Electrical garbage.

[Kratzer]

Just replaced the r/r, and I was using the "boost" setting on my battery charger to get the bike to start.

I had the battery out, and put it back in. Anyway, when I cranked the bike, the battery smoked and it smelt like hot electronics.

So I hooked up my car to jump it and no smell, no hot smoke.

Its running, and i check the amps- well they are at like 11.8. I know, its low. Stator is on order. When I reved up to like 4k rpm, it went to 12.8 amps, again, I know, low.

So my question is what made the smoke? What should I check?

Could I have gotten a bad R/R?

Could joslting the batter make it smoke like that on its first crank?

How many things should there be hooked up to the ground? I have 3 things aside from the r/r- could I have hooked up an extra part? would that make it smoke?

I only have one thing hooked to the positive.

Any thoughts on this whole deal?

[Matchless]

I hope I do not have bad news, but NEVER jump start a GS battery to another battery when that vehicle is running. Your bikes regulator then tries to regulate that voltage and loses the contest and burns out.
It seems likely that you have blown your new regulator when you pushed "boost" into it via the battery charger. The burnt smell most likely came from there.
I hope I am wrong!

[bonanzadave]

Id stay away from high current jump or boost starts. Use a low amperage trickle charger over night. That will give you some time to read the stator papers. Make sure your battery has water between the fill lines. Double check the battery polarity (+,-) Batteries have been known to get hooked up backwards.

[Kratzer]

Well crap.

It was only a 12 volt boost, so I might be ok?

I hope

Ok, when i get my new stator in, and if i rev my engine to like say, 4k rpm, and I get something over 15 volts, then I have a problem then right? New R/R time at that point?

[Kratzer]

How does voltage from the dc side ruin the R/R?

I thought the R/R only dealt with the ac current?

[Kratzer]

The water in by batter is high. I just checked that. Could that be a part of the equation?

[Steve]

How many things should there be hooked up to the ground? I have 3 things aside from the r/r- could I have hooked up an extra part? would that make it smoke?

How many connections to ground? That depends on how many things the previous owner might have changed. Ideally, there should be two, the standard ground cable that runs to the chassis and engine, and the dedicated ground wire on the r/r. Best thing to do (when the smoke clears) is to follow the wires that are attached to the negative terminal to see what they actually go to.

Could you have hooked up an extra part? Anything's possible, but it's hard to say without more information or pictures.

Would that make it smoke? Sure, it just depends on what was connected, and whether that connection was correct.

It was only a 12 volt boost, so I might be ok?

Your charger may have been on a 12-volt setting, but I think if you measure the voltage in that setting, you may find that it is in the 15-17 volt range. They do that to keep the amps down that the unit has to produce. Most cars and trucks can absorb this relatively well, but a bike doesn't stand a chance. You may have fried your regulator, but you will have to get the engine running and put a volt meter on the battery terminals to tell for sure.

How does voltage from the dc side ruin the R/R?

I thought the R/R only dealt with the ac current?

Yes, the rectifier part of the r/r changes the ac to a rippled dc current, but the regulator part switches in and out to shunt excess voltage to ground to control the voltage. By connecting your charger (especially in 'boost' mode), you may have exceeded its capabilities and blown the regulator part of the r/r.

.

[Kratzer]

Ok, so get it running, with a new stator, and at that point, check the voltage at say 4000 rpm. If I hit something like the 15-20 range, i have a problem, and I call on mr duaneage again?

[tkent02]

Why do you need a stator, and not a book on basic electricity?

[Kratzer]

I need that too. Yeah, I'm stupid at this stuff. Thats why I am asking you guys these questions.

I need a stator because I never get a reading over about 11.8 or so. The battery never charges.

[BassCliff]

Cooking with electrons

Hi Mr. Kratzer,

I've got a pictorial guide about stator replacement on my little BikeCliff website. It's in PDF format so that you can download it and print it out if you want. Once you get your new stator installed we can go through the troubleshooting guide in the Stator Papers to make sure where your charging system stands. If you are very lucky, you didn't fry your r/r. Did you say your battery was new? All of the Stator Paper troubleshooting procedures must start with a known good, fully charged battery. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Before you buy anything except a volt/ohm meter (unless you already have one), do the tests in The Stator Papers.
That will tell you if you need a stator, a r/r or maybe even just a new ground wire.
Stators are not cheap, so why buy one if you don't need it?

.

[tkent02]

I need a stator because I never get a reading over about 11.8 or so. The battery never charges.

Did you do the tests on the stator that are outlined in the stator papers?

[Kratzer]

Yes, I did.

Basically I got the bike cheap enough that I want to up upgraded performance electrical components on it, so I can go on day trips, and get home.

The stator tested as faulty, and I put it on order with bike bandit. While replacing that, I thought it worth the 40 for a honda R/R and the 40 for a battery so hopefully i won't have to mess with the electical for some time

The rec came back ok. Reg I couldn't really test because the stator was toast- not putting out enough voltage to need regulated.

Seriously guys, thanks. Without this board the bike would be on craigslist.

[almarconi]

It was only a 12 volt boost, so I might be ok?

The battery charger that I have puts out about 200 amps on boost mode. I would think this would be more than enough to fry just about all the electrical components in a bike. If I need to jump start either of my bikes I use a regular car battery(that's not attached to a car) or I'll take the bike battery out and put it on a charger.