Charging System issues- GS250t

[ChicagS25o]

hi guys, this is my first bike and first attempt at working on one, so please bear with me if i ask easy or dumb questions.

Situation:
my 81 gs250t will run for a short while, then die out. when i go to restart the battery is drained, to the point where it wont restart.

so ive got the stator papers and basscliff's stator testing guide printed out and i have begun my testing.

What ive done so far:
First i did the battery, 11.84v is the diff between the + and -....according to the papers, it should be around 13v.

Second i jumped the bike (only way can get it to start currently) and tested at idle.... 10.48V

Third i tested at 4000rpm and above, never went much over 11.80v.
(the papers said for these reading i should get 13-14ish)

I held up any more testing because i wanted to get some opninions on the battery.

So here is my inital question- with my battery only reading 11.84 disconnected, is that a drained enough battery where i should begin with replacing that?
OR is it ballpark enough that i can move on to testing the stator and r/r with accurate results?

[skreemer]

*added to answer the question*
Yes that's enough juice to test everything as long as you can get the bike started.... (you can actually test the charging system without a bettery it needs got deperate enough)

at 11.8 when you turn it on and all the other electrics come live there won't be enough juice left over to crank it live. You might get the starter to spin for a bit but the spark won't be good enough to ignite the fuel.

Carefully read and test the stator side before replacing it. More commonly the Regulator/Rectifier goes out way before the stator itself does.

How much water/acid is left in the battery? did you refill it and it immediately start going low? It's an indicator the regulator side went bad and it's boiling the water mix out.

[ChicagS25o]

the battery is in between the max and min full lines, id say dead even between the 2.

the previous owner said it was a "new" battery, so i didnt make any attempt to top it off.

think its something i should do?

im going to try and test the stator and r/r tonight, i wanted to yesterday but i couldnt find the wires and also waned to see about the battery.

im going to try and snap pics and upload on my lunch break of the wires, stay tuned, around 1pm central time..

[Baatfam]

Do you have a battery charger? One for bike batteries?

If you don't, I'd start saving for one.
You don't want your battery to sit for long when the charge is down, or you'll end up buying a new battery.

I'd recommend a Batter Tender Plus, about $43 at Amazon.com

[ChicagS25o]

no charger, but amazon is the best deal on that one, so im going to pick that up.

also had a question about an impact driver, found this one on craigslist

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/tls/911492861.html

any opinions on it? should i stick with a manual one?

[tkent02]

Manual impact is all you need on a bike, where are you in Chicago?
I'm here in Chicago for today, could lend a hand.
PM me.

[twr1776]

I would suggest making sure your battery is fully charged before testing the electrical system. Are all your charging system electrical connections and your grounds good? I will be hard to get accurate readings on your system these two items are operating correctly. Your battery voltage seems low. I have a Schumacher trickle charger/maintainer I got at Wal-Mart for around
$ 20 that works very well.

[Steve]

Battery Tender Plus is definitely among the best, but a reasonable alternative is as close as your nearest Wal-Mart. Schumacher Battery Companion is less than $20, even with tax. I have four or five of them around here, all busy keeping off-season batteries in shape and doing a fine job, too.

[ChicagS25o]

. Are all your charging system electrical connections and your grounds good? I will be hard to get accurate readings on your system these two items are operating correctly. Your battery voltage seems low. I have a Schumacher trickle charger/maintainer I got at Wal-Mart for around
$ 20 that works very well.

Thats what my concern was, in moving forward, that having a weak battery would give me inaccurate results when i tested the rest of the system.

in my opinion (which is zero experience) the connections and ground are in great condition. i will be posting pics in a few hrs, and get some of your toughts on them.

[dirtyfingers]

There are many checks you can perform with a volt/ohm meter to diagnose charging systems. Check if any of the yellow wires from your stator have continuity to ground, if so, its junk. They should show 2-4 ohms resistance yellow to yellow. Or check any two yellow wires while the bike is running with meter at AC volts. You should get a reading of at least 20V AC when revved up to 3-4k RPM. Many times a melted regulator connector is the only problem. The only real good way to test batteries is with a load tester. Take yours to an auto parts store, most will load test for free.

[MikeG]

I'm in Chicago as well and completely replaced my charging system this past summer. I'd be happy to help you run through the Stator papers and figure out the issue, lord knows I did it enough times I practically have it memorized!

Where in Chicago are you? It's a big city I'm right by Willow Rd. and the Edens.

[ChicagS25o]

great to hear from a nearby member, were practically neighbors.

i sent you a pm, ill have to pick your brain a bit.

[skreemer]

I'm out in Lombard and Naperville until Sunday...

[ChicagS25o]

well id gladly appreciate any help anyone would offer. id rather not really transport the bike anywhere, i dont have a truck or van, so ive been renting from home depot.

im in northbrook, have a garage. the main thing is really i dont have some tools yet, i.e. batt charger , impact driver. ill have those as soon as i can.

so if you're open to helping out, pm me. a couple members already have.

[ChicagS25o]

So here is what i believe are the stator wires coming from the crankcase, please let me know if im wrong!



You can see them lead to what i believe is the r/r. there is a small relay here that slides off a peg of the r/r...