Dry Battery blues

[pablo]

I've changed the reg & rec for a Newtronic unit (which doesn't fit properly) but still the battery dries. Is it overcharging? Something the wrong way around? P.

[Hack]

Pablo,

To check the charging circuit you need to measure the voltage at the battery with the engine running. With a modern electronic regulator this should measure 13.8 volts, certainly no more than 14.5 volts even with the engine at high revs. If the voltage exceeds this then something is wrong with the regulator and you will boil the battery dry quite quickly.

Andy

[Pigford]

Paul, you say

Newtronic unit (which doesn't fit properly)

I think you better make sure its all wired 100% before charging off in the wrong direction
Run bike with lights on, how much brighter when revving, and do they KEEP getting brighter & brighter...
If over charging, ride bike with lights on ALL the time, will help reduce boiling battery, even if not a proper fix

[Ed Z1-R]

Hola Pablo what model is it on
I try to fit one to the Z1-R an had to make an 'A' daptor kit

[pablo]

It's an A4. I've checked the connections as best I can, and I'll put a meter across the battery next time she's running.

Just to be clear - if it's overcharging can it ONLY be a problem with the regulator, or can it be something else? Generator?

Thanks guys, P.

[pablo]

I've checked it, and it's charging at 14.3 (tickover) to 14.6 (4k revs) volts.

Should I assume the new reg/rec is shagged? It's only been on the bike for a few months but it's been sitting in a box for years.

Could it be faulty wiring (I can imagine how bad connections can lead to a loss of volts, but not a gain. But I'm no electrician!) Can anyone give me a clue about which connections to check?

Cheers, P.

[rickman CRR]

There has been many a post dedicated to the Z1's regulator problems. Type in Regulator in the Search Forums section had have a look at all the solutions and advice previously offered.

Best thing to do IMO is dump the standard unit, and get an updated one from Z Power (?80?) or rewire a Superdream one or later Kawa unit. They work, fit and forget....well,,,that is apart from recommended maintenance periods!

If you need to keep running your bike meanwhile, try running it with the lights on until you get another unit.

[pablo]

Rickman - that's exactly why I swapped out the original unit.

My Clymer manual suggests the charging meter should show between 14 and 15 volts - which is exactly what it does. So why does the battery dry? Is it just a crap battery? Should I get a better make of battery? Varta?

Thanks for all the help, P.

[Rich]

http://www.electrosport.com/electrospor ... nding.html

go there download the pdf.

[Hack]

Pablo,

14.6V is very marginally high in my book but the electrosport fault finding pdf says ok up to 14.8V and I'm not going to argue over fractions of a volt.

I'd say it looks as though your regulator is ok

I wonder if there is some AC component finding it's way around the circuitry somewhere. If it was my bike I'd use an oscilloscope to have a look at exactly what voltages and waveforms are present at the battery with the engine running. If you don't have access to one you could do a rough check with a digital multi-meter set to AC volts and you should read virtually zero.

How long does it take to dry out a fresh battery?

Are you using a factory filled battery or are you mixing/adding the electrolyte yourself?

In my opinion Yuasa batteries take some beating

Andy

[pablo]

Thanks alot Andy. I agree - the charging system test seems fine. I bought a new battery yesterday, which I'll fit today and then re-test. I'll also try the AC test. That is something I'd never have thought of! Cheers, P.

[pablo]

Right, the new battery's in and charging at between 14.3 and 14.65 - which I reckon is fine.

However, Andy, the AC test read 30.3 ! (Just to be clear, the multimeter was set to "V~" at 200, which is the lowest setting) Do I have a problem here?

The new battery was filled by the shop yesterday. I reckon it takes about 1,000 miles to dry the battery. Maybe more.

Cheers, P.

[bedlow1]

Pablo, Im coming over to my place for a few days on the 3rd march let me know if you want any parts brought over, have you and Ava tried that new Russian bar yet?

[pablo]

We were looking for the bar only an hour ago! Is it not quite on the corner? Called "Bar El Raconet", or summat? Tables laid inside like a restaurant? We have a Russian friend (well, Latvian, but she thinks of herself as Russian) and she's looking forward to having somewhere to... well... do Russian stuff. Drink buckets of vodka, probably. I'll let you know about any parts I need.

BTW - I have lots of original z900 stuff in a box downstairs, if you'd like to have a look sometime and see if you want anything. I've been saving it in case anyone wants to take my bike back to standard any time in the future but, to be honest, I don't think I'll ever sell it now!

Cheers, P.

[Hack]

Pablo,

Checked mine today, after the first ride-out of the year (yippee).

14.4V DC, and as expected, virtually nothing on the AC range (about 20mV).

Something doesn't sound right with your system, you need to get to the bottom of this before you boil another battery.

Is all of the following true?

You have removed the original rectifier
You have removed the original regulator
You have fitted a combined reg/rect
This has occured with more than one battery
The symptoms existed before AND after you changed the regulator

How confident are you that the wiring of the new unit is correct?
Regardless of manufacturer the combined units tend to have 3 input wires from the alternator (Pink/Yel/Blue or Yel/Yel/Yel) and a Pos and Neg output (usually red/black). On a Z the Red goes to the heavy white lead that used to be connected to the old rectifier and the black is best taken directly to the neg of the battery.

If all this is correct it may be worth looking for a stray connection from the alternator wires to somewhere on the switched DC side. This is most likely to occur on the main connector blocks on the electrical plate as the alternator wires are bus-wired through three of these blocks and two of them also contain various DC wires.

Good luck

Andy