Martin & Kate's Great Housewarming Party 17/10/09!

Thakyou for being such lovely hosts last night, great food, great company, must do it all again soon

[Spiderman]

Another thank you from me guys, for the lovely breakfast as well. I like a fry up followed by trifle for desert, i think i'll do that more often mmmmmm.

[chris8886]

a big thank you from me too, was a really good evening, with great food and company. always good to see people.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

I like a fry up followed by trifle for desert, i think i'll do that more often mmmmmm.

Especially when the last thing you ate the night before was the other trifle.

Great to see everyone. Thanks Martin & Kate - was a lovely evening... and thank you for the yummy brekky after our big fat lie-in.

Many Thanks from Kate and me to everyone who made it to our party on Saturday! We had a great time and hope that at least some of you enjoyed themselves, judging by the posts here

It was great having you guys around and we hope that now you know where we live you will become more frequent guests at ours. Special thanks to all those who helped us with the BBQ and cleaning up - the help was highly appreciated!

And of course, many thanks for bringing so much food and booze with you - you've definitely overdone it - I think me an Kate will be on BBQ food for the next week Anyone fancying a burger with a beer over the next couple of weeks, just pop in to ours!

Once again, many thanks!
M&K

Ps. Our ride on Sunday unfortunately didn't go to plan as we got stranded around Gomshall with a flat battery. Cost so far: £128 AA subscription... The bike is not charging and I don't know even where to start looking for the problem

Thanks again to you and Kate for a great evening. We should have a few winter BBQs this year I reckon

[rictus01]

Yes, do excuse my tardiness, I've been a little preoccupied with other things, but a very pleasant evening I must say, my thanks to you and please pass them to your lovely other half Kate as well.

As to the bike problem, Sorry I couldn't be much help on the phone, but it didn't sound like a roadside fix thing, follow the steps below to find the problem.

1 check all the physical wiring connections (from alternator through the reg/rec and onto the battery) are all in good condition.
2 charge the battery (this should allow you to start the bike), check reg/rec output values
3 do an earth leakage test with everything turned off.

this should give you three pieces of information
1 is the physical connection broken at any point (if so mend that and repeat steps 2 &3)
2 is the output getting to the battery (if it is; then the battery isn't holding a charge (charge it, off the bike, leave it an hour and measure what it's got in it) and replace if needed).
3 the battery is being drained as fast as the system can charge it and something is grounding out ( this can be through a Dodge reg/rec as well, disconnect it and do the earth leakage test again, if this curers the problem then the reg/rec will need replacing).

I do hope you weren't stranded for to long yesterday.


PS - I've dropped a few pics Keith took on my camera; onto my facebook if anyone is interested.
Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

...
1 check all the physical wiring connections (from alternator through the reg/rec and onto the battery) are all in good condition.
2 charge the battery (this should allow you to start the bike), check reg/rec output values
3 do an earth leakage test with everything turned off.

this should give you three pieces of information
1 is the physical connection broken at any point (if so mend that and repeat steps 2 &3)
2 is the output getting to the battery (if it is; then the battery isn't holding a charge (charge it, off the bike, leave it an hour and measure what it's got in it) and replace if needed).
3 the battery is being drained as fast as the system can charge it and something is grounding out ( this can be through a Dodge reg/rec as well, disconnect it and do the earth leakage test again, if this curers the problem then the reg/rec will need replacing).
...

Problem is I don't even know where the alternator is on the bike With cars I used to replace alternators, starter motors, etc - with bikes I'm unfortunately stuffed as I don't know where everything is.. Even if I manage to locate something I'm afraid to touch it as I would have to remove too much to get to it - I'm useles I know....

So far I've managed to establish that the battery is OK (for now) but it is the lack of charging that's the problem. Whether it's caused by a broken alternator, a blown fuse or a malfunctioning Reg/rec is I don't know. My service manual tells me to check the main fuse first, but I cannot find it as it doesn't seem to be with the rest of fuses behind the side panel...

[rictus01]

Unfortunately I don't have any time at the moment and am away tomorrow for a few days, but if you haven't found a solution but Friday, give me a shout and I'll pop round with the meter and we'll find it.

Cheers Mark.

Oh and alternator is (sitting on bike) the large lump sticking out on the left side of the engine.

Trace the wires up to (probably) the rear panels somewhere to the reg/rec ( you should fine at least one multi connector there), then on to the battery.

I don't know where the main fuse is on the fazer, but if you follow the thick cable from the battery + terminal, it'll go to a relay (or starter solenoid) and it should be on there.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

Unfortunately I don't have any time at the moment and am away tomorrow for a few days, but if you haven't found a solution but Friday, give me a shout and I'll pop round with the meter and we'll find it.

Cheers Mark.

Oh and alternator is (sitting on bike) the large lump sticking out on the left side of the engine.

Trace the wires up to (probably) the rear panels somewhere to the reg/rec ( you should fine at least one multi connector there), then on to the battery.

I don't know where the main fuse is on the fazer, but if you follow the thick cable from the battery + terminal, it'll go to a relay (or starter solenoid) and it should be on there.

Cheers Mark.

Mark, thanks for your advice!
I had Ian on the phone last night guiding me through some continuity and output tests and so far everythings points tho a dead alternator...

Time to say one of my kidneys, methinks...