charging system going crazy

[motoman]

From what i have read of other xs owners problems, the battery is needed for the bike to run. so i have not tried to disconnect the battery.

i have noticed the taillight fuse holder and headlight fuse holder do get very hot, so it may be a grounding problem?

Hmmm.........take it you have NOT replaced the stock fuse panel with one of Geezer's blade stlye boxes? If not, even if those brass fuse holder tangs 'look' good, they no longer will carry the voltage without resistance, BTDT. Your best option is to either correct ALL of the electrical issues before proceding, or frustration and tail-chasing ARE in your imediate future.

[James England]

I would replace the OEM fuse board with a blade fuse box. Then clean every single block connector, spade connector, bullet connector, TCI box blades, switch etc with DeOxit....every single one of them, including those in the headlamp. I would then disassemble, clean and DeOxit the main key switch and check that all grounds on the loom are to clean, bare, rust-free metal.

Remove the right hand switch and undo the two terminal cross head screws which hold the switch assembly into the switchgear shell. Then remove the small circlip that holds the top of the kill switch into the bottom bit, taking care not to lose the circlip or the spring and ball bearing inside the kill switch. You will probably find the terminals inside the switch are filthy and corroded. Clean them and lightly rub across them a couple of times with some very fine emery paper.

I say "I would do" all the above...in fact, I just have..on the latest project. It's the only way to go, or you'll be messing with it forever....

[motoman]

Thanks for expanding on that with the details James.

[jdub]

A bit of an update on this, started cleaning the ground connections, started at the battery first and moved to the frame. Checked voltage, and now it holds steadier at 12.36 volts with a few drops to 3.6 volts every 8-10 seconds. Gonna clean some more tomorrow and see what happens. I think you all are right on the connection issues! Thanks, and i'll update soon.

[TopCatGr58]

And BTW,

Yes, Geezer does sell the same fuse block holders as I do, but he has a lot more sites and places to sell them, and I've been doing these for the site members for a long time, and so he doesn't mind/care that I sell these here, and my price is a bit cheaper as well! See the For Sale Forum, The parts/services, and then the parts/services by members STICKY thread, scroll down to post #10 for photos and ordering info, have in stock!

[crazy steve]

Question: After the bike is running, could he pull the positive lead off the battery? Should the bike still run on it's own? And then measure the battery lead voltage. (should be whatever the output of the reg/rec is)

That will smoke the regulator if it isn't already bad.....

The quick-and-dirty test is to ground the green wire going to the field coil. If you get full output voltage then (14V+ @2K, should go higher with RPM), the regulator portion of the R/R is bad. No change? Time to start checking individual components AND look for poor connections. The latter is the problem in most cases...

And I also suspect that your meter is giving you poor info..... or you have some really poor connections.... You might want to read this:
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35339

[James England]

Thanks for expanding on that with the details James.

My father was in the RAF after the war, working on radars. He said the first thing they ever did on a malfunctioning radar was to clean everything! He reckoned it usually cured the fault.

I suspect that the blocks in the headlamp are often overlooked and the connectors on the handlebar switches, mainly because they are relatively difficult to get at. The three white wire one at the back of the fuse box board is similarly inaccessible and probably why it overheats and messes things up. I've found one small can of Deoxit will do one entire bike. It's amazing how it removes the oxide from the brass terminals.

[CaptonZap]

My father was in the RAF after the war, working on radars. He said the first thing they ever did on a malfunctioning radar was to clean everything! He reckoned it usually cured the fault.

I suspect that the blocks in the headlamp are often overlooked and the connectors on the handlebar switches, mainly because they are relatively difficult to get at. The three white wire one at the back of the fuse box board is similarly inaccessible and probably why it overheats and messes things up. I've found one small can of Deoxit will do one entire bike. It's amazing how it removes the oxide from the brass terminals.

James, as an effort to find a way to ship your paint, ask the people that you get your Deoxit from where they get it from. Chase the supply chain back.
If it comes from the US, ask them how they ship it. It is an aerosal.
Another thought is that it would seem that some shipping companies would have a container that they could load with odd lots of goods from different customers, and when it was full, away it goes. You might check the shippers on your end, and see if they have such a service. If so, this end could then be queried.
JAT CZ

[Geezer]

And BTW,

Yes, Geezer does sell the same fuse block holders as I do, but he has a lot more sites and places to sell them, and I've been doing these for the site members for a long time, and so he doesn't mind/care that I sell these here, and my price is a bit cheaper as well! See the For Sale Forum, The parts/services, and then the parts/services by members STICKY thread, scroll down to post #10 for photos and ordering info, have in stock!

I intentionally set my price higher so as not to try and compete with you on this... I also didn't announce it here for the same reason... The only difference in getting one from me is the connectors to wire it in...

Geezer

[jdub]

So I cleaned up the regulator mounting point and put a different regulator on, and now im up to 13 volts at 3000 rpm. Still more cleaning to do, and since i replaced the turn signal switch, there is no longer a ground wire to the handle bars. (Only grounds at the bar mount.) So i think i will run a new ground there too.

[jdub]

So its been a while since my last update. I've been working on some carb issues. I cleaned the connections and no avail. I also grounded the green wire to check voltage. It did not change. I am checking the stator ohms at the first connector (behind the fuse panel) and at the regulator, and coming up with .9 ohms on the stator and .4 ohms on the Field... the book calls for 3.5 ohms on the stator and .4 on the field off the bike i think.. anyone have any ideas if it differs on or off the bike on these readings ? Second, am i buying a new stator, or can it be cleaned?

[Geezer]

The reading of .4 on the stator in all combinations is OK so long as none of the wires has any continuity to ground.

The .4 on the rotor means it's burnt out and is also probably shorted to ground.

Geezer

[Eveready1100]

OOps, sorry. Misread prior post.

[jdub]

So there was a typo on the field ohm. It is definitely 4.5ohms not .4 ohms. I checked for groinding through the connectors. No grounding. There was another post on here somewhere with the same readings, but his was the reg/rectifier. I replaced mine with a used one to try and save money, but i think maybe i better buy new. Does anyone know any other tests before replacing the regulator/rectifier i should do or if the stator ohms may be something to worry about being at a .8-.9? I dont want to fry a new regulator.