help!!!! do i need a new rectifier????

[Neosophist]

The battery is only two weeks old. It has probably been used for about eighty miles.

Basically I was out and the bike cut out. I tried to re-start it and then the lights went dead and the battery was totally dead. I phoned my local honda dealer to price a new rectifier and battery. He said it was the battery only. I wish I had of replaced the lot!!!

Cheers
AL

If the rectifier is shot 80 miles is more than enough riding to kill a new battery, I can speak from experience on that :D

Noooo! Dont' get a Honda one, there crap and die quickly even the new ones.. get a good aftermarket one.

Many people fit a Yamaha R6 unit, or you can getthe one from ElectrexWorld (http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) .. it has huge fins on it to help cooling and longivity and has a guarantee!!

They also make a matching generator if you've managed to fry that too which is what happens when you drive around too long with a knackered battery..

http://www.Tayna.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; are one of the chepeast place for decent batteries.

[bridgey]

I phoned jap4performance first cos they are closest and then honda cos at the time I needed the bike as my main transport. Honda said battery only so I just replaced that(not from them tho!!). I will get a decent rectifier next week but a mate has an old one I can use to test. The battery is gone so I will have to get another!!!! Luckily I don't need to use the bike for anything.

Cheers again
AL

[wullvfr]

when my reg rec packed up i used the bike on a daily basis for two weeks or so......
all i had to do was charge the battery up every few days or so and make sure i never used the lights as this would drain the battery rather quickly.

so if you charged your battery up over night and it never managed to turn the starter then that battery is in a sorry state.

do you have a car?for a quick easy test remove the battery from your bike and connect jump leads from your car to the terminals on the bike.start the bike,check the voltage output on the battery on the car whilst reving the bike to 5000rpm........if the voltage rises then you know the reg rec is working and if it doesnt then you know its goosed.

from what you say i would definately say its goosed and it may have caused damage to the alternator also,which happened to me.the stator windings got burnt out and over time the charge got weaker and weaker

william

[Neosophist]

@ 5000rpm the reg/rec unit should be giving out 14.1v or there abouts, anything significantly higher or lower and its' knackered.

if you disconnect the reg/rec from the bike and test each of the 3 yellow wires they should be giving out 50v @ 5000rpm

If you set your multimeter to resistance there should be no resistance between any of the yellow wires and earth and there should be 0.1 - 1ohm max of resistance between each yellow wire.

Check the alternator before you put the new reg/rec on as if thats shafted your likely to destroy your new reg/rec AND your new battery.

[bridgey]

Thanks again for all the help. I will post once I get sorted. I am not gonna get chance to pick up a battery for a few days, and I am off to valencia for the gp.

Cheers
AL

[wullvfr]

if you disconnect the block connector from the reg rec like neosophist says and do the test to see the voltage output of the alternator then you will have to set the multimeter to ac voltage.............

[bridgey]

I needed a new battery and rectifier. I also changed the alternator. Had a quick ride out this morning and everything is fine.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

AL.

[Neosophist]

Good good!

Just remember motorcycle batteries live a harder life than many of their car counterparts, in stressed environments, more vibration, temperature fluctuations, etc etc.

Keep your eye on the battery, as soon as it starts becoming less efficient replace it.

A battery in bad condition is unable to take charge from the reg/rec, so in order to supply a lower charge to the bad battery the reg/rec dumps the excess as heat, with a bad battery it dumps so much it overheats and dies, and if you still dont' catch it, depending on how the reg/rec dies it will fry the altenator too (hence why you see many reg/recs with melted altenator plugs.

Read somewhere about a guy in Japan with a VFR400 thats on something stupid like 80k and still on the original reg/rec! He apparantly changes the battery every-year regardless of if it still works or not.