NC30 Battery Woes

[speedy231278]

Yup, that would do. I prefer the idea of using paste to adhesive or a pad, as I figure the former would make the unit easier to remove if you needed to, and also the pads or adhesive will probably want replacing.

I think the failure rate of the OEM parts is down to that certainly most if not all of them didn't have fins, they'll be just enough to do the job so they keep the price down, they aren't really in an area that's going to help them stay cool, and in addition the connector faces downwards so collects any dirt and moisture that the bike lifts up on it's way. The connector on mine got full of crap, the wires corroded, and the extra resistance made the connector go all brittle. When one of the wires eventually corroded through, the connector fell to bits when I fixed the wiring. The reg/rec died about 18 months ago. Recently, the alternator connector was found to be partly welded together when the charging circuit had died for the same reason at the other end, but I was just about able to save the connector. I now have a 'new' stator, so I'm probably going to go directly to the reg/rec from it. Also, I plan to go directly from the reg/rec to the battery. Whatever you decide, I would recommend that if the connectors have survived at both ends that you wrap some insulation tape around them and the loom to stop crap getting into the connector blocks and helping the wires corrode.

[donkeybanana]

Aye I have been following the other thread on directly wiring the battery to the reg/rect. I will definitely be going down that route with uprated wires etc once I know 100% sure what I am doing and how it all works.

Ordered one of those ebay parts, will probably end up getting the battery from DSS.

EDIT:

ebay to the rescue again, saved another tenner making that around £40 saved today. This time I am sticking to the original-spec Yuasa YTX7A-BS 6AH, as opposed to the same-brand 9AH I currently have.

[speedy231278]

Having looked mine up, I got it in January 2009. It seems to be very happy right now, but the purists will tell me that it's only got a year or so left before it could do with replacing. Appears from the listing that I got a CTX7A-BS, however the same seller proclaims that C series batteries are the gel type, yet I remember it came with a pack of water bottles to fill it, so that can't be right. Anyway, they seem to start at under £25 on eBay which is very good assuming they're not cheap rip-offs.

[donkeybanana]

Got my battery yesterday. Gave it a good overnight charge and the bike started first time.

Voltage across the terminals is as follows:

Off - 14V
1.5kRPM - 15V
4kRPM - 17.5V

I didn't run the bike for more than 30 seconds as the new reg/rec hasn't arrived yet, but AFAIK those voltages are way high. I did carry out the tests without the lights on, so I will give that a go next.

[speedy231278]

14 off is a bit high, but coming straight off a charger it's not completely unexpected though it does seem the charger may be a little powerful for a bike battery.

15V at idle isn't damaging, but it's certainly very high when you consider it will increase when the engine is spun up.

17.5V at any speed indicates the regulator part of the reg/rec unit isn't regulating the output correctly, and it must be replaced. It also most likely indicates why the idle figure is a little higher than would be expected.

Don't run the bike until you get the new one. There's probably little value in testing again with the lights on or off (I'm not sure which you did this time, I assume you meant to type DIDN'T carry out etc....), as regardless of them being on or off, 17.5V is too high. I'm not aware of other faults than a faulty reg/rec that can cause higher than wanted figures, but I stand to learn.... :-)

Also, if it doesn't turn up for a few days, it means you can monitor the battery voltage to see if it's discharging faster than it would otherwise do. If it reaches 12.4V, it's effectively flat. You'll probably see it drop from 14V quite fast, but it should become much more stable around 13V. A healthy battery in ideal conditions allegedly loses 1% charge per day. You should be able to leave it several weeks before noticing any significant drop in voltage, and I've left my bike a month before now with no ill effect at all. I'm not sure how low will make it noticable when starting, but at 12.4V it won't do much more than turn the lights on. If your battery gets anywhere near that before your reg/rec arrives, it's pretty safe to assume it's knackered as well.

[CMSMJ1]

I would be thinking that the battery and the reg rec have taken themselves out in a suicide pact.

[speedy231278]

That was certainly my thinking. I am expecting to hear that the battery has gone flat before the reg/rec arrives....

Edit: didn't spot/forgot that it was already a new battery. So should have suggested the OLD battery would be flat before the reg/rec arrives!

[Neosophist]

Since it is a new battery I will assume it is fine, since you measured 14v either you have a shitty multimeter or the most likely cause is that you had recently charged it.

Until it has been used most lead acid batteries have a float charge, a slightly higher voltage reading from charging that will drop off once used.

Don't run it until you have the new R/R on though, the old one isnt working.

Open circuit testing (ignition off)

12.6V is fully charged.

11.7 volts is totally flat.

Anything above 14.4volts is going to cause gassing of the battery (boil it away..)

[donkeybanana]

Thanks for the feedback fellas.

I have the new reg/rect sat at home, and a nice big tube of MX2 to splurge all over the back of it. I have been daft and run the bike today before replacing the unit, but its only a 40 minute round trip and doable at <4krpm - at least I wasn't out all weekend on it even though the warm tarmac was begging me to

[speedy231278]

Might sound a daft question, but you have the new reg/rect, and some heatsinking gunge, so why didn't you do the job before running it? Should only take 10-20mins to do, and most of that time will be getting the seat on and off. Much off of idle the output of the charging circuit increases, and you know that yours is reaching figures that are dangerously high for the health of the battery. I just hope that it hasn't done any damage. You'll find out soon enough, I guess.....