14 volts now12 volts

[scoot]

Went for a 60 mile test ride after changing valve shims, and the on board analog voltmeter never moved above 12 1/2 volts. It's always been around 13 1/2 or 14 volts when underway. This feels like a problem, I want my missing volt back.

During the valve shim swap job, I did unfasten the ballast resistor and the RLU. Also tugged on the pickup coil wires looking for a broken wire there, as I hadn't noticed that I forgot to reconnect one fuel valve vacuum line, so it initially ran on 2 cylinders.

Also changed handlebars to Goldwing bars, so had to swap all that stuff over. Rerouted control cables.

Battery is walmart 2 yrs old, fluids at correct levels. Geezer's rectifier installed.

This problem is probably related to the work I just did, as it always ran right til I messed with it. So where do I look for the missing volt?

[DGXSER]

Not sure how it works with Geezer's rectifier/regulator, the stock one will only gove about 12V or so till you get up over 3-4k rpm. Above that you will get around 14V. Perhaps you improved the performance to where your below 3k while running where you were at?? (A SWAG).

Otherwise, go back through the connections you worked with/on and make sure everythign is tight, and that the grounds around and under the reg/rect are good and clean and on tight.

[scoot]

Thanks for the reply. Geezer's rectifier kicks out 14 volts down around 2-3k rpm, I like to think. That thing is golden. And that 60 miles was mostly freeway, exceeding the speed limit. Rpm's around 6k, volts 12 to 12 1/2.

I will go thru all the connections today.


scoot

[bikerphil]

Two things I would check.

1. Level of water in the battery.
2. The alternator plug with 3 white wires located behind the fuse panel. It is a weak point and if it's not making a good solid connection, it will drop your charging output down below the normal 14+ volts.

[natemoen]

You need to start going through connections and finding where things are loose and dirty.

With my geezer reg/rect I have about 13 volts at idle and I am at 14.6-14.8 volts once I hit about 1500 RPMs.

[scoot]

All good ideas, thank you all. I'll get started this morning. Very first thing I want to check is the output using a digital multimeter in case the onboard voltmeter is showing incorrectly. Who knows, maybe it can't handle years of vibration.

I will check the grounds and plugs as suggested, remove and reinstall the batt. with clean connections.


scoot

[DAVINCI]

Is the voltmeter grounded through the handle bars? Just sayin'

[scoot]

No Davinci, it's not, but that's the kind of thinking I need help with. But it seems to be resolved and I don't know why. Haven't put any miles on yet to see if the gremlin returns- I'll get to that a little later today.

So this morning I pulled the side cover and put the test leads from the digital multimeter at the fuse block then started the motor. Was immediately reading 15.2 volts. Hmm. Glanced up at the analog voltmeter, it was at 13.7 volts. So without doing anything, my missing volt was back. ( Voltmeter is tied into two wires inside the headlight bucket).

Then pulled the battery, topped a couple cells to the high mark, cleaned the terminals, tried wiggling the 3wire connector behind the fuse panel, siphoned the full gas tank, pulled the tank, inspected the accessible connectors, pulled the rectifier, cleaned the ground, reinstalled those things, and ran the motor again. Still got the voltage where it needs to be.

So a road test is next, thank you all for the ideas.


scoot

[natemoen]

15.2v is a bit high. You might end up cooking your battery.

[IanDMacDonald]

I'd say so. Time to check on your R/R.

[scoot]

Alright, 15.2 volts is high. Do I really need to dial it back, or just keep an eye on the battery's electrolyte?

I'm taking a ride to the desert tomorrow, plan to return Sunday. Probably put on 300 miles in the current condition. Any adjustments will be done when I get back, unless circumstance require repair on the road. Am bringing a spare reg/rec and tci along, as always.

scoot

[Geezer]

Over charging happens on these bikes because the regulator senses voltage off the main how wire (brown). If there's any loss from the red wire that the positive voltage output the regulator will push the volts up to get what it's set to have.

The main cause of this is corroded contacts in the ignition switch and dirty or corroded connectors in the harness. I had the same problem on my 79 standard and I had to do surgery on the ignition switch and replace about a half a dozen connectors.

Fortunately on our bikes we can go through the ignition switch. One thing I do is tape a sheet of fine sandpaper to a section of plate glass and use it to lap a new surface on the switch contact plate. You can make the switch work like new with this procedure.

BTW, the reg/rec units I make should give 14.5v output by 1500 RPM.

Geezer

[Geezer]

BTW, this page might help you.
http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com...ionRepair.html

The problem sounds like it was a loose wire and those always return on at the furthest distance from home you're likely to be...

Geezer

[scoot]

The problem sounds like it was a loose wire and those always return on at the furthest distance from home you're likely to be...

Geezer

Hi Geezer, thanks for jumping in. I rode from San Diego to Palm Springs on Friday with no problems. Then sometime after midnight Sunday, I headed back home. Riding thru the desert then the mountain twisties alone had me thinking the same thing as you. And for extra excitement I needed to use the two 55 watt driving lights to even see the road. The headlight is about as handy as an old flashlight. But I got in at 4AM, all good. The voltmeter was at 13.9 volts til I lit the driving lights, then it slowly fell to 11.8 volts and stayed there for hours as long as I was rolling. It did drop to 10 volts at idle during stops, but climbed back up when moving again.

I'm not done re- cleaning all possible connections, definitely need that de- oxit to make things easier.

Anyway, thanks for making available this great regulator/ rectifier.

scoot

[DAVINCI]

BTW, I also have an analog meter on mine. It was reading low from day one, but my wiring had already been gone through. The analog meters have a calibration potentiometer. It may be hard to find. Mine was visible through the bulb holder when I removed the pilot bulb. Should look like a tiny screw.

So I hooked it to the battery along with another reference meter and set the new meter to read the same as the reference meter. Done.