B*st*rd Battery!

[Richard80 0]

Now I'm the first person to admit that I dont know the first thing about how a bike goes....as long as it does I'm happy.
Unfortunately mine doesnt atm

I have an old (91)ZZ-R600 which I love dearly but after 5 months of the same problem it may be time to get rid....

It started 5 months ago when she wouldn't start, I took the battery out and wasn't very full and not knowing how old it was I went out and brought a new one.....everything was fine until about a week later when miles from home it conked out and pushing the ignition resulted in that dreaded clicking.... after pushing it rather a long way to a garage they agreed to check over the charging system but I had to leave it there overnight...
OK needs must but as I left I told them that it was a brand new battery and something else must be the problem...
Fast forward to next day (leaving out the hag getting home and back there the next day) and I return to find a bill for £80 and a new battery fitted....Mechanic assuring me it was a duff battery I paid up and went on my way....
Later that same night..... Bike cuts out after having headlights on for a 45 min trip!!!
Anyway...after some research I decided that this may be a regulator/rectifier issue so sourced one from Ebay and taking the other one off there were definite signs it was burnt out....replaced it and it worked...battery charging at revs, headlight brighter at revs...all good!
Today it done me again!!! No charge anymore....rectifier really hot, pushed it to another garage who told me to buy another rectifier....now at £70 quid a pop they aint cheap and I don't want to burn another one out so wondered if anyone out there with slightly more idea than me could see any other issue there may be???? (I don't run any aftermarket electricals like heated grips etc)

Anyway, thanks for reading.....although cant help wishing I was out on the bike instead of stuck indoors charging it!!

Richard

[XS1100 0]

Where abouts in the world are you Rich?

[Richard80 0]

I'm in Greater London.... near Heathrow mate

[Davehutch-hutchs 0]

feel for you rich i dont have a boody clue but some one on here will help m8

[day101 0]

check all the wiring i would just to see if any wires are broken and make sure the alternator is pumping out the right volts.

[darkember 0]

Ok Rich. You say the rectifier is getting hot correct. That is telling me that there is too much current been drawn.

For too much current been pulled points to poor wiring connections somewhere in particular earth connections.

First point to check is your main earth off the battery to the bike chasis. Don't just look at it, it needs to be dismantled and really well cleaned, replace anything that is corroded.

Then check all connections to major components such as starter motor/ altenator/ HT coils ect pay particular attention to the condition of their earth connections.

If the problem is still there then it could be an issue with the altenator. Hope this helps

[Neill 0]

I agree with Darkember corroded connections introduce a high resistance ( ohms law) clean everything up and buy a voltmeter to check voltage at battrey
when running should be 14.3 volts if its above 15 regulator is suspect
was the one you got of ebay new or s/h

[day101 0]

@Neill wrote:

I agree with Darkember corroded connections introduce a high resistance ( ohms law) clean everything up and buy a voltmeter to check voltage at battrey
when running should be 14.3 volts if its above 15 regulator is suspect
was the one you got of ebay new or s/h

[Richard80 0]

It was a second hand one....but it was working...

Cheers...I have got a voltmeter and a haynes manual so look like thats my sunday sorted....

[XS1100 0]

Regulators and rectifiers are all pretty much made the same and all are prone to failure just like on a car.
It's usually not so much the equipment being at fault unless it's a poor design or placement with not enough airflow for cooling or too small of heat sink etc.

There are several causes for premature RR failure the most common ones are.
Extended idling/warm up, starting/stopping often, low rpm operation/in town riding, auxiliary lighting or electrical equipment, electrical shorts or poor grounding in the electrical system, low battery level.

The best way to eliminate RR failure it to keep the battery on charge when the bike is not being used for a week or two or if used often in town at low rpms.
Most motorcycles generators/alternators don't put out enough power to CHARGE a system until over 2000rpm some are even higher. And it takeS a long time to charge up a battery back to 100%. Most charging systems are only designed to keep a fully charged battery fully charged, nothing more so if you battery is not at 100% its adding extra load to the charging system.
I think ZZR600 Like some VFR's suffer with this and your job down the smoke may not help matters
Extended warm up or slow operation and stop and go traffic can be constantly discharging the battery and running at less then optimum power (voltage and amps) and this causes an extra load on the electrical system as well.
You miles away mate but I am sure some one will be able to suss it out.

[dick65 0]

well put gaz,also with a bike of that age id go through the whole wiring loom and get all connectors checked and cleaned and all earth points cleaned properly,let us know how you get on and good luck

[Richard80 0]

So after looking at the wiring diagrams in my Haynes manuals I decided that maybe the job wasn't so urgent (because I had no clue what I was looking at!) and that I should replace the rear tyre ready for MOT next week....
After sourcing (borrowing....they can have it back in about 3000 miles!) a new one from work I decided that I could do it very cheap by taking the wheel off myself and taking it to my friendly tyre place to put on for a tenner.
Surprised to say that although I managed to make this job last the day it wasn't a complete disaster and I am roadworthy again...even tightening my chain which was much needed!
Funny how you can be so proud of doing something so easy by yourself... makes you feel like a real biker....lol

[smilinjack 0]

BTW, returning to your R/R issue, this is a common fault with VFRs. A fair few ppl have made them last longer by fitting extra heat sink material or using a cheap 12v case fan from a PC to aid cooling. As XS1100 pointed out, a lot of the time it's placement that causes trouble. Just a thought.