SV650.org - SV650 & Gladius 650 Forum



SV Talk, Tuning & Tweaking Discussion and chat on all topics and technical stuff related to the SV650 and SV1000
Need Help: Try Searching before posting

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 13-06-18, 05:42 PM   #1
daktulos
Member
 
daktulos's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: St Albans
Posts: 364
Default Alternator/reg/rec question ...

I took a 45 minute trip recently to see my mother recently with the headlight on. Unfortunately, I turned the key too far and left the side-light on when I parked it. After a couple of hours, I needed a jump start to get going again.

A 5W bulb for 2 hours is about .8Ah and the battery is 10Ah I think, so it clearly wasn't anywhere near fully charged or at full capacity.

I have a cheap battery, and I'm definitely not sure it was fully charged, so I'm not too worried about it.

However ... in the garage, I started the engine with the headlight on to check it is charging. The headlight brightens noticeably once the bike has started and idles which I expected, but revving the engine caused it to dim somewhat, which I wasn't expecting.

So, here are my questions: Is this normal? Is the alternator/reg/rec on the sv650 (curvy) so finely balanced that riding with the headlight on could result in the battery discharging? Or, does it look like I may have a problem?

Thanks.
daktulos is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-06-18, 05:47 PM   #2
Bibio
Member
Mega Poster
 
Bibio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: here as devil's advocate
Posts: 11,536
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

first thing you should be asking yourself is how old the battery is.

most charging problems are due to a fubar battery and not the charging system.

a fully charged battery should be able to keep a good 12-13v charge for days/weeks not connected to anything.
Bibio is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 13-06-18, 05:55 PM   #3
daktulos
Member
 
daktulos's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: St Albans
Posts: 364
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

It's two years old - I do make short journeys and start the bike occasionally without going anywhere, so it's not going to be fully charged when I left (it's a council garage away from the house, so no power either).
daktulos is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-06-18, 06:01 PM   #4
Bibio
Member
Mega Poster
 
Bibio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: here as devil's advocate
Posts: 11,536
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

unless there is an alarm fitted to the bike the battery should hold a 12-13v charge for a good month or two.

take the battery out and charge it in the house. once charged take the charger off then check the voltage after a week or so, it should still be the same charge voltage or very near.
Bibio is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 13-06-18, 06:24 PM   #5
R1ffR4ff
Member
Mega Poster
 
R1ffR4ff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: JAMOADR(1999 Curvy) 36,000 miles
Posts: 1,427
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Further to the good advice you have been given get to the main Connector block between the Stator and the R/R and check for corrosion on the pins and sockets.

Unfortunately mine is located under the rear seat fairing so it was seats off and fairing off and it took a while for me to spot the two small JIS(Phillips look alike) screws near the rear underneath that have to be removed as they were hard to see.Before I put them pack I painted them with some white paint just so I would know where to find them next time.

If corrosion found remove with a small jeweller's/electrical screwdriver with a bit of 500 grade grit/wet-and-dry paper wrapped around the end and gently rub the male and female contacts to remove corrosion.Then blow them out with some Carb/Brake cleaner and let dry and then and spray out with Electrical cleaner/Contact spray(I also treat mine with ACF50).

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Aut...t+Spray/p81507

Any build up of corrosion on these High Current contacts causes electrical resistance that robs the charging circuit of current and can eventually lead to component failures and the connector to melt and possibly short and destroy parts in the system.
__________________
"Stultus est sicut stultus facit"

Last edited by R1ffR4ff; 13-06-18 at 07:23 PM.
R1ffR4ff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-06-18, 08:50 AM   #6
SV650rules
Member
Mega Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Shropshire UK
Posts: 1,356
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by daktulos View Post
It's two years old - I do make short journeys and start the bike occasionally without going anywhere, so it's not going to be fully charged when I left (it's a council garage away from the house, so no power either).
Can you get a solar trickle charger to mount on garage roof out of sight to keep the battery happy, they are fairly cheap these days and well worth thinking about if your garage has no electricity supply.
__________________
2016 SV650 AL7

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear - Mark Twain
SV650rules is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-06-18, 09:06 AM   #7
glang
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 534
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by daktulos View Post
I took a 45 minute trip recently to see my mother recently with the headlight on. Unfortunately, I turned the key too far and left the side-light on when I parked it. After a couple of hours, I needed a jump start to get going again.

