F
fyarl666
Guest
Got an issue with the charging system on my bike (big surprise!), and I am a bit stumped.
Also, I confess that at first, I didn't know the first thing about motorcycle maintenance or repair if any kind. Fear not, cuz I have since cured myself if that ignorance.
So first a little background. Sorry if this takes long to read, but in this situation, the devil is in the details.
Bought an 81 GS400 L last August from Kijiji. As far as I knew, the bike had been reasonably well maintained, with no serious issues.
First day I had it, the battery died.
My brother-in-law, who is an electrician and pretty handy with the mechanics, took a look at it. I don't exactly know what he did with the bike, but it seemed to start run fine after he got it back to me.
A few weeks later, my headlight bulb went while riding in the daytime. So I switched to the high beam just so I could stay visible, and within minutes, that burned out too. Then the battery died again.
Told my brother in law, he said it was the rectifier/regulator. I cheap'd out and bought a salvage rectifier, however it wasn't a Suzuki rectifier. The guy I bought it from (who had been in the motorcycle salvage parts business for over 25 years, and really seemed to know what he was talking about) told me it was from a Yamaha, and that it should work better than the factory Suzuki rectifier, as was his experience.
I installed the salvage rectifier, but I never had a chance to bring it to my brother-in-law to test it with a volt meter before winter hit. I also checked the battery and discovered that it didn't have a single drop of water left in it. I refilled it and charged it, but it still seemed kind of moody, sometimes it kept a charge, sometimes it wouldn't.
So this spring I decided to shuck out the money and buy a brand new battery. The bike seemed to do well with the salvage rectifier and the new battery, but I didn't drive it with the headlight on in case the rectifier wasn't performing properly and I didn't want to blow out the bulb again.
I was finally able to get the rectifier checked with a volt meter, and if I remember correctly, it was showing 12 volts at 4000 rpm (I think it is supposed to perform at 14). After that, I decided I could drive the bike with the headlight on, fairly sure that I wouldn't have any more problems.
Wrong.
I had driven the bike a few times after that, using the high beam during the daytime to help stay visible on the road. The next time I tried to start the bike, the battery was too low to crank it over. So I charged the battery, and tried driving with just the headlight on low beam. There's seemed to be no problem, the battery held it's charge and the bike continued to start without a problem.
I decided to go for a brand new rectifier, and ordered one specifically for my bike from a company called RMStator. The new rectifier ($62 plus $12 shipping) arrived this week, and I promptly installed it in the bike, thinking that all my battery charging woes were finally over.
Once again, wrong.
I drove to work and back the next day. That evening, I took the bike to the gas station to fuel up, and the battery died. Again.
So now I'm not sure what to do. The new rectifier is brand new, and according to the website, made specifically for my model bike, but it obviously wasn't doing the job at charging the battery.
Basically, the breakdown is this:
New battery + salvage rectifier - high beam = bike starts no problem
New battery + new rectifier = battery too weak to start.
What to do??
Did I perhaps install the new rectifier wrong?
Is my stator shot?
Is my new battery FUBAR'd from draining it off too many times?
Is there perhaps a bad connection somewhere that is grounding out?
I put the salvage rectifier back into the bike, and once my battery has been recharged, I'll try to drive the bike around and see what happens.
I plan on testing the brand new rectifier with a volt meter whenever I get a chance to bring it to my brother-in-law's place, but in the meantime, I'll do what I can in my own.
Any suggestions? Ideas? Solutions?
Also, I confess that at first, I didn't know the first thing about motorcycle maintenance or repair if any kind. Fear not, cuz I have since cured myself if that ignorance.
So first a little background. Sorry if this takes long to read, but in this situation, the devil is in the details.
Bought an 81 GS400 L last August from Kijiji. As far as I knew, the bike had been reasonably well maintained, with no serious issues.
First day I had it, the battery died.
My brother-in-law, who is an electrician and pretty handy with the mechanics, took a look at it. I don't exactly know what he did with the bike, but it seemed to start run fine after he got it back to me.
A few weeks later, my headlight bulb went while riding in the daytime. So I switched to the high beam just so I could stay visible, and within minutes, that burned out too. Then the battery died again.
Told my brother in law, he said it was the rectifier/regulator. I cheap'd out and bought a salvage rectifier, however it wasn't a Suzuki rectifier. The guy I bought it from (who had been in the motorcycle salvage parts business for over 25 years, and really seemed to know what he was talking about) told me it was from a Yamaha, and that it should work better than the factory Suzuki rectifier, as was his experience.
I installed the salvage rectifier, but I never had a chance to bring it to my brother-in-law to test it with a volt meter before winter hit. I also checked the battery and discovered that it didn't have a single drop of water left in it. I refilled it and charged it, but it still seemed kind of moody, sometimes it kept a charge, sometimes it wouldn't.
So this spring I decided to shuck out the money and buy a brand new battery. The bike seemed to do well with the salvage rectifier and the new battery, but I didn't drive it with the headlight on in case the rectifier wasn't performing properly and I didn't want to blow out the bulb again.
I was finally able to get the rectifier checked with a volt meter, and if I remember correctly, it was showing 12 volts at 4000 rpm (I think it is supposed to perform at 14). After that, I decided I could drive the bike with the headlight on, fairly sure that I wouldn't have any more problems.
Wrong.
I had driven the bike a few times after that, using the high beam during the daytime to help stay visible on the road. The next time I tried to start the bike, the battery was too low to crank it over. So I charged the battery, and tried driving with just the headlight on low beam. There's seemed to be no problem, the battery held it's charge and the bike continued to start without a problem.
I decided to go for a brand new rectifier, and ordered one specifically for my bike from a company called RMStator. The new rectifier ($62 plus $12 shipping) arrived this week, and I promptly installed it in the bike, thinking that all my battery charging woes were finally over.
Once again, wrong.
I drove to work and back the next day. That evening, I took the bike to the gas station to fuel up, and the battery died. Again.
So now I'm not sure what to do. The new rectifier is brand new, and according to the website, made specifically for my model bike, but it obviously wasn't doing the job at charging the battery.
Basically, the breakdown is this:
New battery + salvage rectifier - high beam = bike starts no problem
New battery + new rectifier = battery too weak to start.
What to do??
Did I perhaps install the new rectifier wrong?
Is my stator shot?
Is my new battery FUBAR'd from draining it off too many times?
Is there perhaps a bad connection somewhere that is grounding out?
I put the salvage rectifier back into the bike, and once my battery has been recharged, I'll try to drive the bike around and see what happens.
I plan on testing the brand new rectifier with a volt meter whenever I get a chance to bring it to my brother-in-law's place, but in the meantime, I'll do what I can in my own.
Any suggestions? Ideas? Solutions?
