Hi everyone, i know this was covered on the old forum a couple of times ,but i never had chance to make a note of the readings i should have,basically my battery loses charge when it is on the bike,and i just wanted to check if the readings i got off the bike with a voltmetre sounded ok ? ,
When the bike is running with lights on , it read 11.38 , then with lights off it was 11.67 ,and finally with engine off it was 11.76 ,obviously something is amiss ,so could this be a regulator problem ? i have looked and the wiring going into the regulator all appears fine with no corrosion or damage ,cheers,Den

p.s when the bike is off the road i keep it plugged into a optimate which tells me the battery is strong,thanks.

what to do is test the battery voltage when the bike is ticking over @5000rpm......the reading should be between 13.5-15.5 volts.....this indicates that the battery is getting a good charge from the alternator and that the reg/rec is ok.if its not within this then you need to check elsewhere,the readings you describe sound as if the battery is getting a charge but not enough so it could be that the alternator is on its way out...this happened to me....

the best way to test the alternator is,on the right hand side there should be a block connector with three yellow wires,disconnect it and using a multimeter set to ac volts and check what the ac voltage output is taking 3 seperate readings.......they should all be the same and at least 50 volts,if any readings are different or below 50 then the stator windings are faulty........

this is exactly what happened to me,my bike would run for a good while so long as i wasnt using the lights cause the bat was getting a charge but not enough when i used the lights and ultimately the bat would go dead.
p.s if you do the alternator check its with the engine idling @5000rpm,when you disconnect the block connector its the side that comes from the alternator.....

this is a great wee link for your electrical probs. if your a numpty like me with electrics, its a god send


http://www.electrosport.com/technical-r ... iagram.pdf

i used that link and its superb,easy to follow!!!!!!!!!