• 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.

would a bad battery be causing a poor voltage?

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

Anonymous

Guest
Recently had the ignitor blow on my 82 GS450L, from what appeared to be a bad R/R sending out too much voltage (shutdown was accompanied by blown headlight and tail light). Replaced the ignitor and R/R with junkyard units. Since then I've been having issues with keeping the battery charged.

Seems like if I leave the headlight off (haven't yet replaced it, so the high/low switch is like an on/off switch now), the battery does OK. If I turn the headlight on, a 20 mile ride will kill the battery. Stator is putting out good voltage (80, 80, and 90 VAC, IIRC. They were all at or above 80VAC, and I seem to remember one leg being 10volts higher than the other two). Battery voltage when sitting is about 12.5, and goes up to about 13.4 at 5000RPMS.

I had the battery tested at the auto parts store, but the guy didn't know what to put in for the CCA rating, so he guessed at 200. Came back as bad battery. The battery was fine before the ignitor failure. I've eliminated most charging system connectors on the bike, didn't seem to help.

What I'm wondering before I plunk down the coin for a new battery is whether a bad battery could be at fault for the charging system not coming up to proper voltage, or perhaps I got a bad R/R from the junkyard?
 
Re: would a bad battery be causing a poor voltage?

remove the battery and put it on a battery charger at 2 amps for 8 hours.
Battery voltage on the bench, charger disconnected from battery should be 13+ volts. Let the battery sit on the bench for 8-10 hours. Check the battery voltage again. If it has dropped to less than 12.8, the battery isnt holding a charge and should be replaced. A really good battery will hold 12.9+ for that amount of time after being charged. If your battery only comes up to 12.5, it is due for the trash. 12.5v is only about a 40% charge level.

Even if the battery is faulty, the R/R should charge at a rate of 14.5 volts minimum at 5K rpm. A charge rate of 13.4 is a faulty R/R, so I would say the the junkyard R/R replacement is not working.

The bike will almost maintain voltage level in the system on two working stator legs if the headlight is not used. This tells me one leg of the stator rectified by the R/R is faulty. Stator AC outputs are fine, you have a bad R/R.

Earl

eric? said:
Recently had the ignitor blow on my 82 GS450L, from what appeared to be a bad R/R sending out too much voltage (shutdown was accompanied by blown headlight and tail light). Replaced the ignitor and R/R with junkyard units. Since then I've been having issues with keeping the battery charged.

Seems like if I leave the headlight off (haven't yet replaced it, so the high/low switch is like an on/off switch now), the battery does OK. If I turn the headlight on, a 20 mile ride will kill the battery. Stator is putting out good voltage (80, 80, and 90 VAC, IIRC. They were all at or above 80VAC, and I seem to remember one leg being 10volts higher than the other two). Battery voltage when sitting is about 12.5, and goes up to about 13.4 at 5000RPMS.

I had the battery tested at the auto parts store, but the guy didn't know what to put in for the CCA rating, so he guessed at 200. Came back as bad battery. The battery was fine before the ignitor failure. I've eliminated most charging system connectors on the bike, didn't seem to help.

What I'm wondering before I plunk down the coin for a new battery is whether a bad battery could be at fault for the charging system not coming up to proper voltage, or perhaps I got a bad R/R from the junkyard?
Click to expand...
 
aside from having to push start the bike now, would I be hurting anything else by riding it like this? I'm more or less dependant on it to get me to work 7 days a week, and the schedule doesn't leave much for getting to the junkyard to get another unit. My only other choice is a truck minus current plates that leaks trans fluid like a sieve :-P If it just means the battery doesn't charge, I've got no problems with push starting the bike for a week or so until I can pick up another unit off eBay and have it shipped out.
 
The problem with used R/R's on ebay is not one seller in a hundred knows the voltage levels it should put out or bothers to check one. I suspect for every 20 R/R's you might buy on ebay, you will probably find only one or two that are not faulty. Its a crap shoot and every one that is faulty/shorted out can result in additional stress on the stator. Faulty R/R's are the number one cause of burned out stators. Used, unchecked R/R's, in my opinion, are not a good choice.

In your situation, I would disconnect the stator from the R/R (unplug it).
Charge the battery and run the bike to work entirely on the battery.
Without the headlight turned on and a battery fully charged to 13 volts, you should safely have about 1 hour of running time. Perhaps a half hour more if operating at slow, uniform speeds and few stops.

As an alternative, the faulty wire yellow lead (AC) on the R/R will usually show signs of melting on the casing, brittle wire, or burned connector. If this evidence is obvious, then you could disconnect only that yellow lead, leaving the two apparently good yellow leads connected. This should reesult in your having 2/3rds of your stator output being rectified correctly and going to charge the battery. Two legs will not charge the battery, but they will come close to maintaining battery voltage if the headlight is turned off. Your run time will be considerably increased. I would still not use the electric starter. The starter will drain a battery in nothing flat.
If your bike starts in the 1st turnover of the engine, I maybe would use the starter, but otherwise, not.

Earl

eric? said:
aside from having to push start the bike now, would I be hurting anything else by riding it like this? I'm more or less dependant on it to get me to work 7 days a week, and the schedule doesn't leave much for getting to the junkyard to get another unit. My only other choice is a truck minus current plates that leaks trans fluid like a sieve :-P If it just means the battery doesn't charge, I've got no problems with push starting the bike for a week or so until I can pick up another unit off eBay and have it shipped out.
Click to expand...
 
hmmm....I do remember the guy at the used parts place I got this R/R from mentioning that if I cut the plug off, I can't return it (first one he grabbed was the same unit, but different plug...further digging revealed a complete 81 450L in the back lot that I grabbed this unit from). Of course, I clipped the bullet connectors off to solder the wires direct :roll: I know I have some bike harnesses out in the garage somewhere, perhaps I'll cut some connectors off those, reattach to this unit, and see if I can exchange it for another one. I'll just have to take a day off work.
 
When you first get the R/R connected, run the engine to 5K rpm and check DC voltage at the battery terminals. If it is not between 14.2 and 14.9 volts, it is out of spec's and you still have a faulty R/R. Ideally, voltage should be 14.4 to 14.8

Earl


eric? said:
hmmm....I do remember the guy at the used parts place I got this R/R from mentioning that if I cut the plug off, I can't return it (first one he grabbed was the same unit, but different plug...further digging revealed a complete 81 450L in the back lot that I grabbed this unit from). Of course, I clipped the bullet connectors off to solder the wires direct :roll: I know I have some bike harnesses out in the garage somewhere, perhaps I'll cut some connectors off those, reattach to this unit, and see if I can exchange it for another one. I'll just have to take a day off work.
Click to expand...
 
First thing to do-- Do NOT Buy a used Suzuki reg!!!! Look for one from a Honda cl/cb 78-82
 
For sure Lynn. That would be about like getting a good deal on used toilet paper. :-)

Earl

SqDancerLynn1 said:
First thing to do-- Do NOT Buy a used Suzuki reg!!!! Look for one from a Honda cl/cb 78-82
Click to expand...
 
SqDancerLynn1 said:
First thing to do-- Do NOT Buy a used Suzuki reg!!!! Look for one from a Honda cl/cb 78-82
Click to expand...

My reasons for buying another Suzuki one was that I could plug it in and go. Now that I've clipped the plug ends and soldered them anyways, I'm slapping myself :lol:

Any pictures of what I should be looking for, as I have no clue, and these guys are of the type "gotta bring the old one in to compare", which translated means "we have no idea what you're looking for" :roll:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top