M61A1MECH Posted May 25, 2014 Share #1 Posted May 25, 2014 What would cause a battery to boil and swell up, I am thinking a bad voltage regulator. Pulled into the garage today after about a 200 mile run, and we her a sizzling noise coming from under the seat, I am thinking coolant overflow vent is dumping into the overflow bottle, but it did not stop. I pulled the seat and the noise is coming from the battery and it is so hot I can not touch it. During the ride the wife said she smelled something like rubber burning, I figured someone's car or tire was overheating and she was catching a whiff of it. I got the leads disconnected and grabbed a par of gloves and tried to pull the battery up out of the battery box, nothing doing it is not coming out. Took the left side passenger foot rest off and pulled the little rubber holder off that the main fuse or relay is in. Pulled the battery box and battery out as one piece, still unbelievably hot. Turned the battery box upside down and the battery came out, this is what I found. So I am thinking the voltage regulator maybe stopped regulating and cooked the battery? I would like to hear from those that know these things. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etcswjoe Posted May 25, 2014 Share #2 Posted May 25, 2014 I would go with the R/R I just went through several overcharging but I have an on board voltage meter so I was able to catch it before it toasted my battery and anything else. After you get a new battery fire it up and see what it's putting out if it's too high the R/R is your culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted May 25, 2014 Yup, my thoughts and approach exactly, just hoping that Batteries Plus is open tomorrow (Memorial Day). I really like the cranking amps on this battery, It is possible that I fried the battery a few weeks ago, the fuel pump went out, I thought I had flooded it, and stupid me kept trying to start the bike until I killed the battery. Only after some time away from the bike did it dawn on me that it was the fuel pump. Amazing thing is , after the bike set for about 30 hours and I got fuel system working, the battery spun it right over and started like new. Just let the battery rest and it built up enough charge to start the bike, I doubt that a conventional lead acid battery would do that. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrycuda Posted May 26, 2014 Share #4 Posted May 26, 2014 Good news, if there is a silver lining is that you made it home SAFELY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted May 26, 2014 That is exactly what we said, it was pretty scary listening to that thing sizzle and not knowing what it was going to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Horse Cowboy Posted May 26, 2014 Share #6 Posted May 26, 2014 Yep, it's the regulator, mine did the same thing last year. Just like you, I made it home safely. C.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted May 27, 2014 So I got a new battery, all charged up, put it in the bike, put a volt meter across the battery terminals, and fired her up, started to rev it up and the volt meter read 16 volts. shut it off right there and pulled the regulator. Got a salvage one from Pinwall on order, should be in by Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted May 31, 2014 Received the voltage regulator/rectifier from Pinwall yesterday, installed it and checked the voltage while increasing the rpms, never went above 14 volts, little Kuryaken voltage indicator I got from JP Cycles showed green. Took her out today for about 25 miles, voltage indicator showed green the whole time, I think I got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted May 31, 2014 Share #9 Posted May 31, 2014 Cool:thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YamahaLarry Posted May 31, 2014 Share #10 Posted May 31, 2014 Received the voltage regulator/rectifier from Pinwall yesterday, installed it and checked the voltage while increasing the rpms, never went above 14 volts, little Kuryaken voltage indicator I got from JP Cycles showed green. Took her out today for about 25 miles, voltage indicator showed green the whole time, I think I got it. Good deal. Reading this thread makes me want to order a regulator and keep it on the shelf just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Yup, had the same thought , especially after I tore the potting off of the bad one and found that the brains of the unit are only about as big as my thumb nail. Here is alink to a new one at a good price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Voltage-Regulator-Rectifier-Yamaha-1999-2013-Royal-Star-V-Star-YFZ-R6-WR-250-/351038461014?_trksid=p2054897.l5675 Edited May 31, 2014 by M61A1MECH added link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djh3 Posted May 31, 2014 Share #12 Posted May 31, 2014 So was your connector melted? I guess thats kind of a common thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted May 31, 2014 Nope, connector on both cable and RR looked like brand new, wires were good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSTDdog Posted June 1, 2014 Share #14 Posted June 1, 2014 How many miles when the RR failed?? What brand of battery is that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted June 1, 2014 Just over 70,000 miles and that is an Oddessy battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G in SC Posted June 1, 2014 Share #16 Posted June 1, 2014 Steve, have a friend with a V-Star 1100. His did same thing. We were on the road near Anderson, SC. I rode him to Battery's Plus. They swapped it. There happened to be two guys from a Harley Vintage restore shop who gave us their shop address. We went over and, yep high voltage. He found a shop who could change out the RR next day. Been fine since, 4 years ago. Mike G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M61A1MECH Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share #17 Posted June 1, 2014 Good to know Mike. Looks like these regulators can fail in either open or closed mode, mine over charged the battery and cooked it, a friend also with an 1100 V-Star had his fail to where it was not charging at all and the battery died in short order. So now with the Kuryaken volt LED meter I will hopefully be able to see it if it starts to act up again. Anyone wanting to install one of these Kuyaken LED volt meters, let me know I have a plug and play set up that lets you tap into the power and ground lines that feed the auxillary plug on the left inside of the fairing. Easy as pie, un-plug the 2 pin connector plug in my harness and connect to the volt meter, hardest thing is getting the fairing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted June 1, 2014 Share #18 Posted June 1, 2014 Just over 70,000 miles and that is an Oddessy battery. You mean that WAS an Oddessy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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