generator questions

[Guest gregs02]

how good is the electrical system on these bikes,,right now i have a lot of accent lights ,,a amp,,strobe lights,,with the driving lights and the radio on it takes a lot of power and since these bike have a generator and not an alternator how much can they take,,i have frends who have goldwings and they have compu-fire alternators, do they make anything for the ventures , i also have a capacitor for the amp so it does'nt draw alot of power from the bike when the bass hits from the bazooke tube,but the lights still dim,,

[Namron]

Sounds like you should install a Ampmeter on your bike! Go to this link for info

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?postid=173128

[Guest gregs02]

what does an ampmeter do and how does it take the place or improve the alternator on the bike,,,

[Guest tx2sturgis]

First, they DO have an alternator...most all modern street bikes ( other than the Boss Hoss) have a stator and a rotor, which together make up the two main parts of an alternator. The output from the stator is about 15-50 volts AC, then rectified and regulated down to 12V DC.

 

Hopefully you have wired all your high current accesories thru a relay, to prevent all that current from running thru your bikes factory wiring harness, which was not designed to carry much added load.

 

If the headlight is dimming on the bass notes, you probably have it wired thru the accesory harness on the bike, and you WILL sooner or later, have problems.

 

I'd recommend a voltage monitor, and rerouting all the amps, driving lites, and things like heated vest and grips, anything that draws more than a couple of amps, thru a 30 amp automotive lighting relay. triggered off the accessory line or taillight circuit.

 

The relay will supply all the current directly from the battery that your devices need, without routing the current thru the bikes barely adequate wiring harness.

 

This doesnt mean you can pull more than about 10 amps continuosly though, you may need to cut back on what you think you need.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Namron]

Ampmeter don't do anything to the generator! Just lets you know when you have gone beyond the capacity it will produce. Some member was working on a larger capacity unit. Try a Search

[Guest gregs02]

venture's have an generator not an alternator,,not to sound like a smart a%s but ask your dealer ,or look it up.,,also my power to the amp and the lights are going straight to the battery,,

[Guest gregs02]

also i have a voltage meter,,what i need to know is how to increase the power on the bike,,my friends with goldwings just put a bigger alternator on there bike,,wish we had the same chioce,,

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Here are a couple of places to look. The first one is pre-made harness you can order:

 

 

http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Products/Accessory_Kits/accessory_kits.html

 

 

If you want to 'roll your own'...heres one way to do it:

 

http://www.r1200gs.info/howto/relay.html

 

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Guest tx2sturgis]

venture's have an generator not an alternator,,not to sound like a smart a%s but ask your dealer ,or look it up.,,also my power to the amp and the lights are going straight to the battery,,

 

Ok....not to dispute you, but a generator is a device that outputs DC directly, and uses an armature that rotates, along with a commutator, and brushes, that provide a 'noisy' DC current, at somewhere around the intended voltage.

 

An alternator puts out AC, that is then rectified and regulated to be compatible with the 12V system on your bike.

 

Where the problem lies, is the fact that in many countries, including Japan, the nomenclature is different than here in the USA...I dont know what country you are from originally, so maybe it is proper for you and your dealer, to call it a generator. Fine. Yamaha DOES call it a generator, as seen on the included service manual page. You can see part number 9, which is the stator coil, and it does not rotate, as the coil in a generator does. In this diagram, you can see the rotor, which contains magnets, and that is the part that rotates.

 

Many on this website can attest to service manuals produced in other countries that refer to parts and tools differently than we do here in the USA. Not unlike the Brits referring to gas as petrol. Whatever.

 

However...it IS an alternator, (by definition in the USA) in that it puts out AC, and that is then rectified and regulated to 12 VDC.

 

It may be helpful to refer you to a thread that I participated in:

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5042

 

 

And this is where you might start looking for a larger capacity STATOR.

 

http://www.buckeyeperformance.com/p24.htm

 

Its always ok to disagree with me, especially if you prefer being incorrect.

