Hi folks,

I wondering if you have some advice...

I'm new to the forum but have read a bit over the past 1+ yr (& 30 odd thousand kms), as I've been riding across europe, balkans, turkey etc. Now in Morocco and heading south (with the exception of Mali!)

Anyway, I have an XL600 (99 yr). I knacked the regulator and battery while roll starting the bike (for a few of months from turkey to spain)... (I can just imagine peoples heads shaking!)

So in Spain had to replace the battery and look for new regulator. Road bike for a little bit keeping eye on battery & water til i got a new regulator (2nd hand). Replaced it and checked voltage which was running at 14 something. 2 days later on arrival to morocco bike wouldnt tick over. Mechanic checked voltage, it was running at 17-18, replaced regulator with another 2nd hand reg, checked voltage which was again 14 something. 2 weeks later i'm in the same situation....bike wont start etc etc

Checked with professional mechanic here (working more with high end/new race bikes and some trail)...they said my battery was shot, that it was poor quality which was probably already damaged before changing the regulator. I am concerned that it is a problem further up the line....alternator,starter? but they said they checked it (not sure how?) and it is ok. They have put in a Yuasa sealed battery 12V 10Ah (YT 12B-BS). We check voltage, again running at 17-18 with high revs (which concerns me!). But the regulator is not running hot (warm but not burning after A ride). Even with the high voltage they think the regulator could be ok, and that i just need to ride for a few hundred km's and see how it goes... which I'll do today. But I'm concerned that
1) even if the reg is broken we're probably not going to detect a problem with starting in the next day or 2.
2) that the problem will probably make its self known again when i'm in the middle of nowhere in the sahara (and without a hill to roll down!)
3) that if i don't fix the problem now it just costs more in the long run... money, hassel and who knows what!?!
4) I don't think simply putting another regulator in is going to be the solution (hasn't worked last 2 times)

Although 2nd hand, both regulators have been honda orignal and working at the time of purchase... (2nd hand because the budget has only been allowing for petrol bread & water!).... perhaps I just need to go for a new one?

Does anyone have suggestions, advice or experiences to share?

I'm not sure what to do.... i have no idea really...

many thanks in advance

Hi
Your regulator or the connections to it are fuct. The reason why it's cold is because it's not working at all. Your volts shouldn't go over 14.5v. I can't comment on what to do next as the only time it happened to me I replaced the reg and connections (the block connector had also melted!) and battery and the bike has worked fine ever since.

Have you searched and asked over on Honda Trail Bike Forums ? Very knowledgeable and helpful.

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maybe the wiring from the alternator is somewhere connecting to the frame, cosing the regulator to malfunction and die after a while.
so examan the wiring

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I’m not afraid to go fast, it’s the crash and burn part that sucks.

17-18 volts will KILL YOUR BATTERY. Don't ride it this way. [More on batteries Battery FAQ, covers car, motorcycle and boat ]

They might be "professional mechanic" but their knowledge of electrics is poor, or they want to get ride of you (too busy?).

Check the alternator for shorts to earth. As others have suggested check the wiring from the alternator to the regulator.

It'd hard to be exact as there could be quite a few causes for this but as you've changed the battery and are now on your third reg my guess is that it isn't those. Have you checked how well the regulator is "seeing " the battery.

It needs to know what the battery voltage is in order to know whether to charge it or not and one of the wires (the red one from the diagram) should connect via the fuse to the starter solenoid. The voltage across the battery terminals should be almost the same as the voltage on the red wire where it goes into the reg/rec.

If there is a substantial difference (more than say about 0.5v) the signal the reg/rec is getting says flat battery and it's constantly trying to charge it despite the fact it's already charged - hence the high terminal voltage.
The most likely cause is corroded connections. Similarly check the earth connections (green wire ?).