battery

[shutchis]

Charging systems can drive you crazy.

Generally, it's the connectors that start them on a down-hill slide to total failure. That's why I'm a strong believer in removing the connectors and soldering all the leads together.

If you're boiling away all the water in your battery, then it sounds like you have an over charging problem. You don't see this very often. Hmm, the PO "disturbed" the ignition wiring. It's possible that your voltage regulator is NOT getting the proper feedback from the ignition switch to turn "off" the charging system.

Let me try to explain this statement. The voltage regulator / rectifier unit is a two part system: (1) the voltage regulator, which does 3 things, 1a) it monitors the battery voltage, 1b) controls the charging current to the battery, by 1c) turning on and off the rotor current; and (2) the voltage rectifier converts alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) for charging the battery. Yamaha (as well as most manufactors) put these two system into a single unit, which they call the Regulator Rectifier (RR) unit.

When the charging system is working correctly, you should see approx. 14.3 - 14.7 volts at 4500 rpms across the battery using a voltmeter. If it's less than 12.5 volts, then your charging system has failed, and eventually the battery will die. Notice the 1c statement above, the regulator turns on and off the rotor current. Yep, it's on-off control; if the regulator senses approx. 13.7 volts, then it turns "off" the rotor current. If its lower than 13.7 volts, then it turns "on" the rotor current. This on-off control is very fast using a solid state switch. I believe the rotor current is staying "ON" and over charging your battery.

Here's your homework assignment; At 4500 rpm's, what is your battery voltage?

The second part of this troubleshooting is a little more involved, so I'll wait till I hear your results before continuing.

You can call me at 281-479-4856 in the evenings if you need some real-time help. Good luck, Stan

P.S. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering and trust me, troubleshooting charging problems can be difficult. It took me 3 evenings to fix my XJ1100, and a week to solve an '80 Honda CB900C charging problem. So hang in there; All things are fixable; the trick is finding the problem.

[Just In Case]

I had an over charging problem, it was about 14.8V at 4000 rpm and when I put the lights on 15.9V

Turned out to be the connection at the key, the wires needed re-soldering. They looked all right and tested ok with an ohm meter, but lost about 1.5V. As explained by a previous poster, the regulator sense lead is on the bike side of the key, the rectifier supply is to the battery side of the key. If voltage is being lost between the two, the regulator sees a lower voltage and so brings it up to what it thinks is the correct value. In my case, the sense lead was steady at 14.4V + 1.5V lost through the key = 15.9V at battery

I've seen a mod where a relay was mounted near the fuse box and all the key did was energise it. The relay then connected the battery to the 30 amp fuse. This takes the load off the key. Normally, all the current needed to run the bike goes through the key.

When I replace my fusebox, I think i'll put in a relay too.

Dave

[mrfiznix]

hey, I just got a sealed, no maintenance battery from gruberpower.com and it fits good, comes with a free charger and it cost $56.95 and $12.50 to ship from Phoenix AZ to Colton, CA. Making the total $69.45. The item # is 58-GPS-50-N18L
unfortunately I can't yet attest to the longevity of the battery.

http://www.gruberpower.com/gruberpow...yclebatteries/

[egsols]

Prom,

Too late..........