My 89 is being a RPITA Again, Charging System This Time

[SpecOps13]

After getting stranded the other day, I decided that an Odyssey Battery was in order. Atleast it may start the bike in a desperate situation. I installed the battery directly from my 94. The battery read 12.88 and had been sitting without running for 24 or so hours. I ran the 89 and resync'd the carbs at 3,000 rpm. I checked the battery voltage late last night and it was 12.86.

I ran the bike with fans on it today and was looking at the voltages at various RPM. The stupid manual only says to check the voltage at 5,000 and it should be 14 volts. At an idle, I watched the voltage drop to a point of below 12 volts. Reving the engine to 3,000 showed the battery slowly charging up to about 12.6 or 12.7. When I shut the bike off from an idle, it would show 12.28 volts. After a few minutes just sitting, the battery would read 12. 4 to 12.5 volts.. Actually coming back up some with no load on it.


I put the charger on the battery and waited until the charge light came on to show the battery was charged to full capacity. Started the bike and held the idle up above 2,000 until it was warm enough to take up to 4,000 RPM. Put the meter across the battery terminals and it was at 14.0 volts and climbing slowly. When it reached 14.12 volts, I let the bike come back to an idle and shut it down. The battery read over 13 volts again after turning the ignition off. I'm at a total loss to explain this all to myself.

I know naughtyG went through the same crap on his 86. He eventually replaced most electrical components including the wiring harness... His charging system works great now that he has replaced the stator coils. Shame he has to sell it after all the work he has done to most all systems on the bike...

My charging system does what it's supposed to when at RPM but there's a drain on the system somewhere when the rpm is lower than 3,000 RPM. I honestly believe if I take an in town ride the voltage will drop and strand me again. I can only ride around the same block so many times before someone call the Law on me...:rofl_200:

Any Thoughts Are Appreciated...

 

[twistedmax]

My thought is........:confused2:........why havnt you bought that 09 yet:bang head::bang head::bang head:

 

[SpecOps13]

They called back and asked if I wanted to come up to their price... They are unwilling to deal at all to get me on board. It needs about 6 or 700 hundred dollars in parts and work as soon as I buy it.. Not Happening.:biglaugh:

I'm going to have the most expensive 89 on the planet soon....:bang head:

 

[Buster Hymen]

I'm confused to the voltage reading you are getting when the bike is running. In 1 paragraph it shows a low voltage reading (12.x). In the next paragraph it shows a decent charge voltage. What is the voltage at idle?

 

[sdt354]

Went with the newer style oem regulator after trying a spare Dave T let me borrow. Getting 13 plus volts at idle, fan on now.Had similiar prob you're having Dave. I had cleaned all grounds and did the crimp fix previous to the regulator change.
Steve-o

 

[SpecOps13]

Buster Hymen: The voltage at idle will drop gradually, probably to a point of killing the engine if allowed to run that long. It also depends on how high the battery is charged. Fully charged it reads 12.28 and, drops from there when at idle...

sdt354: CaptainKyle's gonna loan me his R&R off the 88 to test the system with. He believes my R&R is dying slowly... That'd be 2 of you thinking the same.. I sure hope it's that simple...

 

[Buster Hymen]

Buster Hymen: The voltage at idle will drop gradually, probably to a point of killing the engine if allowed to run that long. It also depends on how high the battery is charged. Fully charged it reads 12.28 and, drops from there when at idle...

sdt354: CaptainKyle's gonna loan me his R&R off the 88 to test the system with. He believes my R&R is dying slowly... That'd be 2 of you thinking the same.. I sure hope it's that simple...

I think you already mentioned changing the battery, so I agree that the R&R should be changed next.

Also, as a side note, there is a multi quote feature if you are reply to more than 1 post.

 

[CaptainKyle]

If the one off my 88 cures the problem you can either keep it or if you decide you want to go with the new style I can sell them for around $ 65 bucks.

 

[Saml01]

What you describe is normal for a 12v battery. They wont hold 14 volts for very long, and sitting around 12.4 - 12.8 is considered normal. I also don't think its your charging system since you say the voltage would climb at higher RPMs.

 

[sdt354]

$65 is an excellent price for the newer style Reg Capt. Hope it works for ya Dave. I think it will, since a known good batt was tried. Can't hurt to check the stator and stator plug connection also.
Steve-o

 

[CaptainKyle]

$65 is an excellent price for the newer style Reg Capt. Hope it works for ya Dave. I think it will, since a known good batt was tried. Can't hurt to check the stator and stator plug connection also.
Steve-o

Its an aftermarket rr not a Yamaha brand but I have had good luck with them on my other bikes.

 

[SpecOps13]

I'm really limited on this computer I have for now. It's my Gaming Computer and doesn't have a lot of the On Line goodies my internet computer has. The other computer is blue screening and won't even boot to Safe Mode. I tried to install spell check, it here but it didn't take... Forgive me for errors..


CaptainKyle: I think I'll get one of those newer R&R's if the one you loan me fixes the problem but isn't where I feel safe with it... That's a really good price....

