battery or stator?

[painterman67]

Hey there another newby here,

 

Lets start of buy saying I'm not the most mechanically inclined person there is wright from the start.

 

Now for my problem. After about an hour or so of ridding my 91 VR the battery gets week and inevetably I start to get the slow starts. The bike is also surging (for lack of a better way of explaining it) when i excellerate and also when I level of. It runs ok in 5th gear at 50 mph but if you drop it to 45 in 5th it has that whole surge thing going on. I've already tried multiple applications of sea foam and also checked the battery. The battery was low on fluid and power( about 4-6)volts so I charged it overnight after topping of the fluids and it had only dropped slightly over night. All this is voltage readings are coming from the gauge on the bike as I have no acess ( speeling?) to a meter.

 

Since I dont have a meter I was wondering could I do the trick of removing the positive cable from the bike while it is running or does that not workwith a stator. I now it works with ans alternator but that is a different animal all together.

 

Any ideas woulsd be greatly appreciated as I have only had this bike for a few months and am looking forward to many more years to come with it. This problem has also gotten worse since I added a pair of running lights ( the 55 watt lights from walmart).

 

Cant say enough about this site as I have enjoyed the time I've spent hear greatly.

 

 

Again any ideas that a mechanics dream like me could do in the drive with limited tools would be greatly appreciated.

 

David

[GigaWhiskey]

You might want to check the charging ability. i am not up on that but someone will prolly jump in and tell you.

 

I am going to assume the battery cable connections are clear and tight.

 

Regardless if it is the stator or not, as you own a first gen, contact TupperJ about a new set of cables (thicker and not 20 years old) and look into an Odyssey battery (PC680). I make no profit on the suggestions, you will as I have when I added them to mine.

 

If that battery was that low, chances are it is toast and just not wanting to take much of a charge anymore and cannot deliver what is requested of it anymore.

[NL Rider]

Hey David,

I had a similar problem with my '84. It would start ok at first, but then not have enough juice to start the bike after a short (one hour) ride. The battery looked good and would charge up fine on the charger. It wouldn't loose a charge over night when left on the bike. It seemed like the only problem was that it didn't seem to be charging while i was riding. I thought that it might be the stator, but since I'm not very mechanical I decided to try swapping out the battery before I got into something that I didn't know a whole lot about. It ran fine with the new battery and I haven't had a problem. I figure that the battery was done for even though it looked good. Don't know if this helps, but it might be a simple fix. Good luck.

Dana.

[GeorgeS]

With Everything hooked up normal. Use Digital Volt/Ohm Meter.

 

Measure DC Voltage at Battery POS. Stud, with engine running at about 2000 RPM.

 

You should Measure 13.6 to 14.0, or maby as high as 14.1 to 14.2.

 

If you SEE Below 13 Volts, start to suspect the Alternator.

 

But your battery might be going bad , and have high Internal Resistance. Is it more then 3 years Old??

 

SO:

 

Check the Water Level in the Battery if its a Lead Acid. Is it above the Line ?

If not add Distilled Water.

 

Now Charge the battery at a 2 Amp rate for 6 to 8 hours with a REAL BATTERY Charger. NOT A TRICKLE CHARGER !!!!!

 

Measure the Battery voltage about 1 hour after chargeing. Should read about 12.1 to 12.2. V, DC.

 

Let it sit over nite, or 24 hours, Now measure the voltage again. If its gone down into the low to mid 11 Volt Range, then its on its last leg. !!!

 

Time to get a new battery----

[Dano]

How does it do without running the drive lights? Also, these units do not put out full power till about 2500 rpm. If your doing 45 in 5th gear, you are probably running about 1800-2000 rpm. This will run the bike on the battery, not the charging system. This will put an additional load on your battery, thus taxing it beyond it's capability. That's why it's running like cr*p after an hour. Turn off the driving lights and try the ride again. Replace the lamps with 35 watt lamps. This will help with the load on your charging system. Will probably have to replace the battery. Go with the Odyssey PC680, best for the money, costly but worth the money.

 

Dan

[painterman67]

thanks guys ,

 

the battery is kinda where I was leaning towards. My cousin came over about 1/2 hour ago and put his meter on it. he has all kinds of cool tools being a heat and air man. It read 14.2 volts on the positive side. then we checked the battery with the bike of and it read 10 volts. guessit's time for a new battery.

 

As for the running lights I tought of that too and disconnected them and it helped a little but I was still reading dead after 1 1/2 hrs ridding.

 

Where is the best place to get the odyssey battery. No one in my area seems to carry it. I've seen the post on jow to change it out so if I an find one for a decent price I will install it and my cousin said he would install the resistor for me if i would drive it to his house.

 

As for 45 in 5th gear I either just put it back in 4th or run 50 . the later is the beat as 45 in 4th seems to give me a bit of a surge . Kinda like ridding a bull that wants to run in stages.

 

Couldn't begin to tell you folks how much I appreciate this info. This is just the first of many things to do. get it ruuning good first and then maybe takle the tach ..It wasn't working when I bought the bike.

 

David

[Dano]

Sounds like you need to do a colortune and carb synch. Get ahold of Muffinman, he's in NC, our top guy around here on these great bikes.

 

Dan

[GeorgeS]

Several outlets on E-Bay sell them.

 

Go to their web site, Odyessy batteries .com

 

You should be able to find local dealers there.

[GigaWhiskey]

George is perty sharp in the electrical arena. Follow his instructions and you will find the culprit of you issue.

[Condor]

Any time a battery has been sitting for a while, low on fluid, and reads 6vdc, it's toast. Trying to recharge a battery in that condition is wishfull thinking..

