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13-06-18, 05:42 PM | #1 |
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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. |
13-06-18, 05:47 PM | #2 |
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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. |
13-06-18, 05:55 PM | #3 |
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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).
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13-06-18, 06:01 PM | #4 |
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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. |
13-06-18, 06:24 PM | #5 |
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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.
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"Stultus est sicut stultus facit" Last edited by R1ffR4ff; 13-06-18 at 07:23 PM. |
16-06-18, 08:50 AM | #6 |
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Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...
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.
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16-06-18, 09:06 AM | #7 | |
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Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...
Quote:
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.... |
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16-06-18, 11:00 AM | #8 |
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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
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16-06-18, 11:35 AM | #9 |
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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). |
16-06-18, 11:42 AM | #10 | |
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Re: Alternator/reg/rec question ...
Quote:
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.
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"Stultus est sicut stultus facit" Last edited by R1ffR4ff; 16-06-18 at 11:44 AM. |
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