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XT charging issue XT charging issue
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
Photo by Sean Howman, The Pamir highway in an unseasonably cold late October, Tajikistan

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Sean Howman,
The Pamir highway in an unseasonably
cold late October, Tajikistan



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  #1  
Old 19 May 2009
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XT charging issue
HI,


My XT600e doesn't appear to be charging but I cant figure out why.
  • I have done a continuity test on all of the charging system wiring and it's all fine.
  • I have checked the resistance on the alternator and again it's within spec.
  • I was getting no voltage output from the regulator rectifier so I replaced it with another one from a TZR 250 same unit but different part number.
  • I tested the unit and it was putting out about 14 volts at 3-4000 revs so I thought OK were in business.
  • I put the battery on charge and tonight It started fine.
  • a ran about 10 miles with lights on and then parked up and when I came back it started no problem.
  • I then did a another 10 miles with the lights on but when I got home the battery didn't have enough to start.
  • Repeated all of the above tests and they all check out.
Now the battery was replaced about 7 months ago so I really don't understand.

Any ideas?
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  #2  
Old 20 May 2009
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the battery may be faulty as you have had the bike stripped for repairs/restoration and if its not been charged and discharged it will sulfate reducing its life and capacity, if the reg rec was faulty it may have damaged the battery by overcharing before it went caput.
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  #3  
Old 20 May 2009
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Thanks for the reply. I reckon your right, the process of typing out my post led me to go out to the garage and test the battery and it's definitely not holding a charge. I also closely inspected the the faulty reg/rec and found some extreme heat damage (melting) around the output spade.

So I'm guessing a faulty regulator shunt had been boiling the battery.


New battery then.......ho hum.
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  #4  
Old 22 May 2009
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Well now I'm stumped new battery went in this morning and was fully charged ran the bike to work and back no probs.

Ran the bike over to a friends tonight with the lights on doing a steady 75 all the way about 25 miles and when I stopped to get fuel .....you guessed it flat battery.

even tried a spare reg/rec from one of my GSX 1100s tonight ( same set up three phases in from the alternator and one out back to the battery) but no joy.


What have I missed, any suggestions?
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  #5  
Old 22 May 2009
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earth leads?. have you painted the frame recently and if so did you make sure the regrec was properly earthed.
i had my frame powder coated so had to grind the coating off on all the earth points inc under the reg.
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  #6  
Old 22 May 2009
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Thanks for the reply but I'm beginning to think the original fault may have damaged some of the windings in the alternator. When I fist went looking for the fault I did find a damaged section of insulation on one of the phases from the alternator up near the reg rec where it had been rubbing on the frame. I replaced the section soldered it and shrink wrapped and thought no more about it.

I'm now beginning to think this might have been the original fault that has so far toasted the battery , the regulator rectifier and now it would seam that its scored the a full house on the charging system by damaging the alternator.


I'll get the generator cover off tomorrow and take a proper look.

I'll let you know how It goes.
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  #7  
Old 23 May 2009
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Well after testing the generator under load using a megger there were no signs of trouble. I concluded that leaves only the rather tatty loom.

So I bypassed it completely by relocating a spare GSX1100 reg/rec were the tool kit normally sits. I made up a new loom to connect to the output from the alternator and earthed directly to the battery earth. I put the output from the reg/rec back to thee original red wire in the loom ( now considerably shorter so that it came out of the loom just above the battery.

Here's a pic of the the initial diagnostic set up ( will it work set up)
As you may notice I also extended the leads on my multimeter and wired them into the battery terminals so that I could monitor the charging activity under various conditions.
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  #8  
Old 23 May 2009
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This is my simple but effective attempt to understand what the charging system was doing under load.

What I found was I was getting 14.9 volts while riding and that dropped down to 14.8 when the lights were on.

so it looks like it was the loom at fault the wiring in the rear section gave a result on continuity but when a stripped the insulation back the wire was as black as the earl of hells waistcoat and was probably creating too much resistance under load.

So do these charging voltages sound good or do you think they should be lower?

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  #9  
Old 23 May 2009
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Sounds spot on.
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  #10  
Old 23 May 2009
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i think that it kinda confirms my previous thoughts on poor earths have you tried running a direct battery neg lead to the reg on the original set up.

14.8v sounds a little high especially with the lights on but digital gauges are very sensitive so might not be an issue.
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  #11  
Old 23 May 2009
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Thanks, yes when I'm allowed back out to the garage again that's exactly what I'm going to do.
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