A 5W bulb for 2 hours is about .8Ah and the battery is 10Ah I think, so it clearly wasn't anywhere near fully charged or at full capacity.

I have a cheap battery, and I'm definitely not sure it was fully charged, so I'm not too worried about it.

However ... in the garage, I started the engine with the headlight on to check it is charging. The headlight brightens noticeably once the bike has started and idles which I expected, but revving the engine caused it to dim somewhat, which I wasn't expecting.

So, here are my questions: Is this normal? Is the alternator/reg/rec on the sv650 (curvy) so finely balanced that riding with the headlight on could result in the battery discharging? Or, does it look like I may have a problem?

Thanks.
45mins riding should be plenty to charge the battery - remember the R/R isnt a trickle charger so puts plenty into the battery until the the volts come up.
The standard R/R is very crude in operation and actually dumps the excess power of the generator as heat (hence adequate cooling is very important) once the correct system voltage is reached so, at higher revs, using more power like lighting actually helps the R/R.
Your lights dimming when revved is unusual and I cant think of any explanation so best to follow the steps that have been recommended....
glang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-06-18, 11:00 AM   #8
R1ffR4ff
Member
Mega Poster
 
R1ffR4ff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: JAMOADR(1999 Curvy) 36,000 miles
Posts: 1,427
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Another alternative for a bike in a council garage with no power is what I did for a pal in a similar situation.I kept and old but good car battery from a scrapped car.Got him to fit an SAE connector


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Battery-T...MAAOSwB09YQA5v

to his battery like I have for my Maintenance charger.And the another one with some big crocodile clips to go on the Battery.Fully charged the Car battery lasts for months as a float-charge for his SV650. Electrically the bike thinks it's got a 60amp+ reservoir.

You do really need a car though as he takes the Car battery away and charges it from time-to-time.


My SAE connector is discretely run under the rear seat/frame and you can't see it unless you were looking for it.

HTH
__________________
"Stultus est sicut stultus facit"
R1ffR4ff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-06-18, 11:35 AM   #9
daktulos
Member
 
daktulos's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: St Albans
Posts: 364
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Thanks all - the solar charger would be a problem as there's another garage above me and it would be a bit awkward to get a wire out of the front. I might give the car battery idea a go, as I do have a car to lug it about. I was actually thinking about putting an SAE connector (or similar) in anyway so I could carry something like this around with me:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DBPOWER-120...dp/B01DLRGY8A/

But then I decided that it was crazy and I should just try and find/fix the problem.

As well as checking the connectors, etc., if I have time I'll check the voltages at the battery and lights this weekend, and I may even see if I can get an ammeter in line (although not when starting).
daktulos is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-06-18, 11:42 AM   #10
R1ffR4ff
Member
Mega Poster
 
R1ffR4ff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: JAMOADR(1999 Curvy) 36,000 miles
Posts: 1,427
Default Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by daktulos View Post
Thanks all - the solar charger would be a problem as there's another garage above me and it would be a bit awkward to get a wire out of the front. I might give the car battery idea a go, as I do have a car to lug it about. I was actually thinking about putting an SAE connector (or similar) in anyway so I could carry something like this around with me:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DBPOWER-120...dp/B01DLRGY8A/

But then I decided that it was crazy and I should just try and find/fix the problem.

As well as checking the connectors, etc., if I have time I'll check the voltages at the battery and lights this weekend, and I may even see if I can get an ammeter in line (although not when starting).

I have one of those but it might not be any use through the SAE connector as the current they supply is very large.However it's bailed my Car out of the poo several times as I've not been using it much in the Winter and the Alarm drains the battery :O


It's still good to fit an SAE connector though as then it's easy to plug a charger in when needed.Also it supplies my Keis Heated inner gloves in the cold.
__________________
"Stultus est sicut stultus facit"

Last edited by R1ffR4ff; 16-06-18 at 11:44 AM.
R1ffR4ff is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
my alternator is very likely deceased basilyoung SV Talk, Tuning & Tweaking 4 16-07-12 05:20 PM
99 Alternator RobH13 Stuff Wanted 1 01-05-11 10:25 AM
Alternator gone? Jynx SV Talk, Tuning & Tweaking 3 13-12-09 09:37 PM
is my alternator knackered??? stooster SV Talk, Tuning & Tweaking 22 24-10-07 06:50 AM
New Alternator ... How much? The Bride SV Talk, Tuning & Tweaking 13 18-02-07 10:34 AM


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:49 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® - Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.