What have you tinkered with today?

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by admin

The VFR has a weakness for frying its charging system. I suffered a burnt out connector in the spring which I removed and fitted a voltmeter to the dash to monitor things. This showed a regular 14.6v but this went over 15v when I was out with Garynortheast a couple of weeks ago. The cause of the high voltage was the fan kicking in due to the high ambient temperature and slow speeds.

So a new reg/rec now fitted I'm now getting a steady 13.6v. As an experiment I left the bike running to invoke the fan, voltage dropped to 13.3. Not cheap to replace but safer than frying my ECU.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

My recent alternate R/R page might be of interest,

https://cx500.000webhostapp.com/Mosf...orcycleRR.html

and this page as well,

https://www.quora.com/What-voltage-i...attery?share=1

[admin]

Thanks, that was an interesting read. The new rec/reg is a bit more advanced than the honda original and regulates it own temperature to avoid overheating.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

[gadget]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

@ gadget I found out from experience that connecting voltmeter direct to battery is the only way of getting an accurate reading - I tried connecting across side light so it came on and off with ignition but found it read anything up to 0.5 volts low due to volt drops in wiring, but across battery reads the same as my fairly expensive digital multimeter. I did put a 1 amp fuse in line to protect thin cables to meter.

Good call on the 1 amp fuse, I haven't done that yet as I was a bit too impatient to hook it all up.
The good thing about the voltmeter I have is ... it doesn't come on when ignition is switched on unless I touch the 'on' button, but to completely turn it off I have to press the button for 3 seconds. Eventually I will hook it up direct to a multi connection fuse box as I have DRL's, battery charger fly leads, alarm, voltmeter, and 'direct reg/rec to battery mod' so atm the battery posts are a bit crowded.
The fuse box will be relay powered so will only power the accessories when ignition is switched on (apart from the alarm & tracker of course.

[admin]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

13.6 volts is around the float voltage for a 12v battery, not enough to charge it....

You could be right. I have a connector to replace and some incorrect wiring to replace so we'll see what difference that makes.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by admin

You could be right. I have a connector to replace and some incorrect wiring to replace so we'll see what difference that makes.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

Try this site - they give 'voltage per cell' so as to cover a battery of any voltage by multiplying number of cells in battery x that voltage.

My new Electrex world RR851 'series' regulator ( fitted a couple of months ago ) sits at 14.6V for a while after starting the bike and then drops to around 14.4v when cruising, It runs as cool as a cucumber - i could blister my finger on the original SV AL7 Shindengen mosfet one ( it was about 70degC), but the electrex sits below 40 deg C ( and that was in 27degC ambient ), and I know by touching it that now in cooler weather it is nearer 30deg.

My battery charger / maintainer in garage starts off around 14.6 volts and then will drop fairly steadily to around 13.6 to 13.8 volts ( depending on ambient temp ) when battery is fully charged and green light comes on, it will then sit at that 'float' voltage. The float voltage is just enough to compensate for the natural self discharge of the battery.

https://batteryuniversity.com/index....d_acid_battery

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

Try this site - they give 'voltage per cell' so as to cover a battery of any voltage by multiplying number of cells in battery x that voltage.

My new Electrex world RR851 'series' regulator ( fitted a couple of months ago ) sits at 14.6V for a while after starting the bike and then drops to around 14.4v when cruising, It runs as cool as a cucumber - i could blister my finger on the original SV AL7 Shindengen mosfet one ( it was about 70degC), but the electrex sits below 40 deg C ( and that was in 27degC ambient ), and I know by touching it that now in cooler weather it is nearer 30deg.

My battery charger / maintainer in garage starts off around 14.6 volts and then will drop fairly steadily to around 13.6 to 13.8 volts ( depending on ambient temp ) when battery is fully charged and green light comes on, it will then sit at that 'float' voltage. The float voltage is just enough to compensate for the natural self discharge of the battery.

https://batteryuniversity.com/index....d_acid_battery

You've replaced the reg / rec on your 4 year old SV?

Was the stock unit actually faulty? (and if so at what mileage?)

Or was it just a case of you didn't like the fact the stock item ran hot so replaced it on a preventative maintenance basis ?

[SV650rules]

@bike27

No the OEM one did not fail.

I have known so many bikers who have had their RR or stator fry that I thought ( as an electrical engineer ) there had to be a better way.. I had read about series regulators several times and saw that electrex were making one to fit 2004 onwards SV ( Suzuki changed from 5 wire to 7 wire then, they basically doubled up on pos and neg contacts ).

I had to wait a few months for the RR851 to come back into stock at electrex - the plugs on the RR did not exactly suit the AL7 setup and I did not want to bodge the connections, so left the Suzuki plugs as they were, they supply a direct to battery loom with the RR so I used that. The other plug ( 3 pin stator one ) fits but locking tabs do not click together -so the stator plug and socket are held together by a cable tie. The stator plug and socket fit together so tightly they would not fall out, but belt and braces never hurt. Had to get some longer M6 bolts for mounting because electrex heatsink is thicker than original shindingen RR.

The beauty of the series RR is that it only takes the current the system needs from stator, where both the thyristor or mosfet shunt ones fully load the stator all the time and dump any unwanted current as heat, both in the stator and the heatsink.

For about £90 it didn't cost the earth and it has behaved well ( as shown by voltmeter I fitted ) and runs really cool.

A car alternator has a wound rotor as opposed to the permanent magnets on a bike, and the voltage and current output on car controlled by altering the current in rotor coils - bike electrics pretty crude really.

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

@bike27

No the OEM one did not fail.

Thought it pretty unlikely (unless you were already at 80k miles or something) but seemed worth asking the question.

Not had too many reg / rec issues over the years, TDM850 was by far the worst culprit

[dirtydog]

Nothing much bike related (wheel bearings on my van, not a fun job) trimmed the screen to clear the renthal bars, trimmed the renthal bars and fitted new bar ends

[Dave20046]

Tried my hand at brick laying with a stinking hangover. The headache didn't help.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Nothing much bike related (wheel bearings on my van, not a fun job) trimmed the screen to clear the renthal bars, trimmed the renthal bars and fitted new bar ends

I was contemplating doing mine but decided against. Glad I did.