I recently bought a 1998 fireblade and after running it fine for two weeks i left it out in the freezing cold for a couple of nights, after which it refused to start. The engine was cranking slowly so i assumed it was a simple flat battery. When the guy from the AA came over he charged it up and then kept the voltmeter on the battery while i revved the engine in order to check that it was charging properly. It showed the voltage increasing to over 20 volts at 6000rpm. the guy said that it shouldnt exceed 14 volts. Is this a problem with my rectifier or with my generator? or is it neither or both? How can i tell the difference? any help appreciated.
2007-12-14 09:43:09 · 8 answers · asked by Nushan G 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Motorcycles
it is your reg/rec it can fail in two ways either over charging or under charging, usualy the first, i would only suspect the gen if there was no charge.
2007-12-14 20:59:01 · answer #1 · answered by hamyam69 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The AA guy was correct.
The charging system should not charge the battery over 14.5 volts. No matter how fast the engine is reving.
Either the regulator is going bad, or it's ground isn't making a good connection.
Run a jumper wire from the regulator/rectifier's green wire to ground and test the battery's voltage again.
If the battery still gets charged over 14.5 volts, change the regulator/rectifier.
Over charging a battery can cause it to explode.
2007-12-14 18:28:30 · answer #2 · answered by guardrailjim 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its your rectifier the charger voltage should no exceed 14 volts even with lights on. If you run the bike for to long you will need a new battery as well assuming its not damaged all ready.
2007-12-15 04:14:49 · answer #3 · answered by madirishmanb 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
had same problem with yam divi was reg rec also check volts when lights on this tends to drop volts & save battery & check battery type i had a cheep one went through 3 the same make after changed reg rec then bought another cheep one from differant place now ok , oh also the first reg rec i got was faulty so cost me one of the 3, this was over 3 years take my time sorting things (lol)
2007-12-14 17:56:12 · answer #4 · answered by quasar 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Over 20?
More like 26.
Regulator portion of rectifier/regulator. (2 components built into one package)
Buy yourself a repair manual. Just for reference if you don't want to do the work yourself. The simple tests to prove this are detailed there. Almost anyone can do this one, without getting dirty.
2007-12-14 20:13:26 · answer #5 · answered by Firecracker . 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
*This is a VERY familiar problem* - they all do that sir! The reg/rect unit is located where it gets very little air flow, and it has a poxy little heatsink.
Replace the unit and relocate it to somewhere it'll get some cooling air. Some people fit a PC cooling fan to the heatsink, some thermal paste between the heatsink and frame wouldn't hurt either.
2007-12-16 19:43:01 · answer #6 · answered by Steve C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hondas are notorious for having dodgy regulator/rectifiers. I'd look there first.
2007-12-14 19:47:22 · answer #7 · answered by Darren R 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It could be just the battery. Take it off put it on a separate charger, and see if it still charges high, if it does then its the battery...if not..???
2007-12-14 17:55:55 · answer #8 · answered by Beacher 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