R/R questions

[Ramalama]

93 VMax. I have been having some little hiccups lately with the bike and I think they have something to do with the charging system. When I check the voltage at the battery with the bike running I get all sorts of weird readings. At idle it's charging about 14V and when I rev it to about 3k it charges at about 13.6V. This is with the low beams on. Now if I turn on the high beams then it reads 14.5V at idle and 15.8V at 3k rpms. Last, if I hook up my electric jacket and gloves then it charges at 14.2V at idle and 14.9V at 3k rpm. Also, I have one of those headlight bypass deals on the bike (was on it when I got it) that bypasses the fuse box and connects directly to the battery, not sure if that makes any difference though. Anyways, the first two tests seem waaaayyyy off. The only test that really holds to what I would expect is the last and even it seems to be charging a bit high.

Any ideas??? Would it be safe to say that my R/R is shot due to the fact that it seems to be so erratic?

 

[naughtyG]

If you can find / borrow a R/R from someone it could give you an easy answer..

Do double check the 3-pin connector that comes out of the alternator though, mine was burnt out, resulting in having to replace the alternator.

 

[sdt354]

Sounds like R/R is needed. I've never gotten 14 volts from mine. But, she cranks right up after weeks of sitting without a charger on it. I seem to maintain 13.7 loaded at idle with everything on including a few extras. I'm using a late model OEM r/r.
Steve

 

[Miles Long]

First thing I'd do - verify the readings. Borrow another good-quality meter, check to make sure the readings are accurate.
If O.K., then take your battery in to a shop that will do a load-test for you (usually free)
If the battery is O.K., and the readings are accurate, I'd replace the RR. You should never be getting readings above 15 volts - this will fry your battery.
The Electrosport fault-finding chart is a great guide to follow for diagnosing charging issues.
Cheers!

 

[Ramalama]

Well.....I just checked everything again and now every test I perform comes up with 14.6V at idle and 16V at at 3k rpm. It seems to have a mind of its own I guess.

naughty G - I've tested the stator and checked all my connections and everything seems to be good.

I have a Mosfet R/R that I bought a while back but never put on because everything was working fine at the time so I think I'm going to go ahead and make the swap if I can figure out where to mount it.

 

[Ramalama]

First thing I'd do - verify the readings. Borrow another good-quality meter, check to make sure the readings are accurate.
If O.K., then take your battery in to a shop that will do a load-test for you (usually free)
If the battery is O.K., and the readings are accurate, I'd replace the RR. You should never be getting readings above 15 volts - this will fry your battery.
The Electrosport fault-finding chart is a great guide to follow for diagnosing charging issues.
Cheers!

Battery is new and the electrosport fault finding guide is what I've been working off of with all of this. That thing is a great how to.

 

[Bill Seward]

New style unit has both ground and charge wires. Go right to battery with these. No need having your fresh new electrons you've just generated getting lost on the way to the battery. I had the 3 connector plug between the stator and the R/R melt due to corrosion induced resistance. There's a lot of electricity being produced there, and any bad connections at that point will increase resistance. Run electricity through resistance - you get heat. Enough to actually melt the plug. I fixed mine by cutting the plug off both the stator and the R/R, and soldering (I wouldn't do a crimp connector here...) the wires together. Being 3-phase AC, it does not matter which white wire from the stator connects to which input wire on the R/R unit. This made a 25 year headache go away, my '85 charged like crap till I did this mod a few years ago. (Thanks to this forum for the idea!)
I also did the Gold Wing battery mod, and a set of COPS to replace the coils. Now the bike starts - hot or cold - immediately. Wipe the dust off the starter button, and the bike's running, with great charge voltage throughout the RPM range.