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Spotty charging leaving me stranded


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I have a new battery, I have checked the plastic pin to the retifier and cleaned it pushed the pins in and greased. When the bike gets hot, like riding in slow traffic it quits charging. Goes from charging 14.1 volts to whatever the charge in the battery is 12.6 volts usually and gradually down to below 12 volts. I have ordered a new retifier and will replace next week. Any one else have this.. 99 Venture

thanx

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Most likley your Stator is going Bad.

 

At the Large White plug, Measure the AC ( AC, not DC ) voltage to ground on each wire, and measure Each, Pin to Pin, with the plug connected. ( Three Readings ) With plug connected, engine running at about 2000 RPM. Just stick the meter leads into the ends of the Large White plug.

 

Write down the Voltage readings you get, and post them. From these Voltage readings we can let you know positively if you need a new Stator.

 

It might be your regulator, but most likley its the Stator.

 

Also, consider, the the Battery may be going High Resistance " Internally "

 

Have you checked the Water Level in the Battery ???

 

If its a Sealed Battery, Remove it, hold it to a Very Bright light, and try to see if the Water level is Below the Top of the Plates.

 

One more comment. Did you CHARGE , the new battery ??? With a Real Battery Charger, and not just a Trickle charger ??

 

Did the guy who sold you the battery, say, " I put the fluid in it, topped it off, and its ready to go " Don't believe it, CHARGE THE BATTERY AT A 2 AMP RATE, FOR ABOUT 6 6O 8 HOURS.

 

Let us know what you find.

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The battery levels are good and complete charge. Are you talking about the pin that goes into rectifier or the one hidden under the seat?

Edited by qdude
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George

I got to the plug under the battery with three white wires, while running but before heating up all wires showed the same about 14 volts. After going away for 10 minutes all wires showed 0 volts no electrical response at all in the pin. I had cleaned the pin and greased with electrical grease before starting any testing. The heat is shorting out something.

 

George it is absolutely not the battery, I did all the checks of it last year when you replied and I just replaced the battery again last week with a full trickle charge done twice.

Edited by qdude
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Time to buy a new stator, Buckeye Performance.com or RM Stator.com are the best choices. Rick at Buckeye is a member here and a stand-up dude. Problem is, now your stuck till Tuesday. Make sure and also get a gasket for the middle gear and left cover, as you will need to pull both of them to replace the stator. Some black RTV sealant would be nice to seal the wires where they exit the left side case thru the grommet. You may even need 3 butt splices to connect the new stator wires to the old harness wiring. Take care as you remove and replace the left case cover for the starter gear setup in the upper left corner.

BTW, are you running any extra lighting loads on your bike? Driving lights, etc.? If so, consider Rick's heavy duty stator.

 

Good luck,

 

Dan

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Hey Qdude if you're a Venturer you get a 15 - 20% Discount at Buckeye Performance you get 10% for being a VentureRider. I might need a stator myself and if I do I'll be getting the beefed up Buckeye unit.

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Good Deal! Rick's got a little banner over there that says 15 - 20% Off Retail Most Items.. . I'd copy & Paste the banner but somebody would probably get mad.. I'm always looking for the best deal and pass on the info when I can.

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No not the stator.

Well George S sent a bunch of suggestions, thanks George, and I tracked it down to the Retifiier. It is replaced and the problem is solved. It was hard to find because it was an intermittent problem. Sure cropped up at bad times though.

The connections were all pretty dirty so cleaning all of them probably kept me from having a future problem.

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By checking the three wire white plastic pin under the battery case with a volt meter I found a total short out of charging when heat built up. The wires showed 14 volts then went to 0 volts on all three wires when the running temp got high. If your stator is going out you will see a partial loss of voltage not a 100% loss.

I only had this issue in hot weather so all fall and winter no problems, but the first warm day I rode in a parade and I barely made it home.

 

GoergeS had some great suggestions and reasons for problems. I cleaned all connections everywhere and my voltage went from 13.9 to 14.3 with the bad rectifier. With motor heat though the bike would drop to the battery voltage of 12.6 and start declining from there. The discharging battery would last about 2 hours. There was probably some resistance in the connections due to corrosion, but corrosion was not the cause of charging faliure.

With new rectifier, voltage is much more stable at 14.0 most of the time, I let the bike run for 30 minutes = stationary with no loss of voltage and charging remaining stable. I also tested on a road trip with long, stationary, motor running stops.

I am no mechanic but I can tell you my shop would have just of replaced parts until the problem disappeared, so I am glad I waited and fixed it myself.

I don't know how many times I have paid for a repair only to take it right back or later on just end up doing it myself.:225:

I had about a 50/50 split of opinions on stator over voltage regulator as the problem but is was the the regulator/rectifier which is directly behind your front wheel behind the radiator.

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Ok thanks.. Yeah I've had the regulator off and cleaned the connections there and in the white plug behind the coolant jug... I don't have much room to get at the white plug.. I have a regulator coming Mon... I will change that out Mon and hope for the best... worst case my stator is bad and I have a spare regulator.

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