

As always, your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks

Argee

[Steve]

The link I gave you to the Foreman/Rubicon/Rincon regualators is for the FET-based units. They have FET transistors that do the switching.

FETs operate quicker than other transistors, so there is less time spent in their transition from ON to OFF. There is virtually no resistance in the ON or OFF states, only during the transitions. Since there is less time in that transition state, they tend to pass more current, making them more efficient. This also means that they tend to run cooler.

.

[Argee]

Update

Someone working at a dealership very kindly brought my attention to a fairly local bike breakers yard!!

I now possess a cheap, used SH541-12 4.1 which is on Matchless' list of suitable R/Rs!

Out of interest, is it a FET or SHC R/R?

I will be making use of Basscliff's guide to modifying Honda R/Rs:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/cbsaunders/gs/Modifying_Honda_Regulator-Rectifiers_for_GS_use.pdf

Thanks again for such great resources, and advice!

Now........where shall I attach the sense wire?...................

[duaneage]

See my signature line for modification and installation instructions.

[Argee]

All better!

Thanks Duaneage!

I now have a system that charges the battery rather than cooking it!!

I even managed to find a replacement headlight at the breakers yard to replace the one that blew after excessive consumption of E.M.F.!!

I'm so glad that this forum exists! Cheers everyone!!