I wonder why it wasn't charging?

[laidback]

Just a quick update on this post....

As many of you will know the the rectifier was changed at this first instant. The replacement stator & rectifier failed November 2010 on the way to the snowy ride, stranding me in the middle of nowhere! These were replaced under warrenty and fitted after quite some wait for the replacement parts. Finally back on the road January 2011.

.........

Wouldn't the replacements (less than 12 months old) be covered by warranty?

[mick_dundee]

Specialist motorcycle sparky in Coburg, Cares (is the name I think) might be worth dropping it in, that being said, they couldn't sort the problem out with my 9 but I did after swapping the ECU out.

[photomike666]

Just a quick update on this post....

As many of you will know the the rectifier was changed at this first instant. The replacement stator & rectifier failed November 2010 on the way to the snowy ride, stranding me in the middle of nowhere! These were replaced under warrenty and fitted after quite some wait for the replacement parts. Finally back on the road January 2011.

.........

Wouldn't the replacements (less than 12 months old) be covered by warranty?

I'm going to try, but they've already been replaced once and my question is; is there something else than an be causing them to fail?

[photomike666]

Specialist motorcycle sparky in Coburg, Cares (is the name I think) might be worth dropping it in, that being said, they couldn't sort the problem out with my 9 but I did after swapping the ECU out.

Might be worth a look, thanks Mick. There's an auto elec close to me, I'm going to check if they do bikes next week. I've also e-mailed Kawasaki Australia, but I don't expect a repsponse.

[photomike666]

Well, who'd of thunk it? Before delving into serious amounts of crap I spent this afternoon with the multi meter. Being that the battery was flat, I decided to fit up the CBR battery and give it a try. She started up easy enough, the voltage rose as it should and stabalised at 14.8v. The manual suggests anything between 14 & 15.2 is considered OK! Being that voltage rose with the throttle and didn't go stupidly high, this suggests both stator & rectifier are infact working OK and the battery is kaput.

My wallet has just done a massive sigh of relief, so I'm going to buy a new battery and run further tests... Watch this space

[Blurr]

Hey Mike was it just the dead battery after the last stator fail?

[photomike666]

That one was the only battery, but two stators before that. I changed the rectifier both time. First was kaput, second as a precaution.

[photomike666]

Here we go again...

Having charging issues... battery only 6 months old...

So I dived into some research; It seems the OEM and many aftermarket rectifiers are "shunt" rectifiers, which open to source causing the stator to get hot and burn out (particularly at high RPM - what does that say about me?).

There are a couple of "series" rectifiers which supposedly work a different way allowing the stator to stay cool and significantly improve stator reliability; Main unit is the Compu-Fire 55402 (available as rectifier only ($200) or full charging system inc stator $380) or the cheaper Shindengen SH775 ($150) are both coming up on forums as good fixes.

Has anyone heard about or tried either of these options? I plan to be doing a lot of riding and really want this sorted once and for all.

[Wattie]

My race bike never had any problems. It revs high.

[photomike666]

That cd be due to lower loads - no lights etc. or ya just got lucky.

I'm also wondering in my Tre with gear indicator is draining power when parked. Might not help the battery state

[dilligaf]

you know there's a company in Geelong that will rewind what you've got?

http://www.smallcoilrewinds.com.au/

[photomike666]

I've emailed them for a quote on the rewind, but I want to sore the rectifier so it doesn't burn the stator again.