 

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Ok...just read your post again about going straight to the battery with your amp...that will protect your wiring harness, but also may lead to a dead battery if you ever forget to turn things off, unless it is one of the auto-switching types. Still, it will draw a very small amount of current to power the sensing circuits. Best practice would be to always hook up a battery maintainer, when parked at home, unless you are able to ride every day or two.

 

Again, good luck on your upgrades.

 

 

[Guest gregs02]

i asked yamaha dealer the question about the generator/alternator ,,and was told by the service people that venture's have an generator,,i also looked on the yamaha website for parts and they show the generator only,,also the amp gets its power from the battery,,but the remote-turn on gets its power from an source that turns on/off when the bike does,,i used the wiring to the rear light,if the bike's not on the amp won't turn on, ,,,the voltage meter will tell me how much power i'm using,,but how do i get more power?

[Freebird]

Your question about more power was answered about 3 posts up. Buckeye performance is the only one I know who sells a higher output alternator.

[Guest gregs02]

cool , should order one from them,,need to find out how much it is to install,,.it would solve my power problem.

[Guest gregs02]

Thanx !!!

[MikeM8560]

also i have a voltage meter,,what i need to know is how to increase the power on the bike,,my friends with goldwings just put a bigger alternator on there bike,,wish we had the same chioce,,

My brothers goldwing has that compufire altanator and with all the lights including halagen lamps stereo and cb idleing hes got 13.6 volts on the meter.

ive been thinking about the buckeye stator when i have time to install one

http://www.buckeyeperformance.com/p24.htm

 

[hig4s]

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/AlternatorGeneratorTheory.htm

[GeorgeS]

venture's have an generator not an alternator,,not to sound like a smart a%s but ask your dealer ,or look it up.,,also my power to the amp and the lights are going straight to the battery,,

 

All Ventures, 1st Gen, and 2nd Gen have " ALTERNATORS "

The alternator makes 3 Phase AC !!

The 3 phases of AC are Fed to the Rectifyer/Regulator Unit.

( one item)

Where the AC is converted ( ie. Rectified to DC, and the Regulated to 13 to 14 volds DC )

 

I'm sorry but whoever told you this bike has a DC Generator, Is mis informed. ( or the dealer did not send him to school )

 

Your local Friendly Retired Aircraft, Electrician, Electronic/technition.

 

GeorgeS.

[GeorgeS]

what does an ampmeter do and how does it take the place or improve the alternator on the bike,,,

 

All that an " Amp meter " does is tell you the current flow , measured, in Amps, that is flowing to or from the Battery.

 

+ Amperage reading means the Charging system is putting "more" current into the Battery then is being used, by the vehical's total electrical systems. ( ie. battery is being charged )

 

- Amperage reading means that more current is flowing out of the battery ( ie. is being used by accessories, the total load ) then the "Charging system" can Provide. ( this means the battery is slowly going downhill )

( ie. battery is being slowly Discharged )

 

Looking at it another way, the ampmeter is just a " tool" to show you if the Charging system is keeping up with the current draw. It does not "do" anything, its just an indicator.

 

Your Stock Venture Charging system is capable of supplying 30 Amps, at 14 Volts. If you Exceed that Current draw, then your battery is supplying the "Excess" current draw, and over time it will go dead.

 

If your total current draw, is Over 30 Amps, its best to Remove some of the Accessories that you have added.

Unless you can find a Replacement " Stator" that is capable of higher output.

 

IF, you are seeing a " Voltage Drop " you are most likley Exceeding the 30 Amp rateing of your charging System.

 

There is NO other answer. Except, maby , Adding More battery Capacity. That would get you by for shorter trips, and Use a Charger at night to make up the difference. But thats just a stop gap, patch. Changing to a Dry Cell, or Gell Cell Battery would help, but only because they have higher capacity.

 

You need more Amps, not more voltage.

 

To accomplish this the only answer is to replace the " Stator" with one that is capable of supplying Higher current flow. ie. More then 30 amps.

 

The average Automobile has a 75 to 100 Amp Alternator, our Ventures have 30 Amp alternators, and if you try to exceed that power rateing, you are going to have trouble.

