Battery not charging

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ebenviljoen
Posts: 187
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:35 am
Location: Kettering, Northamptonshire

Battery not charging

Post by ebenviljoen »

Hi gents,

So i came off on some gravel after having to slam the brakes on after the idiot infront of me stopped for no apparent reason. Didnt hit his car but the bike had a bit of a skid on the left. The generator cover has a scratch but nothing too major. But after that the battery doesnt charge. I can charhe it full and stick it on, starts no problem, go for a 40mile blast, starts up cine next day, ride to the garage, put feul in and it wont start, battery not strong enough. On the way home lights start to dim, speedo doesnt work when indicator is on and getting worse as the battery is being used. But the battery charges up fine on normal charger, so i know its not charging on the bike. Checked the fuses and they are all ok and cannot see broken wires. Any suggestions pls fellas.

Thanks, Eben
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Wicky
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Location: Colchester Essex
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Re: Battery not charging

Post by Wicky »

It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

ImageVTR Firestorm and other bikes t-shirts
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TheGingerBeardMan
Posts: 977
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Re: Battery not charging

Post by TheGingerBeardMan »

For testing, and to save spending lots of money for now, try and see if it IS the regulator / rectifier (which it probably is, and is just a coincidence that this happened after your "off").

I wouldn't keep running the bike in case it IS the reg/rec, as it will eventually fry your wires, and destroy yer battery. Sounds like you've caught the problem just in time.

A very cheap one from china will see you not even spent a tenner. Plug new one in (no rewiring required) and THEN try the battery on the bike. If it does turn out to be the Reg/Rec, then keep the cheap one in yer pocket as a back up, and buy a better quality one.

VTR1000F Rec/Rectifier from China: £8.19 and FREE postage: (may take a week - 10 days to arrive)

eBay Link: VTR1000FRegulator-Rectifier: £8.19 & FREE P&P

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OR, buy the SAME thing from Amazon UK (Below), and get it within a few days....and the price for this one is just £7.99, plus £3.98 postage = £11.97 total:

Amazon Link: AMAZON UK VTR1000F Reg/Rec - £11.97 inc P&P

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Many folk will reel in horror at a cheap regulator for the Firestorm. But, It pays to buy one and keep it as a spare in yer pocket, or backpack when touring / rallies / runs and OP Storms.
If it ain't broken...f*ck about with it until it is.

TAX: 1st March 2017
MOT: 16th March 2017
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ebenviljoen
Posts: 187
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:35 am
Location: Kettering, Northamptonshire

Re: Battery not charging

Post by ebenviljoen »

Thanks for the info guys. I have changed the rectifier about a year ago to one of the finned ones but for the price ill get another one and see if it works. :thumbup:
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TheGingerBeardMan
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Re: Battery not charging

Post by TheGingerBeardMan »

ebenviljoen wrote:I have changed the rectifier about a year ago to one of the finned ones
Hmmm. :think: Well, there's a possibility that the "new" finned one has given up. So, in THAT case, I'd do the check in the wiring and connections as per Wickys initial post, (with the Troubleshooting page excerpt). Just to cover yer elbow on all bases before fitting another new one.

:thumbup:
If it ain't broken...f*ck about with it until it is.

TAX: 1st March 2017
MOT: 16th March 2017
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sirch345
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Re: Battery not charging

Post by sirch345 »

My advice would be to check the charging rate at the battery terminals first using a multi-meter. With the engine running and headlights off, you should be getting a charging rate between 13.5 to 15.5 volts.
If the rectifier has gone you could be damaging your battery if you keep using the bike,

Chris.
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bald_pig
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Location: Essex

Re: Battery not charging

Post by bald_pig »

Sorry to rain on your parade ginge, but here's my cheap regulator after my first journey with it:

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TheGingerBeardMan
Posts: 977
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:30 pm
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Re: Battery not charging

Post by TheGingerBeardMan »

ONE SESSION? You mean? you fitted a cheap R/R and this was the result after riding the bike ONCE?

Bl00dy hellfire lad! When my OEM R/R went when I was about 70 miles away, I got a bike dealer to test it and confirm it was goosed. We got the bike jump started, and I rode it the 70 miles home. I had to use the bike twice after that (whilst waiting for a new replacement OEM R/R, and covered a further 200 miles, (100 mile round trip to the hospital on 2 occasions) before fitting me new one. Each time I came home and parked up for the night, the battery was whipped out and put onto the Optimiser, to check and recover any damage it may have suffered.

Luckily, on both occasions, the green lights came onto the Optimiser after about 1/2 an hour of it running the tests. So, I still run the same battery a year later, and it's well maintained. The current R/R is still doing its job so far (touch wood), and I have no plans to fart about with wiring and fitting a MOSFET!

I carry a cheap spare R/R in me pack, along with tools, should I ever have the current R/R fail on me. Hopefully though, if I did have to swap it over, it would last me at least until I can ride home, and not have it destroy the wires like as to what yours did!. That looks a right mess! :(
If it ain't broken...f*ck about with it until it is.

TAX: 1st March 2017
MOT: 16th March 2017
INS: 14th March 2017
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bald_pig
Posts: 453
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Location: Essex

Re: Battery not charging

Post by bald_pig »

TheGingerBeardMan wrote:ONE SESSION? You mean? you fitted a cheap R/R and this was the result after riding the bike ONCE?

Bl00dy hellfire lad! When my OEM R/R went when I was about 70 miles away, I got a bike dealer to test it and confirm it was goosed. We got the bike jump started, and I rode it the 70 miles home. I had to use the bike twice after that (whilst waiting for a new replacement OEM R/R, and covered a further 200 miles, (100 mile round trip to the hospital on 2 occasions) before fitting me new one. Each time I came home and parked up for the night, the battery was whipped out and put onto the Optimiser, to check and recover any damage it may have suffered.

Luckily, on both occasions, the green lights came onto the Optimiser after about 1/2 an hour of it running the tests. So, I still run the same battery a year later, and it's well maintained. The current R/R is still doing its job so far (touch wood), and I have no plans to fart about with wiring and fitting a MOSFET!

I carry a cheap spare R/R in me pack, along with tools, should I ever have the current R/R fail on me. Hopefully though, if I did have to swap it over, it would last me at least until I can ride home, and not have it destroy the wires like as to what yours did!. That looks a right mess! :(
Yup!

Just checked on google, I rode about 7.5 miles before the thing melted in two and left me at the side of the road. I've since fitted mosfet unit from an R1 :)
ebenviljoen
Posts: 187
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:35 am
Location: Kettering, Northamptonshire

Re: Battery not charging

Post by ebenviljoen »

Ill start it up and get a multi meter on it and chech the voltage. Ill report my findings back as i know more about brain surgery than i know about motorbike electrics, and i know nothing about brain surgery!! :oops: :lol:
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Pistonguy
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Re: Battery not charging

Post by Pistonguy »

I had a small slam(enough to bend the front fairing stay) and i was having a drain on the battery from the instrument cluster while the bike was off. Apparently something got jiggled around in there. When you get the multimeter out check for drain and if there is it might be from that i just pulled my odo fuse and all is well again.


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ebenviljoen
Posts: 187
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:35 am
Location: Kettering, Northamptonshire

Re: Battery not charging

Post by ebenviljoen »

ive stuck a new rectifier on there i got from a friend, make is moto something, and now the battery is charging fine :D . Thanks for all the input gents, much appreciated :beer:
But it does show to be careful with the cheap rectifiers, just as tempremental as the original non-finned ones.
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