[utadventure]

David, it sounds like you've got the battery part of your problem figured out. The surging or delayed reaction to your throttle may be that you're lugging the engine.

 

I'm usually in 3rd gear going 45-50 mph. As many have mentioned and taught me here, these bikes like the upper range of the tach, usually 4000 rpms or more.

 

Once you get your new battery installed, take some rides and see how she rides if you keep your rpms higher. I think you'll find it running and responding better. As was mentioned, syncing the bike may also help if you haven't done so. You may also be dealing with some fouled plugs.

 

Dave

[6m459]

I don't shift into 5th till I am doing 100 kmph / 60 mph or better. These are highway cruisers remember.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Brian H.

Uxbridge Ont

[Condor]

I don't think it's so much lugging the engine as it is a battery that's not putting out enough juice to deliver a strong spark.... Although it's common knowledge these motors love high RPM's, and running them at low RPM's is not recommended, they can be run at lower R's without bogging down and surging as long as the throttle is kept light. However you're gas milage will suck......

[Venturous Randy]

While you are checking things out, under your left side panel you will find a wire set with three whiteish wires going through a quick connect on wires coming up from the bottom of the engine. Check the condition of this connection. If it is loose or burned looking at all, cut the wires and solder each wire together and by-pass the connector. This is fairly normal on these old bikes.

I agree with the battery comments and I bought a PC680 from Summit Racing for $131 including shipping. It really did help my bike.

RandyA

[NL Rider]

Interesting to hear about the rpm thing. I was thinking that I wasn't getting great mileage during the first few rides on this bike. I wasn't running her at very high rpms at all. On my most recent ride I was riding a bit harder (mostly highway at 100 - 110km/h) and it seemed that I got much better gas mileage. I actually got very similar mileage to my fathers 650 V-Star. I guess that I have to run at a little higher rpms from now on. Any suggestions on what I should aim for?

Dana:12101:

[painterman67]

It's me again . Finally went down to batteries plus to buy the pc680 and decided to have the bettery checked first. It's been there for two days with no drain at all and was fully charged when I got it back home and put it in the bike. Imediately I had the same problems , so I took the bike over there and had it checked. With the running lights on the best volt reding was 12.87. Without the running lights it was 13.12. Not much of a difference. When we put my cousins guage on it at his house it read 13.96 without the lights . Not sure what this means, but I guess it needs a trip to the stealer to get checked out.

 

Also I decided to check the antifreezand found a little oil on top. not much so after she cool down I think I wil change and flush the cooling system. See if it happens again. It doesn't over haet, in fact I've never even heard the fan cut on. Also from what I can tell through the viewing glass no antifreeze in the oil. Alll seems well there.

 

Not sure wht to do next as I really love this bike. I wasn't looking for her she just sorta found me.

 

Thanks for any info in advance.

David

[Gearhead]

so I took the bike over there and had it checked. With the running lights on the best volt reding was 12.87. Without the running lights it was 13.12. Not much of a difference. When we put my cousins guage on it at his house it read 13.96 without the lights

 

Is this with the engine idling? Running 3000 rpm? Gotta be specific.

 

A little coolant will go to the bottom, so you might not see it in the sight glass. Very much, though, and your oil will start to look like a milkshake. There's a post going on right now about oil in the coolant, check it out.

 

Jeremy

[painterman67]

I cant be specific about the rpm but it definately wasnt at idle. The voltage at idle was 12.1 steady. My tach is broke so I gave her a little juice. The highest reading I got was with the motor screaming. I didn't want to push it any further.

[GigaWhiskey]

I guess it needs a trip to the stealer to get checked out.

 

 

Scary thought.

[Gearhead]

The best advice I can give you is this: GeorgeS has given charging system testing advice many times on this site. Search it out and follow it!

 

Jeremy

[MasterGuns]

Here's my two cents. In my opinion, a battery should only go bad with age or abuse. Abuse is not checking the acid level and allowing it to be low for long periods of time. Another abuse would be overloading it with too high amperage during charging or overloading beyond the capabilities of the charging system. Under normal conditions, including driving lights, a lead acid battery should last at least a couple three years. I would also add allowing a battery, wet filled with acid (UN2794) to sit idle for an extended period of time without maintenance would allow one to be useless when finally expected to perform to standard.

 

I just had a stator go bad this past weekend. At idle with every turned off except the stuff you can't turn off like the head light and such, checking the voltage at the battery at idle was about 12.62. My battery is good also; checked at 12.6 v with no load and looses no voltage overnight and it's specific gravity is also within range. Increasing the rpm to about 2200 the voltage at the battery, again with everything off, only increased to about 12.8; and that is way below specs (must be at least 13.6 or better by below 14.6 or so). My diagnosis, stator gone south. My new one just arrived by USPS and I should have it completely back together tomorrow; that is usless a tornado ruins my day (Ike related).

 

Reading your posts, I think you have a charging system that is malfuncting and is most likely your stator as well.

 

Just my two cents.

[painterman67]

Just got brandy back home from the dealor. $200 not to bad considering all that was done. Turned out to be the bewttery after all. Installed a new battery and rechecked the volts at the deakors shop and it was showing 14 volts just like it should. Went ahead and had new plugs installed and the cooling system flushed . being the battery alone was a little over $100, the I feel quit satified. thanks for the help everybody. She runs like a new bike now. I still would like to get the carbs synced as one plug( Front left uif you are sitting on the bike) was a little fouled out and the mech said he thought it was running a little rich on that side.

 

Agin thanks for all the help and next time I'll just listen and go ahead and buy the battery.

 

 

P.S. I had a switch wired in for the running lights also

 

David