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[Peter 53]

Hi all,
I found myself stranded twice last week due to a completely discharged battery, now I need to find the source of the problem rather than keep on charging up the battery overnight
Here is a short video of the ammeter at idle - should it dip so suddenly when I switch the headlight on? It also does this but not as noticeably when the brake light comes on.

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=dz7y9k&s=6

Any comments, thoughts or otherwise always welcome!

Cheers,
Peter.

[Peter 53]

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=dz7y9k&s=6

[grunda 12]

hi peter ,i havn,t seen your video as i can never get links but it sounds like 1 your alternator is not working ,2 you have a rectifier regulator problem,3 your batteries up the creek or may be a bad earth or a combination ,checking the alternator and regulator are easy done with a multi meter our host has some tech notes on this procedure hope some of this helps paul.

[Alan R]

Hello there, PETER 53 }----- Have watched the vid.---it's a bit out of focus so hard to tell exactly but got the general gist, I think. You didn't increase the engine RPM to see if there was a charge of any sort---that would help. Also, with the headlight on (Main beam please) and shining onto a close wall, door etc. does the light brighten when you increase the RPM ?? I would caution on trying to take accurate readings with the bikes' own ammeter. Treat that as a guide at best---who knows, that might be faulty itself. Another quick check is to either do a high-load discharge test on the battery after fully charging it, OR substitute another battery known to be OK and see if that one becomes discharged in use. Naturally you will have removed and cleaned ALL the earth points first. As GRUNDA 12 says----have a look at our hosts Tech. notes on ee-lek-trikery !! There's also some good colour photos as well---which is nice !!!

[Les H]

Hi Peter. Your ammeter has very lttle damping shown by the way is the needle is flicking about so much. It is quite normal for an ammeter to flick heavily to the discharge side when you switch on the headlight. The headlight bulb filament is a very low resisatnce when cold and draws a very high current for the split second it takes to illuminate brightly. The current then steadies up at the rated amount of about 4-5 map depending on wattage. same goes for the stop light switch. What your video does not indivate is the ammeter reading when you have the headlight switched on then you rev the engine....you just leave it running at tickover. See if the ammeter needle moves to the central position when you rev the engine with the light on, then come back and let us know what the ammeter shows. Also what bike is it?

[Peter 53]

Thanks for the replies lads, I did increase the revs later on in the day to check this, but no the ammeter did not return to the central position. I don't know what you mean Les when you said "Your ammeter has very lttle damping shown by the way is the needle is flicking about so much" - as far as I can remember it has always been like that. It's a 1999 Bullet 500 that I have owned for 2 years - the guy who sold it to me had totally rewired it to DC and put 2 rec/regs in the the left-hand tool box, he did give me a wiring diagram but electrics are a bit daunting for me, to say the least. Recent problems that have led up to the current (no pun intended!) situation may have contributed or been indicators of something else amiss... a couple of weeks back the low-beam filament blew so I rode around with the hi-beam on for a few days, then whenever I switched the headlight on (in hi-beam position) the main fuse blew. There is nothing left of the original electrics on the bike - all switches, fuses, lights etc have been replaced. It did have a battery state monitor on it when I first got it that the previous owner fitted but I removed this when the wires to the bulb started frying - I also removed the cut off switch as this was unreliable (i.e. stuck in the OFF position).
I will check through the notes you have mentioned... just have to learn how to use a multi-meter (got a very old one that was my dad's) as I will have to study the wiring diagram at length.

[Alan R]

--------Hello there LES H }----ah, the plot thickens and, as with most reported faults----there's more to it than first meets the eye. So, with a "total" re-wire by an unknown quantity ( was the chap an Auto-electrician ??) this one's going to be -----------------INTERESTING, to say the least. BUT, we'll stick with it and see if we can't get you back on the road again ?????? LES is referring to the way the needle swings quickly from side to side. Better quality ones have a built-in system of cutting that down to just a smooth movement. Mine's just the same---as long as it shows SOME charge then I'm happy. I don't think your man would have fitted two regulators and two rectifiers----- I suspect that to be the twin unit ie one wired to the other. If your ammeter did NOT come over to the middle OR move slightly to the +ve side then it would seem that there is no current being generated or rectified ( that's why I asked for the "headlamp brightening" test to be done). You will need to check that all your bulbs are of the correct ratings. Can you get a good copy/photo of this wiring diagramme that he gave you and post it for us to look at---that would be a great help. This may take some time----but it's still raining so who's worried ?? PS .......... can you get one of those moving pointer type multi-meters ?? They're so much easier to "read" than a digital type, I think.

[Les H]

Hi Pete, unless you have a broken connection somewhere, it would seem that that either the rectifier or the regulator has failed. There are Tech Notes available for testing the charging circuit here on this site. If you are not so hot on electrics, you might struggle to get to the root of the problem especially as all the wiring is non-standard. I would be tempted to buy a new wiring harness and rewire the bike. The extra dual rect/reg units that have been fitted are going to add to the headache to sort out what is going on. It is likely that one set of rect/regs might be ok. For about a hundred quid or bit more you will be able to get a new harness and new rec/reg units or use what you have if onbe set is OK....You might wish to go back to the AC lighting which is going to need the AC regulator. For someone OK with electrics it will be an easy job but to supply you with endless instructions here is going to be very difficult for you to get it working reliably and correctly and you will need to supply all the details of the existing wiring to get a handle on it.

[Norm]

Peter, firstly is it a 3 wire or 4 witr alternator and how has it been wired into the wiring. Once we know that we should be able to tell you how to test the alt because with it revving it should produve around 30 volts A/C If not you have a stator problem, if yes you have a rectifier /regulator problem. I would also like to know the wire colours he has used to the re/reg unit and where they go and you can test this with your meter using the ohms setting. Once this is sorted we can tell you the next steps. Does the wiring loom look to have been done well or is it a ratty mix of wires.

[Peter 53]

Norm - the wiring has been done very neatly, (except for bits that I have added) to the point where it looks better than you would expect, and I will try to post a wiring diagram later today.