More and more electrical problems, blown fuses

[Fare]

Just seems like I cannot get a break...

for reference: 82' GS850

A couple weeks ago, I got sick and tired of recharging my battery instead of the bike, and used the GSresources flowchart to diagnose a bad stator//reg/rec. I found out that that the reg/rec was faulty and went to my local bike junk yard and bought an '80 cx500 r/r for more than I would like to spend for one. That was replaced honky dory and didn't have an issue in that department any longer (the engine actually seemed to Idle a whole lot better, and not more stalling when holding the clutch). Needless to say the front turn signal breaks...magically(explained below)...and I wait a week or so to wait for the replacement and for some free time to replace it. Upon replacing it and testing it, the headlight fuse blows whenever the engine is rev'ed to about 2,500 RPMs. The last fuse (the power source fuse) was blown as some time as well (not sure if it was when I reved it to 5,000 RPMs when testing the voltage across the battery).

My question is: is it likely that my new reg/rec is faulty...again... or that something wasn't wired properly when I disassembled the headlight container to replace the front turn signal. I need to test the voltage across the battery again, I was getting either really low numbers or high numbers, but before I packed up last night, I notice the blown power source fuse.

Needless to say, I hope to be able to finally ride the bike longer than a few hundred yards before dropping it again while doing a U-turn on a hill =/ I bought the thing a few months ago, would be nice to finally get to ride it.
/endRant

Thank you,

Fare

 

[Guest]

Blowing fuses at high RPM sure sounds like a R/R fault, BUT remember that a R/R fault may be caused by something else, like an open wire or short in the wiring harness. Make sure you find out WHY things went south before you start putting new pieces back in.

 

[mortation]

Well he did buy a used R/R and for a different bike, I would swap it out for a new correct one myself.

 

[nabrams]

No brainer here.
Like you said, testing battery voltage at progressively higher RPM should tell the story. If your voltage goes above 15 then you'll know that your replacement R/R is junk.

 

[Fare]

Well, if thats the case, is there a way to determine why I'm blowing the R/R? The R/R tested fine when I first got it. When I get home from work today, weather permitting, I'll retest the bugger, and hope I'm not down another 80 bucks.

@mortation - The reason I replaced it with a cx500 R/R is because there was much talk on these forms that stated that not only was the Honda R/R compatible, but was better.

 

[Steve]

Well he did buy a used R/R and for a different bike, I would swap it out for a new correct one myself.

Nothing at all wrong with using a Honda regulator.
Many on this board have done it, and it is, in fact, a recommended upgrade from the "correct" stock regulator.


.

 

[justmount1]

my question is why would u buy a used for 80 bucks when a new one costs about 100

 

[Fare]

where can you buy new ones? I assumed that a used one from a salvage yard was my only option...

 

[justmount1]

any dealer or online parts store www.bikebandit.com is one

 

[Guest]

Do you have a good ground on the replacement R/R? I took my ground wire and soldered in another wire and ran it directly to the negative post of the battery.

 

[Fare]

If I remember correctly, there was two options to ground it, one was directly to the negative part of the battery and another was a bullet terminal (that had the black wire with a white strip, which means on my bike ground). It was originally to the negative part of the battery, not really sure where it is now... would that kill the R/R or just not make it function correctly?

 

[Guest]

Run the ground to the battery and retest. Old bullet connectors suck. Solder the wire.

 

[Fare]

I did all the tests again, everything is good. the negative battery connected to the ground of the R/R, Stator is good, R/R is good. One of the stator connections (yellow wire) was disconnected. 13.5v at 2500 RPM and didn't change much when it got to 5000 RPM (is that good?).

However! the fuse blows when i start the bike... yay... R/R? something else?

Thank you,

Fare

 

[Guest]

What does your battery read when not running? You should be hitting 14 and up at 5000 rpm.
I was having trouble with my charging system and went through the wiring system and cleaned connections, soldered stator wires into R/R, Cleaned all grounds and applied dielectric grease.
Are you using the correct fuse? (sorry if insulting)

 

[Fare]

12.29 not started.

gonna read it again at 5000 RPM again (and wake everyone up ><)

10MA fuse (correct one for headlight)

13.5 at 2500 RPMs, 13.7 at 5000 RPMS

I read somewhere that it might be the Headlight Terminal Connector, supose I ought to try that tomorrow...

any other Ideas?

THank you for you help thus far,

Fare

 

[Guest]

Your battery should be closer to 13. Try cleaning the ground going to the crankcase from the negative battery post.

 

[Fare]

Time for a session of theorycraft...

When i installed the honda r/r, theres one random wire...I read that that wire should be spliced to the tail light wire. I have been blowing fuses only since i installed the R/R... Perhaps thats the cluprit? i'll test this theory once it finaly stops raining (seems to only rain when i want(able to) to work on the bike...)

 

[bubba]

Contact Duaneage about the R/R issue. got a nice Honda R/R kit from him delivered to my house for $45.00 works great, and he went above and beyond in helping me hook it up. Highly recommended:-D

 

[Killer2600]

12.29 not started.

gonna read it again at 5000 RPM again (and wake everyone up ><)

10MA fuse (correct one for headlight)

13.5 at 2500 RPMs, 13.7 at 5000 RPMS

I read somewhere that it might be the Headlight Terminal Connector, supose I ought to try that tomorrow...

any other Ideas?

THank you for you help thus far,

Fare

That battery voltage (12.29) is a bit low as mentioned, make sure connections are clean.

Did I read right 10MA which I take to mean 10mA, it's no wonder your blowing that fuse...more like 10A fuse is what you need.

 

[nabrams]

Simply disconnect the charging system from the bike, start the bike, and see if that fuse blows again. If not, you'll know your "random wire" was doing something weird. Then re-connect the charging system but leave the fuse out - start the bike and measure the voltage at the place where the fuse goes. If it's really high, then you've found the problem.