• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

More problems=More money

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
Still loving the GS resources. I have been using this site all the time for info and its been righ on......

Awhile back I had some ignition/fuel problems with my 78 1G. I got those sorted out so far. The bike was leaking fuel through the exhaust and running very rich. I cleaned the carbs and installed new points/condensers. Since Ive done that the bike runs great! But now the battery now will not hold a charge.

Is there any way those fixes could be having an effect? I also timed the bike to bring it closer to spec (there wasnt enough adjustment to bring it completely to specs). I plan to go over the bike with a multimeter as described in the STATOR PAPERS. But I gotta tell ya, me and electrical work go together like tofu and a fat kid. Any tips/help would be great. Thanks guys.
 
If you have a meter & the stator pages you are all set They are very well written
 
I would agree that the stator papers are a big help with one exception. The tests described for the RR are a little confusing. My brand new Electrex RR failed these tests and they were written by an Electrex guy! Using the diode test mode of a dig. multimeter I saw .5V with the red test lead connected to the RR black (ground) but did NOT see 1.5V with the red test lead connected to the red output wire of the RR. Since a rectifier is a diode bridge and diodes are designed to pass current only one way this portion of the test (checking for 1.5V) is the part I disagree with. The factory service manual only specifies continuity checks for the RR. They should pass current one way only and not the other (polarity reversed). Also there should be infinite resistance (OL) between the RR red and black (ground) wires.
 
I agree with you there, Ian. My RR (not the original item, but a newie I got through a motorcycle electrician here in Australia) also 'failed' the Stator Papers test. But like you I thought that diodes either pass current or they don't, depending on the polarity. And on that score, it checked out A-OK. Haven't had a problem since.

Gutter, do things methodically with the trouble-shooting charts in the Stator Papers. It's always tempting to think that there is a short-circuit somewhere, but the reason batteries are usually flat would be (in order of likelihood, IMHO):
1. Knackered battery (can't accept the charge offered). Check your fluid levels in the battery. Top up with distilled water/ rain water if necessary. Try your bike with a battery you know to be OK.
2. Burnt stator windings (can't generate any charge). Fork out $ for a rewound item. Check the output of each phase using the stator papers.
3. Stuffed reg/rect. (diodes cooked, and therefore not rectifying current from alternator, which then stuffs your battery because it can't handle all this unrectifed current being dumped in its lead-plated lap). Fork out $ for a newie.
4. Stuffed reg/rect. (current leaks back to earth when the bike's not running). Fork out...
5. Short circuit (current leaks away through other wire/ component). Attempt to isolate the offending circuit by removing one fuse at a time, and when it doesn't go flat, your short will be on that circuit somewhere.

One thing I did, was hook up a digital multimeter to the battery terminals, taped the unit to the tank, and went for a ride. This tells you what voltage is being produced at different engine speeds, lights on & lights off, etc. without you having to rev. the berries off the old girl. But bear in mind that you may well get a 'healthy' voltage reading at highway speed, eg. 14.5 volts, but you still may have no current, ie. amps. In which case the backside will probably drop out of the voltage the second you turn the lights on.

No doubt I've overlooked something, so some kind soul will correct me. :wink:

Mike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top