timgray Posted July 19, 2009 #1 Posted July 19, 2009 After riding, well idling through steel horse alley at the Bike time Rally this weekend about 30 times, I noticed something. My volt gauge is bouncing from 12V to normal from time to time. when I get on the open road at 35+mph it seems fine at a full charge. Did I overheat my Stator by idling the bike for about 6 hours while trying to get through the traffic and people that act surprised when a bike wants to get through at a bike rally and dont get out of the way. Temps were in the mid 70's bike never overheated, the fan came on a lot.
barend Posted July 20, 2009 #2 Posted July 20, 2009 Tim, I'm sure more knowledgeable people will give more technical answers, but here's my version. My volt meter will show 12 volts (or less wth driving light on) when idling. It'll jump back as soon as RPM's pick up. my approach would be to watch it and make sure it charges as it should when running even as low as 1500/2000 RPM.
Snaggletooth Posted July 20, 2009 #3 Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) Hey Tim. I'd be more interested in the connection plugs and wires myself. Did you ever upgrade to a higher performance stator. I remember you were asking questions on that a while back. And then there is the guage itself. Not so hot to start with. If you check the charging system after a cold start with a decent multimeter and then again after it hits operating temps you might see a difference. Now I'm going to mention this. I installed the Buckeye upgrade a couple of thousand miles ago along with the DEKA AGM battery. Best move I made with this bike. No more battery problems or hot starting problems at all. I installed a digital voltmeter in the dash to monitor the charging system. No more worries. BUT, I have noticed odds fluxes in the charge that seem to be related to the temps. I installed everything when the weather was warm and running into the 90's on some days. The charge always ran about 14.3 to 14.5 with only the headlight and stock running lights on. The way it should be. Now we have had some pretty cool mornings lately dropping into the 50's and not getting over 75 during the day. The charges is sitting around 13.4 to 13.9 when it is colder out. It warmed up today and the charge ran up to 14.3 while I was out on the highway running for a while. The meter always shows the battery at 12.8 to 13.0 when I shut it off and even after the bike has sat for a few days. It's charging fine but the temps seem to affect it. As a note: The voltmeter in the dash is a bit low when compared to the digital. Even at 14.5 volts on the digi the analog shows a bit below the line to indicate the proper charge. With the bike not running the analog shows about 11 volts when the digi shows 12.8. Oh.... and one question. Was the voltmeter dropping during the slow crawl though the crowd when you applied the brakes? That will show up on the gauge like a rock dropping. Those two 1157's really draw the amps. So with all that said have you checked the three leads from the stator with a voltmeter so see if they are all equal? Edited July 20, 2009 by Snaggletooth
timgray Posted July 20, 2009 Author #4 Posted July 20, 2009 I never got around to the higher power upgrade. Here's the wierd part. When idling it was about 12V, if I hit the brakes it would drop lower. then after idling for another 15-20 minutes it would simply ramp up to 14.5-15 volts and hang there for a while. When it was low, revving even to 3500 rpm will not bring up the voltage. I'm gonna tear apart the bike this week and check all the plugs and wires.
Venturous Randy Posted July 20, 2009 #5 Posted July 20, 2009 A few weeks ago when I was having a problem with the side stand switch, I also unplugged the rectifier and cleaned the connections good. It appears to have helped the readings I was getting on the volt meter as I was getting some inconsistant readings also. RandyA
Condor Posted July 20, 2009 #6 Posted July 20, 2009 I had the same thing happen on the '83, and changed out the rectifier, new AGM battery, and hard wired the 3 white wire plug. Never happened again. At idle the stator doesn't put out any charge. Only when it reaches 2000+rpm. So if it's not putting out enough to take care of the needs of the electrical system it will draw from the battery. If the battery can't handle the load everything will 'brown out'....
Snaggletooth Posted July 20, 2009 #7 Posted July 20, 2009 Hey Jack. You put the DEKA in the '83? That quite to lil power house for a battery ain't it. Best battery I ever bought. Mike
Condor Posted July 20, 2009 #8 Posted July 20, 2009 Hey Jack. You put the DEKA in the '83? That quite to lil power house for a battery ain't it. Best battery I ever bought. Mike Actually I tried the Odyssey first, and it was OK. Then because the Deka had the same foot print as the OEM Yuasa I gave one a try. Plus the specs were a tad higher. Anyway I like it a lot. Haven't been riding much lately due to some health issues, but everytime I go out there and hit the start button it acts like I put it to bed yesterday. Plus the retail on the Deka is a heck of a lot better than what they're trying to pull out of the Odysseys. And ya'll know I'm all for that....
Snaggletooth Posted July 20, 2009 #9 Posted July 20, 2009 I hear ya Jack. Price is unreal for battery performance. I put mine though the wringer everyday. Sometimes 20 or 25 starts a day and hot or cold she spins like a top. Let her sit for a few days and it's still full capacity every time. I ordered mine right after Josh started posting his specs and you ordered yours. So far...so good. Hope your health issues are minor and get back in the saddle soon. Anyway......back at the ranch....
Condor Posted July 20, 2009 #10 Posted July 20, 2009 Hope your health issues are minor and get back in the saddle soon. Yeah, nothing earth shaking, just nagging PITA stuff. It's a biatch getting old...
timgray Posted July 20, 2009 Author #11 Posted July 20, 2009 I had the same thing happen on the '83, and changed out the rectifier, new AGM battery, and hard wired the 3 white wire plug. Never happened again. At idle the stator doesn't put out any charge. Only when it reaches 2000+rpm. So if it's not putting out enough to take care of the needs of the electrical system it will draw from the battery. If the battery can't handle the load everything will 'brown out'.... That makes a lot of sense. The radiator fan was running, so if at idle no power is generated and the fan kicks on then it will drop way down. I was mostly worried about how it was not coming back up when I revved it. I'll check all those connections.
Yammer Dan Posted July 20, 2009 #12 Posted July 20, 2009 Yeah, nothing earth shaking, just nagging PITA stuff. It's a biatch getting old... You got that Right!!! What is the # on that Deka Battery. I know it was here before but....
wes0778 Posted July 20, 2009 #13 Posted July 20, 2009 Yeah, nothing earth shaking, just nagging PITA stuff. It's a biatch getting old... Just remember, getting old beats the alternative!!!:stickpoke:
Condor Posted July 20, 2009 #14 Posted July 20, 2009 You got that Right!!! What is the # on that Deka Battery. I know it was here before but.... ETX18L for the 1stGens....
Ozark Posted July 20, 2009 #15 Posted July 20, 2009 ETX18L for the 1stGens.... I'm with Mike on this one. My battery was getting old, but man what a difference it makes. Hot starts, cold starts. or a long time between, the bike just fires right up. Sometimes before I even realize it has turned over. If this battery only lasted one year I would buy it over and over and over again.
Snaggletooth Posted July 20, 2009 #16 Posted July 20, 2009 We had a long discussion on batteriers on this thread. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33375&highlight=deka+ETX18L&page=3 Get ahold of Joshua at Bohannon Battery and order from him. Great guy to deal with and a member here. Can't beat the price for the quality of the battery. Better ratings than anything else out there for a lot more bucks. http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka.html
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