[midwing]

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Hi All, As I havent been on the bike for about 3 weeks I stuck it on charge so I could take it out the next day. Fired right up first time and I headed out to get juice , after filling up she gave trouble starting but got going in the end. I took her home and killed the engine waited two minutes and she wouldn't start. To make a long story short , i put the charger on it and gave it a couple of hours and she fired up no prob but when I used reverse with the engine runningthe bike diedvery quickly.So when the bike is running the battery is still powering the lights , reverse etc but not getting a charge off the engine. Any ideas on a fix for this , sounds like a n Alt or a recifier or something.

Cheers

Eric

 

[DriverRider]

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Very easy to check your charging voltage, what is it at 2500 RPM?

JD

 

[machinehead]

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Sulfated battery , have it load tested for free at any auto parts shop.

 

[Hanko]

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Hi Eric,

Two things to consider here.

1: When the alternator is charging your voltage should be above 13.2V and will probably be in the 14+V range at 2500 rpm. If the voltage is in the 12V or lower range while the bike is running and it is slowly dropping then you are not charging the battery from the alternator. Check the voltage and get back to us.

2: How old is the battery?? An older battery will have trouble holding a charge because of sulphation just like machinehead pointed out. A new battery when fully charged and allowed to rest for at least an hour will read 12.6V As they get older this voltage will decrease. If your battery drops below 12V in that hour of resting it is bad and needs to be replaced. While this is an easy test, the most accurate test is to take it to an auto parts shop and have it load tested. So, how old is the battery? and what is the resting voltage?

You may have two problems but when the alternator was working it masked a weak battery.

Food for thought.

Henry

 

[redwing52]

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At 50,000 miles I bet alternator rotor. Right on schedule to fail..

 

[SabreJoe]

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You need to use a multi-meter and check the alternator for charging, before you do anything else. Let us know what readings you get. If you are lucky it will just be a bad battery.

 

[jimsjinx]

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I have a 99 1500 SE. I was even gettin gas like you when mine wouldn't start! Anyway, for sure check out that alternator output. They are notorious for going bad. It's not a big deal to change it out. 3 bolts and a couple wire connectors. The battery may be toast as well, due to age and a weak alternator. Stay with us, and the forum will get you up and running in no time. The Hitatchi alternators were great, untill the Chinese got the bid to supply Honda. The windings are "crimped", and this is a bad thing. Should be soldered. Also, alot of guys found that a good cleaning, or replacement of brushes will cure the problems if the windings are good. That is a 10 dollar fix! jimsjinx

 

[Keith Davidson]

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Bet its the alternator - I now ride with two.
One on the bike & one in the side box.
It would only take me 20 mins max to change over now that I have messed about with the things that many times.On Off
On Off On Off.

http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/forum1/119710.html

 

[midwing]

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Thanks for all the ideas lads. I have to get a new multimeter tomorrow , I lent mine out and haven't seen it since . IfI can get the alt cleaned up or wound back it might get me sorted until the funds are there for a compufire set up but I'llknow more in the morning.I'll keep you posted on the result.

Eric

 

[machinehead]

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I assumed the battery was bad as you said it stalled out when using reverse.
Check for 13-14 volts at the battery at 2500 rpm after it has warmed up and the rad fans have cycled a couple of times. If alt. is not putting out check all wiring connections first , if ok ., pull alt. and have it checked at any auto. electrical shop. Also check that dogbone fuse for a crack in it.

 

[Spondulas]

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As others have said, check the alternator output. Mine started "hanging up" and showing 11 volts at initial start-up and would then start fully charging after a couple of minutes. Time interval got longer and then it finally stopped charging more than 11 volts. I had it gutted and completely re-built at a shop that rebuilds starters and alternators for autos, trucks, etc. for less than half of what a Compufire alternator would cost. It now acts like an auto alternator and shows some charging at idle with all electrical accessories on except the cooling fans and goes to full charge rate at about 1250 rpm so stop-and-go traffic is no longer a problem for me.

 

[jmcannonball]

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50K miles is really quite low for the alternator to crap out - IMO, bearings and/or brushes should last at least 100K. As suggested, load test the battery and check the alternator output.

 

[jimsjinx]

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Cannonball, Yes, I found out that the Hitatchi "bad" alternators go out at around 40,00 miles. Premature failure for sure. I had mine re-built, and it charges even at idle now. jimsjinx

 

[midwing]

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Okay I didn't get a chance to get a mulitmeter on her yet cos life just gets in the way sometimes, howeverI got a charge in the battery again and the bike fired up no probs so I decided to move it around the garage to a better spot anyway I moved the bike with the engine ticking over and I had thehighbeam lights on and I used reverse during the procedure to see if it drained the batterybut it ran like normal. I left the bike ticking over with the lights on and gave it a bit of a rev up to about 1500 maybe 2000and noticed the headlightgets slightly brighter, now I always thought that was a sign of the Alt sending power to the battery? I'm still gonna check this further but it might not be the Alt afterall it couldbe the batterywhich will be a lot cheaperto replace

 

[midwing]

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I know it's been a while but I just got round to it ... it's the battery . I got a tester on it and after a couple of hours on charge it read about 12 volts , fired up the bike and the volts started to increase so the alt seems ok . At 2500 rev she's hitting 13-14 volts.I let her tick over for a while to get a decent charge into the batt and it read fully charged when I knocked it off , then I came back about an hour later and tested the batt and it had gone down to about8 maybe 9 volts while just sitting there. so I'll have to raid the piggy bank for one of those super-duper-mega-looper batts off shiny wings but at least it's problem solved

.

cheers



MW