Charging problems

[sheltiedave]

Went to fire up the bike last weekend but there was no life , so just thought the old battery had died as I have no idea how old it was .

Put on a new battery and she fired up no problems . Being a nice day I went out for a run and after a while noticed the orange engine light came on , pulled over , switched the bike off to have a look around , found nothing . So went to start the bike again , but another flat battery after about 40 miles .

Got the bike home , recharged the newest battery and did a test . Battery sitting in the bike 12.9v .Started the bike up and after a few minutes of warming up tried her through the rev range up to about 5000 rpms and the battery was always dropping volts down to between 12.2-12.3 volts .

Tried taking a reading from the 3 whites wires coming from the stator and getting 00.5 ohms but if you hold it long enough it goes down to 00.4 ohms on all 3 wires .

The book says 0.22 to 0.34 , so is the stator packed up since I'm getting higher reading or regulator/rectifier problem .

Can the stator be physically inspected for sings of wear/problems ?

 

[FinalImpact]

Went to fire up the bike last weekend but there was no life , so just thought the old battery had died as I have no idea how old it was .

Put on a new battery and she fired up no problems . Being a nice day I went out for a run and after a while noticed the orange engine light came on , pulled over , switched the bike off to have a look around , found nothing . So went to start the bike again , but another flat battery after about 40 miles .

Got the bike home , recharged the newest battery and did a test . Battery sitting in the bike 12.9v .Started the bike up and after a few minutes of warming up tried her through the rev range up to about 5000 rpms and the battery was always dropping volts down to between 12.2-12.3 volts .

Tried taking a reading from the 3 whites wires coming from the stator and getting 00.5 ohms but if you hold it long enough it goes down to 00.4 ohms on all 3 wires .

The book says 0.22 to 0.34 , so is the stator packed up since I'm getting higher reading or regulator/rectifier problem .

Can the stator be physically inspected for sings of wear/problems ?

^^ Thats too bad.
So, when taking readings this low and close to zero you have to subtract the resistance of the leads themselves.
- Using the lowest meter setting and the one used on the bike, Touch and hold the test lead tips together. Depending on the meter type you can sometimes, ZERO the meter so the Test Lead Resistance (while touching) is Automatically removed from the measurement OR simply subtract the value from that taken.

Example of Test Leads touching might show say 0.056 ohms. Subtract this from the stator readings.

Yes, often times the stator burns and people see a visual cue that failure has occurred once the cover is removed.

Verify NONE of the leads show a short to engine/chassis ground also.

Reconnect everything and set the meter to AC Volts. Test from Engine ground to each white wire at say idle and 5000 RPM. Voltage output is RPM related so ANY MINOR change in RPM can alter the AC output. If all are about the same, I'd be inspecting all connections and testing the R/R before pulling the side cover off.

Take a look here for more info... its down a post or two: Troubleshooting & maintenance guide, Fuel Pump, Battery & Charging, Brake Bleeding
There is some info on testing the stator and R/R.
Also, look at the post down a ways about Leakage Current.

 

[sheltiedave]

^^ Thats too bad.
So, when taking readings this low and close to zero you have to subtract the resistance of the leads themselves.
- Using the lowest meter setting and the one used on the bike, Touch and hold the test lead tips together. Depending on the meter type you can sometimes, ZERO the meter so the Test Lead Resistance (while touching) is Automatically removed from the measurement OR simply subtract the value from that taken.

The voltmeter is a bit of a cheapy to be honest , only seems to go down to 00.0 instead of 00.00 given a more accurate reading . Held the lead tips together and it was reading 00.1 ,but still at the high end.

 

[FinalImpact]

The voltmeter is a bit of a cheapy to be honest , only seems to go down to 00.0 instead of 00.00 given a more accurate reading . Held the lead tips together and it was reading 00.1 ,but still at the high end.

That may not have the resolution you need. It should show a direct short or an open which are booth good to know...

From the link: (some info is a repeat....)
Core components of the FZ6 Charging system:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Testing the Stator:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Stator coil resistance (Note: unplug Stator at RR
0.22–0.34 Ω at 20°C (68°F)

The only way to get an accurate reading is to use the Range of 1.0 Ω and short the meters leads together and Record this value so it can be subtracted from your final readings or if the meter has advanced functions, Zero the or press the "relative" button. This takes the current reading in ohms and subtracts the leads resistance so the meter is now reporting 0.000 ohms. Now test each of the three combinations of White wires to the stator.

Check A, B, & C to verify 0.22–0.34 Ω
Check A -> B
Check A -> C
Check B -> C

Check A, B, & C to Engine ground. This should read infinite ohms (i.e. more than 1,000,000 Ω)

Example: If your meter is set to 1 ohm scale and it reads 0.39 ohms while the leads are firmly touching each other, subtract 0.39 ohms from ALL readings.
So if White A to B = 0.67 ohms, subtract 0.39 = 0.28 ohms = PASS or tests good. If it reads 2.5 ohms, the Stator is bad. Or if testing lead C to the engine ground shows 20 ohms. The stator is bad and it needs replaced.

This drawing is showing more detail as to what's inside the RR - a series of diodes that allow current flow in one direction but not the other. It does not depict the Shunt regulator which which takes excess energy and converts it too heat.

A video - how to check the Diodes in the RR
Credit: Stock motorcycle regulator/rectifier check out. By: Roadstercycle
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8EjV0IjW9Q"]YouTube[/ame]

 

[Motogiro]

To add to your trouble shooting... One other aspect of testing the regulator rectifier is that even though the diodes show good for forward and reverse current, which is the rectifier section of the regulator/rectifier the regulator section maybe bad. The regulator is a shunt type regulator and clamps the current to create heat in the heat sink. If the regulator is faulty it might be clamping at a lower voltage and not allowing the battery to charge this would be evident when the stator proves to be good and the diodes in the regulator rectifier prove to be good and you get a lot of heat on the heat sink of the regulator/rectifier but no charging to the battery.

Also the regulator can go open where you will see lots of higher voltage and can cook the battery as well as damage component via the higher non regulated voltage.

Sent from Moto's Motorola