Water
Check your water level in your batt!!! They will dry up on charge.
Check your water level in your batt!!! They will dry up on charge.
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Hey Everyone! May's Bike of the Month challenge is now open for entries!
weak alternator?
I am sorry to be a pest but the 96 900SS I own is back acting like a sick duc. Recently I added a led device sold by the desmo gang that gives voltage, air temp and time. The later two are just fluff for my real reason buying this as I really wanted just one indication, what is the voltage output?
I connected the esr as indicated/shown and the idiot light for the alternator worked for awhile but recently it stopped. Lately, the last 30 miles the desmo device stopped showing volts above 11.5 volts. I took my hand held meter today and cross checked the desmo device to see if its reading was the potential problem.
It and the desmo device were only about .3 volts different. Even increasing the rpms above 3K did not help as it still was showing less than 12 volts. less than optimum voltage. Even turning off the head light did not help. Any thoughts/ideas?
I bought the esr510 thinking the stock regulator might have been at fault. The battery was drinking water at a voracious rate with the stock regulator. I have always been told that a boiling battery is being over charged. That has not stopped with the addition of the esr510.
I keep the duc on a trickle charger which is only 600ma, not a big deal.
I have also replaced the alternator wiring where it is coming out of the alternator with 10 gauge wire wiring. I located the esr under the seat above the rear wheel to keep it out of the heat that plagued the original regulators. This problem has reared its ugly head the last 30 or so miles.
I connected the esr as indicated/shown and the idiot light for the alternator worked for awhile but recently it stopped. Lately, the last 30 miles the desmo device stopped showing volts above 11.5 volts. I took my hand held meter today and cross checked the desmo device to see if its reading was the potential problem.
It and the desmo device were only about .3 volts different. Even increasing the rpms above 3K did not help as it still was showing less than 12 volts. less than optimum voltage. Even turning off the head light did not help. Any thoughts/ideas?
I bought the esr510 thinking the stock regulator might have been at fault. The battery was drinking water at a voracious rate with the stock regulator. I have always been told that a boiling battery is being over charged. That has not stopped with the addition of the esr510.
I keep the duc on a trickle charger which is only 600ma, not a big deal.
I have also replaced the alternator wiring where it is coming out of the alternator with 10 gauge wire wiring. I located the esr under the seat above the rear wheel to keep it out of the heat that plagued the original regulators. This problem has reared its ugly head the last 30 or so miles.
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
If you could check the AC output of your alternator you could find out if it is the alternator or the regulator. Surely someone here knows what the AC current should be.
Have you tried another battery? It could be that you are charging at the correct voltage and your battery has had it. Normally one or two cells will go first and these are the ones that will be 'bubbling/boiling'.I bought the esr510 thinking the stock regulator might have been at fault. The battery was drinking water at a voracious rate with the stock regulator. I have always been told that a boiling battery is being over charged. That has not stopped with the addition of the esr510.
Are you "boiling" or consuming water when riding or when on the charger or at both times?
You can disconnect the altenator wires that lead to the R/R (engine off, battery disconnected). Reconnect the battery and start the engine. Measure the AC voltage from each wire to ground. It should be around 40 vac at idle, high 50 to 60 vac above 3,000 rpms.
You can disconnect the altenator wires that lead to the R/R (engine off, battery disconnected). Reconnect the battery and start the engine. Measure the AC voltage from each wire to ground. It should be around 40 vac at idle, high 50 to 60 vac above 3,000 rpms.
water gone
Jack the trickle charger does not use the battery's water as it's output is a tiny 600MA, its only when I run the bike. I am going to try checking the alternator's out put. Speaking of new batteries I just order one from Odyssey that is a sealed battery, their model 680, that someone on a previous post recommended. The previous owner replaced the battery last December, so it is only 6 months old.
Jack the trickle charger does not use the battery's water as it's output is a tiny 600MA, its only when I run the bike. I am going to try checking the alternator's out put. Speaking of new batteries I just order one from Odyssey that is a sealed battery, their model 680, that someone on a previous post recommended. The previous owner replaced the battery last December, so it is only 6 months old.
I had a similar problem on my LeMans, turned out to be a bad cell in the battery. I've got multiple bikes, so I just borrowed one from one of the Ducatis and the problem went away, so I bought a new battery. If you don't have one handy, maybe you can borrow one.
If you charge it overnight, what voltage does is read 1/2 hour or so after taking it off the charger? If it's below 12.5V it's bad.
If it seems good, or once you have a good battery, what voltages do you see while the bike is running? I've had problems that only showed up after a while, so I taped an accurate meter to the tank and went for a ride (now I've got a LED meter on my ST2 and LeMans)
Tom
If you charge it overnight, what voltage does is read 1/2 hour or so after taking it off the charger? If it's below 12.5V it's bad.
If it seems good, or once you have a good battery, what voltages do you see while the bike is running? I've had problems that only showed up after a while, so I taped an accurate meter to the tank and went for a ride (now I've got a LED meter on my ST2 and LeMans)
Tom
Good choice on the Odyssey 680, mine lasted six years. I also think that's your root cause. If not, check out the rest of the charging system.
However, just replacing the regulator without addressing the root causes of it's failure (undersized stator wires, shorting of the insulation-damaged wires inside the common sheath, and overheating of the regulator due to inadequate cooling inside the fairing) is a waste of time and money. Replace the wiring, eliminate the in-line connector and relocate the RR first.
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/showthread.php?t=78401
Often a bad battery will draw maximum current from the regulator causing it to overheat and eventually fail from heat damage to the encapsulating epoxy and solid state components inside.
