Voltage spikes

[suzukizone]

1981 Suz GS850G w/ Electrosport Stator-R/R combo that have been in use for 4-5 years w/o issues.

Having odd situation of late. I have one of those multi LED Kuryakan voltage indicators that normally would sit in the single green lite mode, ocassionally going into two green lights.

Now it seems to jump up suddenly into three green LED readings or even onwards to the yellow or even red LED high voltage warning range. By me that means the voltage level is jumping up to too high levels.

Eventually it drops back to just a single green light. If I turn off engine, say to go shopping & then start up again it seems to be likely more & more that I will experience this. Sometimes if I'm at an idle I can turn off ignition & then back on to get back to normal. Sometimes I can correct it by turning on brights, tapping the brakes or using turn signals but those tricks don't always work. If RPMs are kept low it sometimes seems to hold this voltage reading down a bit but not always & not always possible.

This used to only happen after riding a bit, stopping a bit & then taking off after a short stop. This morning It happened right at startup. I turned off ignition, then back on & was OK until later. Then, after about a 4 hour stop the high reading kicked in withing a minute or so after I took off. Battery about 1 year old (Good Yuasa kept on Battery Tender)

Hope I gave enough & not too much info. All ideas appreciated.

Thanks in advance,.
DH

 

[Guest]

Not positive but sounds like you either have a bad ground on your voltage regulator, or the regulator itself is failing, but my guess would be a grounding issue, and you want to figure it out before you fry your stator.

 

[duaneage]

Go with a Honda RR. There is an abundance of information on the GSR about getting one and I have a link below that shows how to wire one.

 

[Steve]

I have limited experience with those Kuryakyn units, and their design is basically OK, but get some readings with a real voltmeter to verify.

.

 

[spyug]

The symptoms are very similar to what I experienced a season back with my stock R/R. I ride with an analog volt meter but it was doing the same thing. Going into over charging which I brought back down by putting on my driving lights.

I swapped it out for a shindengen R/R from a Honda as per the suggestions of the Gurus. I'd say take Duaneage's advice and get one for yourself.

Good luck with it.
Spyug

 

[tom203]

The symptoms are very similar to what I experienced a season back with my stock R/R. I ride with an analog volt meter but it was doing the same thing. Going into over charging which I brought back down by putting on my driving lights.

I swapped it out for a shindengen R/R from a Honda as per the suggestions of the Gurus. I'd say take Duaneage's advice and get one for yourself.

Good luck with it.
Spyug

Last season my on board analog volt meter started offering odd readings- it didn't move around much as per usual. I thought meter was bad.But further checking with multimeter showed the R/R was failing. Swapped in my backup Shindengen and all was normal- this is why I perfer a analog meter to LED display for on board monitoring.

 

[FiremanBob]

Shindengen MOSFET R/R, and then then check all the grounds, then you'll never have to worry about it again.

 

[850 Combat]

They are dirt cheap. I just bought three for around 20 bucks. Of course I don't know if they work yet...

 

[tom203]

They are dirt cheap. I just bought three for around 20 bucks. Of course I don't know if they work yet...

Put connectors that match your existing setup and find out- you don't have to bolt them in- just stick under seat and test drive them.

 

[suzukizone]

Thanks. I checked out connex & grounds best I could. All looked OK, I found a few low cells in the battery, topped up w/dist H2O. I rigged up a way to install a digital voltage readout device meant to go into car's cig lighter. Took short ride.

Within a few miles the LED meter began to head into the red, the digital voltage readout followed it getting into 17+ voltage at times. Limped home on lowest poss RPMs, keeping brights on, tapping the brakes to draw as much current as possible. I believe the Electrosport R/R is kaput. Sorry as it has under 10k miles on it tho probably 6 or 7 years old. Will check out that Honda item ya'all seem to love as the repl. Will also let Electrosport know I'm ****ed that their supposed upgrade from OEM failed when it shouldn't have & while I realize the 1 year warranty absolves them from taking care of me, they also lost me as a customer for future products. I always vote with my wallet. Thanks again, ride safe,
DH

 

[tom203]

I know nothing about Electrosports R/R's, but seems hard to blame them after 6 years. It probably would have been nice if it just failed outright to deliver any charging output to catch your attention real quick! I find the Shindengen R/R's very reliable, as do many others here. I have a 31 year old unit on my bike, with another similar as backup. As 850 combat said, they can be picked up CHEAP - most I paid was $7 per unit.

 

[suzukizone]

I know nothing about Electrosports R/R's, but seems hard to blame them after 6 years. It probably would have been nice if it just failed outright to deliver any charging output to catch your attention real quick! I find the Shindengen R/R's very reliable, as do many others here. I have a 31 year old unit on my bike, with another similar as backup. As 850 combat said, they can be picked up CHEAP - most I paid was $7 per unit.

Well if it lasted 31 years like that one you have I wouldn't be complaining. Wanna swap??? Nah 6 years for what should be a quality unit esp when coupled to their own stator ain't good enough for me, not at a $90-$100 price.

So what model Honda R/R is this, esp at $7.00. Want to get the right one. Looked briefly in site, missed the exact unit. Actually in the middle of hunting it out right now. Anyway thanks for All your replies & if anyone wants that R/R of mine for an ornament it's yours for cost of shipping.

DH