 

The first thing to go out is usually the large White plug between the alternator, and Regulator Burns up. Or the windings on the Stator start to OverHeat, the Insulation melts, and the charging voltage to your battery starts dropping over time.

 

Your battery starts going down over time cause you are takeing out more power then the chargine system is putting into it.

[Guest gregs02]

All Ventures, 1st Gen, and 2nd Gen have " ALTERNATORS "

The alternator makes 3 Phase AC !!

The 3 phases of AC are Fed to the Rectifyer/Regulator Unit.

( one item)

Where the AC is converted ( ie. Rectified to DC, and the Regulated to 13 to 14 volds DC )

 

I'm sorry but whoever told you this bike has a DC Generator, Is mis informed. ( or the dealer did not send him to school )

 

Your local Friendly Retired Aircraft, Electrician, Electronic/technition.

 

GeorgeS.

I hear ya , but if you are right ,then were is it located , what part of the bike,, on yamaha parts catalog on there web site,, what part number is it,,i've looked and i've asked the service dealer and they told me a story of one venture who had a problem and they had to swap out a generator from another bike and not the alternator,,unless yamaha calls an alternator a generator !!! and by the way, isn't the part from buckeye performance a stator,,and don't stator's go in generators.

[Freebird]

We are getting hung up on words and definitions. The Venture does indeed us an alternator. Alternators and Generators BOTH use stators. Call it what you want, it doesn't matter. The words are often used interchangeably by many people. Yamaha probably uses the word "generator" because that's the word that many people relate to and understand. The fact here is that you want to get more power out of whatever we call it. Buckeye is the only one at this time to offer a solution.

[GeorgeS]

I hear ya , but if you are right ,then were is it located , what part of the bike,, on yamaha parts catalog on there web site,, what part number is it,,i've looked and i've asked the service dealer and they told me a story of one venture who had a problem and they had to swap out a generator from another bike and not the alternator,,unless yamaha calls an alternator a generator !!! and by the way, isn't the part from buckeye performance a stator,,and don't stator's go in generators.

 

The Stator, and Rotor, are located under the Left Engine Case.

Three #14 (white) wires carry the 3 phase AC to the

Regulator/Rectifyer unit. ( thru the large white plug, left side of bike)

That unit is located just aft of the Swing Arm bearing, left side.

From there Two, Red wires, and Two black wires carry the DC voltage to the battery.

Note: most Automobile Alternators now have the Rectifiers, and regulator built into

a Single Unit. Not so, on most motorcycles.

 

Nomenclature: Any Generator, wether its an AC or DC generator has a " Rotor, and Stator". As a general rule of thumb, a DC Generator is called a Generator.

An AC Generator is usually called an " Alternator " ( due to its generating AC )

 

An Alternator can be single phase, or multi phase. ( multi phase has much better regulation )

 

A Magneto, is a the term used for DC generators back in the old days. These units, mechanically driven were mostly used to supply DC for Ignition system's, and limited amount of lighting. They are poorly regulated, if at all. ( Generally not used after the late 1940's)

 

 

From the Battery you have a 40 AMP, Main Fuse, which supplies 12 Volts DC to all other circuits.

[hig4s]

We are getting hung up on words and definitions. The Venture does indeed us an alternator. Alternators and Generators BOTH use stators. Call it what you want, it doesn't matter. The words are often used interchangeably by many people. Yamaha probably uses the word "generator" because that's the word that many people relate to and understand. The fact here is that you want to get more power out of whatever we call it. Buckeye is the only one at this time to offer a solution.

 

Before we go any further,, lets clear the semantics!!!

An alternator is a type of electrical generator, so calling an alternator a generator (like the engineers at Yamaha do in their parts list) is technically correct, just not normal in most places.

 

 

Another thing to do to help the issue is to change out all the turn signals, tail lights, brake lights, running lights (pretty much anything but the headlight and passing lights) to LEDs that draw much less current.

[GeorgeS]

Agreed !

[Guest gregs02]

Thanx !!