However, just replacing the regulator without addressing the root causes of it's failure (undersized stator wires, shorting of the insulation-damaged wires inside the common sheath, and overheating of the regulator due to inadequate cooling inside the fairing) is a waste of time and money. Replace the wiring, eliminate the in-line connector and relocate the RR first.
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/showthread.php?t=78401
Often a bad battery will draw maximum current from the regulator causing it to overheat and eventually fail from heat damage to the encapsulating epoxy and solid state components inside.
bad battery?
The alternator checked out fine, so it must be a weak battery. In the mean time I will limp along with this battery until my Odyssey battery comes.
The alternator checked out fine, so it must be a weak battery. In the mean time I will limp along with this battery until my Odyssey battery comes.
new odyssey
Today I took my duc out for a long ride up the coast after installing my new battery. I have to say the odyssey is much better than the one that was a new one when I bought the duc last December.
However, as I rode up the coast, trying to keep the rpm's up over 3,000 for most of the winding road, when I kept the head light off I averaged 11.9 volts on the desmo led voltage gauge. When I turned on the headlight it dropped down to 11.2-10.4 volts on the desmo gauge. Keep in mind comparing the desmo device and a hand held meter the desmo gauge is about .3 volts light.
Still over all the dc voltage appears to be insufficient to maintain the battery's charge, especially if the head light is on. So here are the AC volts from the alternator with the electrosport disconnected.
1,500 rpms @ 23.24 vac, 2,000 rpms @ 38.39 vac, 2,500 rpms @ 44.45 vac,
3,000 rpms @ 53 vac, and 3,500 rpms @ 64 vac.
Any thoughts why the MC is not producing the voltage necessary to replenish what it is using?
Today I took my duc out for a long ride up the coast after installing my new battery. I have to say the odyssey is much better than the one that was a new one when I bought the duc last December.
However, as I rode up the coast, trying to keep the rpm's up over 3,000 for most of the winding road, when I kept the head light off I averaged 11.9 volts on the desmo led voltage gauge. When I turned on the headlight it dropped down to 11.2-10.4 volts on the desmo gauge. Keep in mind comparing the desmo device and a hand held meter the desmo gauge is about .3 volts light.
Still over all the dc voltage appears to be insufficient to maintain the battery's charge, especially if the head light is on. So here are the AC volts from the alternator with the electrosport disconnected.
1,500 rpms @ 23.24 vac, 2,000 rpms @ 38.39 vac, 2,500 rpms @ 44.45 vac,
3,000 rpms @ 53 vac, and 3,500 rpms @ 64 vac.
Any thoughts why the MC is not producing the voltage necessary to replenish what it is using?
I assume that when you are measuring the Vac out of your alternator you are doing this while it is on load i.e. You are measuring this voltage while it is connected to your regulator and while your regulator is attempting to charge your battery? Measuring the voltage output of the alternator when it is not on load won't tell us much.Today I took my duc out for a long ride up the coast after installing my new battery. I have to say the odyssey is much better than the one that was a new one when I bought the duc last December.
However, as I rode up the coast, trying to keep the rpm's up over 3,000 for most of the winding road, when I kept the head light off I averaged 11.9 volts on the desmo led voltage gauge. When I turned on the headlight it dropped down to 11.2-10.4 volts on the desmo gauge. Keep in mind comparing the desmo device and a hand held meter the desmo gauge is about .3 volts light.
Still over all the dc voltage appears to be insufficient to maintain the battery's charge, especially if the head light is on. So here are the AC volts from the alternator with the electrosport disconnected.
1,500 rpms @ 23.24 vac, 2,000 rpms @ 38.39 vac, 2,500 rpms @ 44.45 vac,
3,000 rpms @ 53 vac, and 3,500 rpms @ 64 vac.
Any thoughts why the MC is not producing the voltage necessary to replenish what it is using?
If you are measuring the output under load it would seem that even if your voltage is reading peak to peak instead of rms (root mean square) you have enough volts even at 1500 rpms to charge a 12 volt battery with an efficient regulator. However many meters cheat and only measure the positive half of the AC waveform and then double it. (If the negative half of the waveform is missing these meters don't know and give you a rubbish answer). The most reliable thing is to use a quality meter that measures true root mean square - it will stop you getting lead up the garden path and chasing your tail.
When reading the DC voltage across you battery with your head lights off your current draw should be fairly low, so I would expect that a fully charged battery's voltage would not drop to 11.9v while being charged by the regulator. If your battery was not fully charged to near full capacity (often the case with new ones) this voltage drop might not be surprising. You should be seeing the DC voltage across your batter vary with revs if it under 13.8 volts.
If your battery is fully charged and the voltages you measured out of your alternator were measured under load then I think the problem lies with your regulator.
Your regulator will typically have a diode circuit in it to convert/rectify the +/- AC wave form. These diodes will convert/rectify the negative half cylcle to a positive half cycle. A typical failure of voltage regulators is to loose one or two diodes in the rectification circuit which means you loose half the waveform and hence half the charging power. (In cars this rectification circuit is often built into the alternator - not sure whether this is the case in your Duc)
The second part of the voltage regulator circuit then regulates this voltage down to a voltage suitable to charging your battery, typically somewhere around 13.8 to 14.8 volts.
The AC voltage should be measured with the RR disconnected, as you mentioned you have done, and your numbers seem correct (if you do it with a working RR attached, you will never see more than 20VAC or so, perhaps less, regardless of RPM).
You have a bad RR.
Tom
You have a bad RR.
Tom
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
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