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Ken 11861
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« on: April 16, 2009, 06:44:12 PM » |
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After writing in this morning about my altenator not charging I did some of the testing and cleaning tips I found in the "archives" and the Honda manual. I cleaned the battery terminals, the 55 amp fuse link, plug conections at the starter solenoid etc. The battery full charged checked out at 13.11 v. With the ignition on & lights, but not started it was 12.5v. Then I went on to the last test, with the engine running at 2-4000 rpm and with the multimeter across battery terminals it read 14.2v.
I was so excited - thought it was fixed. I headed out for a ride and coffee destination. Oh, I duct taped my multimeter to the tank. After aprox. 3 miles my LED meter dropped back into the yellow from green and my multimeter was dropped to 12.5 v. As I continued to go a few more miles the volts dropped to about 11.9v. I stopped for some coffee for about ten minutes. To my shock when I restarted the bike she was charging again - back over 14 volts. Once again after aprox. 3 miles it quit charging & dropped to about 12.5 volts, it continued to drop to about 12 volts by the time I got home.
I appreciate that a couple of you guys said dump the LED meter & I have no problem with that, but I think the multimeter is telling the truth, it reads to a 100th of a volt. It seems weird that just yesterday my Valk started not charging after a few miles but then will recover and start charging if shut off for a while. It's happened 4 times now.
I'm bummed - what should I do next ?
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2001 Valk (72,500 5/2011) & 2009 ST1300 (new 5/10)
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longrider
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« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2009, 07:40:31 PM » |
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I didn't read your original post.
How many miles on it? IMHO your alt brushes are going out. I installed a set a couple of years ago. purchased them from hdl. I know they can be made by most alt rebuild shops. the alt has to come out and the brushes soldered in. clean up the armature while you are in there. It will work properly when you are done
warren
5054
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tlanz
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« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2009, 07:55:35 PM » |
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Once the voltage drop occurs, have you tried shutting down and then immediately restarting to see if charging voltage is restored? Can you duplicate the voltage loss simply by running it in the driveway for some time? It's just a guess, but, perhaps the regulator components are failing due to heat (either engine or electrical).
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DFragn
Guest
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« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2009, 08:39:48 PM » |
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Are you by chance also experiencing any idle fluctuations while your voltage is getting weird?
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Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008
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« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2009, 08:50:57 PM » |
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While out in west Texas I had the same thing happen to me. I ended up having to rent a U-haul truck and bringing her home. I just ordered a goldwing replacement overnighted it to the house and replaced it. I'm pretty sure it was the voltage regulator that went south on me. The replacement and shipping was about $245. that was overnight from HDL.
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MarkT
Member
Posts: 5196
VRCC #437 "Form follows Function"
Colorado Front Range - elevation 2.005 km
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« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2009, 03:07:19 AM » |
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I had very much a similar problem, voltmeter reading in the 13's rather than 14.4 where it belongs - and my battery never having any extra juice. Got stranded several times. And this with a Compufire alternator. I even had it rebuilt. Then I found there was corrosion at the battery end of the fusible link holder - under the screw. Got so bad it had melted the cover. I cleaned it up and added copper connection compound, then sealed the whole thing with liquid electrical tape.
Look for a bad connection, also a weak ground on the back of the engine block. I re-routed that wire to the left footpeg frame bolt - into the steel frame. No more electrical connections to aluminum grounds for me!
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Ken 11861
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« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2009, 05:54:51 AM » |
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Answers to your questions,
Longrider: I have 61,000 on my 01 Standard. I did replace the brushes & clean the alt at 40k, the battery is 2 yrs old now.
Tianz: I have restarted the bike after shutting down but the charging rate does not come back unless I shut it off for at least 10 minutes. It seems like something is overheating but then cooling back down.
DFragn: No idle fluctuations. She runs beautiful as normal when started - just no more charging after a few miles.
Mr.BubblesVF: I'm about this close ( can you see my fingers ?) to ordering the goldwing replacement alt. like you did from HDL.
MarkT: I cleaned the fusible link yesterday along with the connections & plugs I could get at, I coated the connections with some electrical grease. I'm gonna go check that Engine ground you mentioned this morning.
Thanks to you all,
Keep the info coming if you think of anything
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2001 Valk (72,500 5/2011) & 2009 ST1300 (new 5/10)
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Garland
Member
Posts: 451
#618
Hendersonville NC
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« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2009, 02:53:40 PM » |
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I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, other than to point out that it would have been better not to start another thread after your recent original post, which contained pertinent information. As you know from your recent archives search, it is much harder to piece a thread together when it gets separated. I hope you get this issue sorted, but I would rather see the solution posted on an existing thread than a new PROBLEM SOLVED! thread. Sorry to ramble, but we all have our peeves...  |
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