charging problem?????

The last 2 times ive gone for a ride, ive had to jump start the bike....

Since ive had it, its had this squeal (rubber, im guessing), like the, erm, alternator????? belt is slipping, only at low revs tho, ie. taking off from lights etc etc
dunno if bikes have alternators......my old 250 had this same trouble, but it was the regulator rectifier that had given up the ghost.....

also the battery was bone dry ( i found this out as i was sitting on the side of the road)

when the beast stopped, i thought i'd run out of fuel, initially, but a quick check knocked that idea on the head....got my car to the bike( it only ran for 5 k's) threw a set of leads on it, and it fired right up, disconnected the leads, it died within 20 seconds....

to me it seems like its either one, not charging, or two, not holding its charge....

i managed to ride it back the 5 k's home after leaving it hooked up to the car for about 5 minutes, frantically throwing it back together and babying it back to the garage....

if i accelerated more than 1/4 turn, if that, it'd start to die....also rode home with the lights off.....when inside the shed, i turned the lights on, to see what'd happen, and you guessed it, it died straight away....and now wont start again

can anyone give me an idea where to start?.....i still have to get a multimeter, so for now, i cant even check the output of the battery, even should it fire up again......

Don't know what to check by yourself - but it sounds like the rectifier (as you eluded to) or your stator (what your bike has instead of an alternator).
I had a similar problem on my GPX250 and my mechanic investigated, identified and replaced the rectifier for less than $200.
ty
EDIT: you'll need a new battery though. Once they've gone dry it's normally all over.

last weekend i replaced the battery, rode from home to 3/4 of the way down the spur ( approx 100ks), go to accelerate out of a turn and the bike just dies.....no coughs or splutters, just dies.....

after a smoke break, turn the ingnition back on again, the bike turns over once, then the battery doesnt have enough charge to kick the bike over...

plan b....push start.....and away it goes

i rode about 5 kms, and it just dies, AGAIN

so after another smoke break and the feeling my lungs are gonna collapse, pushing 200kgs doesnt seem like the best idea, but the only one available, so i turn off the lights, get it to fire up after a coupla goes, and leave it sit idling for a few minutes, then ride home, no dramas, with the lights off...back into the garage, turn the lights on, and the bike dies again....

as i have mentioned previously (not in this post), the alternator belt used to squeal when accelerating from idle, it doesnt do that any longer, so i assume it just stretched to the point where its not actually engaging the alternator.......yes this bike does have an alternator.....

does this sound like im on the right track????........or am i way off base???


any help would be appreciated.....thanks in advance....

Dj

What bike?

Some models have a wound rotor alternator (like a car one) some run a permanent magnet one off the crank shaft.

Wont be a belt drive unless it's an old Guzzi or something.

Charge that battery up on a charger ASAP. Leaving it discharged for any period of time will kill it.

Get it fully charged, wait a few hours after you've taken it off the chrger and put it in the bike. Mesure the voltage with your multimeter.

Start the bike up and take a reading at idle and at 5K rpm - If it's not higher than 13V you have a charging problem.

If it's 14 volts + you have a charging problem.

Was the old battery dry from lack of maintenance?

as i have mentioned previously (not in this post), the alternator belt used to squeal when accelerating from idle, it doesnt do that any longer, so i assume it just stretched to the point where its not actually engaging the alternator.......yes this bike does have an alternator.....

does this sound like im on the right track????........or am i way off base???


any help would be appreciated.....thanks in advance....

Dj

what bike???

you sure the belt has not broken?
or does it just need adjustment?


cheers

oops......its a ZXR 750 H1

the belts definately not broken, so ill go with adjustment...........and then hope not to get stuck halfway down the spur again

so now that ive tensioned the belt....the bike will run fine, as long as the lights arent switched on, not 2 mins (tested this theory this morning 3 times) after turning them on, the bike stalls.......

When you rev the bike with the light on, does it brighten? If it doesn't then the rectifier probably isn't working.

:x
so now that ive tensioned the belt....the bike will run fine, as long as the lights arent switched on, not 2 mins (tested this theory this morning 3 times) after turning them on, the bike stalls.......

well
in that case, its either the alternator/rectifier..no charge
or the battery..not accepting a charge

time for the multimeter me thinks and check the alternator output
and if ok, then the rectifier
and if thats ok, its the battery
but
one thing before you do, make sure all the wiring earths are good

cheers

finally got a multimeter and the time to get to the bike....

its putting out 12.2 volts at 4K, with the lights off, 11.7 with em on

if im in the ballpark, it should be around 14- 14.5?

See how the voltage changes with revs. Essentially, it shouldn't change much.

You're multimeter may be calibrated incorrectly, or the rectifier could be set for a lower voltage...it is really only the differences and variances with load and revs that means anything. They should be reasonably stable over the rev range. If it jumps up a couple of volts from 4 - 8 krpm then maybe the rectifier is fried.

Sounds pretty low to me- up around 14 would be the go. I think from memory that the early ZXRs had a car style alternator (like the ZZR1200) so you should be able to remove that and check it out. Check your fusebox too in case it has a fuse for the charging system. Also have a look at the plug from the alternator to the harness- it should make full contact, and NOT be melted.
I think there must be a lot of alternator problems going around- recently my GN250 blew the stator, my Z440 the voltage regulator (a Honda one fitted now!), my CB400 the voltage reg (common Honda fault) and my 535 Virago the reg and stator. (luckily the previous owner fixed that- they paid over $400 for it......) The wreckers here reckon that it is very common for motorcycles to have charging problems, and they sell LOTS of bits for that purpose. I have been spoilt over the last few years (10 years) with my Kwakas- GPZ900, ZZR1100, and now ZZR1200- nearly 200000km cumulatively, and not one charging fault.....

Sounds too low. 11.7V with the lights on is no good.

It might be something as simple as worn brushes and new ones will have it back in action.

ding ding ding>
we have a winner.....

worn brushes it was...$15 for brushes and $40 labour, ended up being a pretty cheap fix

back on the road again ( thank !@#$), right in time for the nice weather


thanks to all who contributed