Not Charging???

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johnr6874

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Ok guys, please forgive me if this question has been asked many times before :ummm:. But I've noticed that after riding for a while, my bike will act as if the battery is not being charged. It has a new battery and the terminals are tight. Could it possibly be the rectifier going bad? I've seen on here where some of you are talking about re-crimping some connection. Could someone please elaborate on that for me? And also tell me where the rectifier is located on a '90 model Vmax?

Thanks :biglaugh:
 
RR is mounted behind metal bracket that has the left passenger peg on it. The crimp fix is simply running directly to the battery with an inline fuse bypassing the harness, same thing with the ground (if applicable, stock grounds directly to the frame at the mount point). Can also redo the lines from the stator to the RR soldering at the crimp point to get better connectivity. While doing this you should have a multimeter handy to check the stater output (can't hurt since you are there and have everything opened up.

There are much wiser people on the forum but this is what I have learned from them during my electrical woes.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Ok guys, please forgive me if this question has been asked many times before :ummm:. But I've noticed that after riding for a while, my bike will act as if the battery is not being charged. It has a new battery and the terminals are tight. Could it possibly be the rectifier going bad? I've seen on here where some of you are talking about re-crimping some connection. Could someone please elaborate on that for me? And also tell me where the rectifier is located on a '90 model Vmax?

Thanks :biglaugh:

You may need to define what you mean by "act as if the battery is not being charged." The older Vmax can have a hot start issue, in other words, once the bike is hot, the starter turns reeeeaaaallly slow, if at all. If this is your problem, it can be helped immensely by taking the starter out and cleaning it really good and replacing the brushes if they look worn. Or, you can replace the starter with one from a newer model (a 4-pole starter instead of the 2-pole starter).

I had this problem on my '88 and would dread stopping for gas in the summer because unless I let the bike cool down for an hour, it might not start. You may have the 4-pole on your 1990, not sure. Here is thread which shows the difference between the two by our very own Dingy:
http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55537
 
You may need to define what you mean by "act as if the battery is not being charged." The older Vmax can have a hot start issue, in other words, once the bike is hot, the starter turns reeeeaaaallly slow, if at all. If this is your problem, it can be helped immensely by taking the starter out and cleaning it really good and replacing the brushes if they look worn. Or, you can replace the starter with one from a newer model (a 4-pole starter instead of the 2-pole starter).

I had this problem on my '88 and would dread stopping for gas in the summer because unless I let the bike cool down for an hour, it might not start. You may have the 4-pole on your 1990, not sure. Here is thread which shows the difference between the two by our very own Dingy:
http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55537


Thanks, but I'm 99.9% sure it's not the starter. It has a brand new starter and battery.
 
That's why I freakin love this forum. Tuesday I rode my 91 to our office.. Had to shut down for about 6 minutes. tried to start her up and it seemed like the battery was almost dead. Lights were bright but the engine didn't want to crank correctly (which I thought was weird). Tried it multiple times and could not get her to start. Decided leave it under our building and try again at lunch time. This time, the bike fired right up. The battery is 2 years old. I keep the battery in the house during the winter and top it off every 2 weeks. I never knew about this hot cranking issue..
So what is it, dirty brushes and armature? or goes is a replacement mandatory?
 
That's why I freakin love this forum. Tuesday I rode my 91 to our office.. Had to shut down for about 6 minutes. tried to start her up and it seemed like the battery was almost dead. Lights were bright but the engine didn't want to crank correctly (which I thought was weird). Tried it multiple times and could not get her to start. Decided leave it under our building and try again at lunch time. This time, the bike fired right up. The battery is 2 years old. I keep the battery in the house during the winter and top it off every 2 weeks. I never knew about this hot cranking issue..
So what is it, dirty brushes and armature? or goes is a replacement mandatory?

The hot start issue has to do with the "older 2 pole" starters, and I think your 91 still has a 2 pole starter. The new 4 pole starters dont have that issue. I dont know when they were changed, but I do know that the 4 pole starters will physically interchange with the 2 pole starters.
 
Do you know what years started using the 4 Pole starters? This way, I could search for one if it had too. Thanks dood.
 
Part description changes in 1993 from "Brush 1, Brush 2" to "Brush Set". I'm gonna say that the starter changed to a 4-brush in 1993.
 
Looking on Ebay, None of them mention what the wiring is. :-(
 
You might have to buy one from Pinwall or someplace like that. They usually put what year bike the part came from. They might even check for you if you ask them.
 
NO need to spend money on a newer starter. Just remove yours and clean it up good inside. Put a slight bend in it's brush plate locator tabs, then reassemble it. By bending those two tiny little tabs before reassembly, it will create a much stronger ground from the brush plate to the starter case (this is the whole 2-brush starter issue to begin with), and that starter will be good for another 50k miles.
All you are out is replacing the antifreeze - from having to pull things loose up front to gain access for starter removal. If you loosen the entire radiator, I'm not too sure that can't be avoided as well.

Here's YukonerDave's thread WITH PICTURES on how to service your starter.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=12367&highlight=starter+brush+plate
 
Thanks for the info.. That link is quite detailed..
 
Just ordered the re-build kit from that link.. I figured, if I'm going to take the time to remove and clean, I might as well put new brushes and other worn out parts.. That should give me the best bang for my buck.. $21.00 is not too bad to revive my tiger when she wants to growl..
 
Well, I Tried to start the bike this morning (65' F), and it cranked about 7 revolutions then quickly started slowing down, till it would no longer crank.. I don't want to push the start button too much if the battery running low, because the starter clutch seems to disengage and rattles.
So, now I doubt if its the warm start issue. I'm going to take the battery out and check the levels. I might have to purchase a new battery. This battery is 2 years old. I checked the charging system last summer, it fell perfectly within specs, but I'll check it again once I get it running.
 
It can have two separate issues at the same time. You may well have a hot start issue regardless of your current battery issue today.
 
That is true.. I already ordered replacement brushes so I will be digging into that starter motor..
 
Ricks's Electric is the best place to get a new 4 pole starter at a good price. If it turns out to be your stator, Rick has a "hot shot" stator at a great price too.
 
Don't ignore voltage drop, especially on an older Gen 1. Your inside cable condition and connections can cause the symptoms you described. All you need is a simple meter, nothing fancy. Google it for instruction and specs. They are the same for almost anything.
Steve-o
 

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