battery problems... - Sportbike Addicts

DSH · 08-21-2006, 11:26 AM

Would really appreciate any input and suggestions on how to diagnose what's causing the problems as well as how to fix them. Below is the synopsis:

This saturday I was participating in a group ride with my '01 R6. During this ride I experienced an issue w/ battery power. Upon stopping for lunch after 1.5hrs of riding and some rain, my bike wouldn't turn over. My voltmeter indicated a low charge. I thought it peculiar as I'd been riding for a good 1hr at least. After doing a rolling start I was able to travel another 20mi, as I slowed to make another stop I noticed my speedometer was blanked out. The bike wouldn't start again, I noticed the headlights were dim and the guy trailing me said he noticed my brakelights were flickering as I approached the stop. One more rolling start and I was off and moving…400ft later the speedo blanked out, I had the throttle cracked wide open but I was getting no acceleration. The bike just went dead on me.

Upon returning home I charged up my battery to 12V, stuck it back in the bike and it started. I watched the voltmeter as the battery was off, 12V, with engine one, 12.2V, then I started revving the engine to about 3k and the voltmeter showed that the battery was taking a charge. WTF!?!?!?!??!!?

Some theories I have: 1) before the ride I had disconnected my after mkt alarm. I don't know how it works or what cables I really should disconnect but I was remembering how some car alarms will prevent you from starting the engine if you don't have the right wires removed/connected. 2) rain shorted something out or caused some connection issues therefore affecting the battery power. 3) battery is old 4) alternator/regulator/restrictor needs replacing.

Mostly I'm afraid that the alternator/regulator/etc needs replacing. It's not something any of the shops here can get done for me to be ready for Pocono this w/e. I want to say this isn't the cause mainly due to the fact the voltmeter is showing that I'm taking a charge when I revved the engine. I bought a brand new battery yest, found a shop in CT 1hr away that's open on SUNDAYS. The other possibility is that the hackjob done w/ this after mkt alarm is somehow, somewhere affecting power supply. What do you think? Pls help.

***Cakes206*** · 08-21-2006, 11:37 AM

When you took the battery out to charge it, were the + and - cables tight?

DSH · 08-21-2006, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cakes

When you took the battery out to charge it, were the + and - cables tight?

if you mean tightly secured to the batter then yes, embarrassingly enough i've experienced that and have been very careful to tighten up the screws. thx

RCM78 · 08-21-2006, 12:30 PM

What was the voltage at the battery when you revved it to 3k??

Sounds like a typical rectifier regulator problem...

DSH · 08-21-2006, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCM78

What was the voltage at the battery when you revved it to 3k??

Sounds like a typical rectifier regulator problem...

voltmeter read 12.6 after revving.

if it is a rectifier regulator problem, what course of action would you advise I take? thanks

Shelly · 08-21-2006, 01:11 PM

I had a somewhat similar problem w/ my bike not starting out of the blue one day. I traced wire coming from ignition switch and reseated the connection and that did the trick for me

might've gotten knocked loose somewhere along the way for me. Just my 5 cents but hope it helps. Here's my thread I posted up and got some other pointers for things to check...
http://sportbikeaddicts.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=3191
~Shel

Shelly · 08-21-2006, 01:14 PM

You can also get some advice from Ron @ WCW too...

DSH · 08-21-2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninjagirl

You can also get some advice from Ron @ WCW too...

Thank you Shelly, I did read your post re: problems starting. Was helpful.

***Cakes206*** · 08-21-2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSH

voltmeter read 12.6 after revving.

After or during? I think it should read 14.something during the revs.

DSH · 08-21-2006, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cakes

After or during? I think it should read 14.something during the revs.

during the revvs it read 12.6. i'm sure if i let it rev for more than 5min it'd go to 13V. i turned everything off, went to get a drink of water, came back and when i powered it back on the voltmeter read 12.2V.

ImmaSquashYou · 08-21-2006, 02:25 PM

Your system is NOT charging properly. It should read somewhere around high 14's i believe. At least thats in the car. I had a dead battery, i believe it was like frakenstein where its been dead n brought back to life. I had problems starting it because it wouldn't hold the charge for a long time n when i idled for too long, it just killed the battery. But it would be fine if i just keep on riding without the battery sit for too long. BTW, you have a stator n rotor, not an alternator. Main difference between these things is that the alternator charges even when ur in idle, and stator and rotor does not, only after 3k rpms. I havent' dealt with stator/rotor problems on hand, but they shouldn't go bad. like rcm said, probably a rectifire problem. All that a stator n rotor is made of is wires and a magnet that spin n creates a field of energy, but i don't go into exactly how it works since it'll probably take days

***Cakes206*** · 08-21-2006, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSH

during the revvs it read 12.6. i'm sure if i let it rev for more than 5min it'd go to 13V.

It should jump up to 14.whatever pretty quick. Also, check all your igntion saftey cut off connections, i.e. side stand switch, clutch lever switch, red kill switch, bank angle sensor...it seams like you were having the issue when the bike was moving? vibrations + loose connections can = headaches.

DSH · 08-21-2006, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImmaSquashYou

Your system is NOT charging properly...

Thanks, that's really good to know. How do i determine exactly if i need to replace the rectifier? Should i just head over to my nearest yamaha mechanic? any suggestions for one w/i 15min of 06831? thx

ImmaSquashYou · 08-21-2006, 02:42 PM

well, in a car with alternator, there is a voltage recgulator and a alternator brush. The alternator brush is usually what needs to be replaced. THe rectifier is basically what that is in a sense (not really tho). but i would def go to the dealership and tell them that its not chraging due to the rectifier and ask them how much is it going to be replaced. Or if u have a hanynes manual, see how hard it is to do urself. buy the part and see if that fixes it. I don't believe that any other wires such as the kill switch n everything might come into play since u are testing this over the battery terminals. then again, i might be wrong. I would check to see if the wires to the stator/rotor are ok. rectifier should be a cheap part, but then again, its the labor that is expensive.

***Cakes206*** · 08-21-2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSH

How do i determine exactly if i need to replace the rectifier? Should i just head over to my nearest yamaha mechanic?

SHould be able to put a meeter on connection out of the rectifier.