I'll eventually figure out all the features of this site. So far I've just been getting by and posting... :biglaugh:

 

[SpecOps13]

Still living up to it's name. I installed the loaner, older style R&R that Kyle brought to me at the Chili Cook Off Sunday. Now, it reads 14V at Idle and drops to 13.65 by 4000 RPM??????:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:WTF, Over?????

 

[Miles Long]

"Still living up to it's name. I installed the loaner, older style R&R that Kyle brought to me at the Chili Cook Off Sunday. Now, it reads 14V at Idle and drops to 13.65 by 4000 RPM??????:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:WTF, Over?????"

Dave - The clymer manual says regulator no-load output is 14-15 volts, with the charging voltage being 14 volts @ 5000 rpm.
What does your bike show for voltage at 5k? Does it continue to drop at even higher rpm's, or remain steady? What happens when you load the system (lights, fan), at 5k or so?

 

[naughtyG]

Dave, I was seeing rather strange readings on mine too when it all went tits up. Sometime it looked like charging, other times it did not, but in the end the stator was well fried and replacing it fixed it.
I guess the main question is: how is your connector for the 3 wires coming out of the stator, and has it ever been melted or otherwise mangled? I'm about 99% sure that this connector was the reason my stator fried.

 

[SpecOps13]

13.65 at 5,000 RPM. Remains steady above about 2,000 rpm.

It's kinda cool having bright lights with 14 volts at idle....:rofl_200:


G, I was there when you pulled your coils... I have to pull the cover to seal the wires so I'll find out then.. The 3 wires are soldered as is the ground and positive leads from the R&R...

Thanx for the inputs guys,

 

[Miles Long]

13.65 at 5,000 RPM. Remains steady above about 2,000 rpm.

It's kinda cool having bright lights with 14 volts at idle....:rofl_200:


G, I was there when you pulled your coils... I have to pull the cover to seal the wires so I'll find out then.. The 3 wires are soldered as is the ground and positive leads from the R&R...

Thanx for the inputs guys,

13.65 at charging speeds doesn't seem too far out of the ballpark, Dave.Certainly enough to keep the battery charged up, and then some.
And the RR seems to be "regulating", by limiting damaging higher voltages.
Are you sure you have a problem??? Miles

 

[SpecOps13]

Miles: I'm not sure of anything with this bike.. Things change on a daily basis.. I took a ride last night and it ran perfect not a single miss. Ran the interstate and shut the bike down from about 3,000 in third gear, coasting into the driveway.

I checked the battery this morning and it was holding at 13.01 volts. That's higher than this battery was holding in the 94. It was 12.88 there.:ummm:

Later in the day I had a chance to pull the plugs and check them. This after a touch up sync had been performed only days ago. I'm now using Standard NGK Plugs.

1. Left front cylinder, plug was very light tan insulator. Perfect in my book.

2. Left rear cylinder, very dark almost black but not wet of fluffy.

3. Right rear cylinder, lighter than the left rear but still a very dark brown.

4. Front right cylinder, lighter than the rear but still a little rich, color of moderate brown..


The bike ran perfectly without a single miss, surge or any other indication of making the plugs look so different...:bang head::bang head::bang head:

Next time I check the bike, God knows what will have changed...:confused2:

 

[Miles Long]

"Miles: I'm not sure of anything with this bike.. Things change on a daily basis.. I took a ride last night and it ran perfect not a single miss. Ran the interstate and shut the bike down from about 3,000 in third gear, coasting into the driveway.

I checked the battery this morning and it was holding at 13.01 volts. That's higher than this battery was holding in the 94. It was 12.88 there.:ummm:

Later in the day I had a chance to pull the plugs and check them. This after a touch up sync had been performed only days ago. I'm now using Standard NGK Plugs.

1. Left front cylinder, plug was very light tan insulator. Perfect in my book.

2. Left rear cylinder, very dark almost black but not wet of fluffy.

3. Right rear cylinder, lighter than the left rear but still a very dark brown.

4. Front right cylinder, lighter than the rear but still a little rich, color of moderate brown..


The bike ran perfectly without a single miss, surge or any other indication of making t:confused2:he plugs look so different...:bang head::bang head::bang head:"

Hey Dave -take one problem at a time.....
your "charging?" problems?? - an electrician friend of mine set me straight on this-
-the battery is the heart of the system,and must be kept -"happy"- at 12.6 -12.8 volts (cold)-fully charged
-the auxilaries-stator, regulator -only serve to keep the battery "happy'', regardless of bike rpm.

You said the battery was reading 13.01 , after an extended run. THIS IS NORMAL, NO PROBLEM WITH YOUR CHARGING SYSTEM

 

[SpecOps13]

Miles,

13.01 volts, 14 hours after an extended run...:biglaugh: Little Hi ????:confused2:

Thanks for the push in the right direction. I normally take on one problem at a time, it's just that for every one I fix with this bike... 2 more crop up...:sad2: It seems Endless....:bang head: