I have now tested my stator output and it is giving me the correct Ac output voltage. I have not tested my regulator output as it is hard wired to the harness so I am not sure how to test it.

 

All three wires give how much output each?
are they all the same?

Did you likewise do the other required tests?

and why can't you test the regulator rectifier, even installed????-- the sharp needle type adaptors to your voltmeter so you can pierce the wire cover......

 

And all this should have been tested prior to installing if you bought it used. And your old shit should of been tested to see what you actually needed

Troubleshoot and test should always be done before you throw parts. Always

 

And all this should have been tested prior to installing if you bought it used. And your old shit should of been tested to see what you actually needed

Troubleshoot and test should always be done before you throw parts. Always

Well maybe I can keep them as spares then I haven’t threw them away yet lol, but you’re right.

 

Could the problem be that possibly my battery is just bad?

How old is your battery? You can certainly test your battery... Just use a trickle charger (1 amp) overnight and check its voltage in the morning -- disconnect the charger and then turn on the ignition for maybe 10 seconds and then off again -- and then measure the battery and you should see 12.8 volts to indicate it is fully charged... Then you want to test the battery voltage while you are cranking the starter -- for no more than 5 seconds -- ideally you could disconnect the stick coils from the spark plugs for this test so the bike does not start (or flip the vehicle-down sensor after turning on the ignition) -- make sure the battery stays above 11 volts while the starting motor is cranking -- this is a decent load test. Finally, start your bike and rev to 4k RPM and measure the voltage across the battery -- you should see 14.2 to 15.2 volts to indicate your charging system is working. Of course, make sure all your connections are tight.

 

Okay I’ll try this after I get out of school today thanks. I’ll let you know what I see.

 

If it’s lead acid you can usually drain em dead and with recharges they are fine. If it’s lithium and you have drained them to much even if it’s relatively new they don’t recover very well. A brand new lithium drained dead usually stays dead. One of the reason I normally just run lead acids.

 

Oh okay thanks for the info!

 

Yeah, my whole post above assumes lead acid! I should have asked!

 

What about those agm or whatever? I haven’t really messed with any of those to know how good they recover. I just like lead acid for stuff that has the potential to sit for spells.

 

AGM is still lead acid, chemically -- it just has a different physical composition (more like a sponge than a swimming pool).

 

There is a fusible link in the battery leads that will open to stop all current flow if there is a massive fault. Your fuse should never be bigger than what that link is rated for. I’m sure Rich can get you the exact answer for fuse rating.

 

Okay I have tested my rectifier output and it is extremely low. I get around 11.18v output from rectifier at idle and when I rev the bike up the volts drops even lower into the high 10’s. Since this is the case and my stator was giving out acceptable numbers I am going to go ahead and order a new rectifier to put in. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

Did you do the resistance checks?

 

Oh no I haven’t that totally slipped my mind. I would just do resistance check at the rectifier output wires to the harness? or where should I do resistance checking if you don’t mind me asking. I did do resistance checks at the stator output wires.

 

There’s a table in the shop manual that tells you what measurements to make. It’s important to do those steps in the right direction, because the readings evaluate whether the rectifier is going to work properly. Where red and black are placed, and what scale the meter is set to matter.

 

I’d forget this whole “direct to battery” bullshit

fix what’s wrong. It’s moronic to do anything else

there rivers. I said it for you harness on these bikes are cheap and easy to install compared to you ghost riding it through traffic

doubtful that’s even the issue where you would need all new wiring

 

hey just out of curiosity, why would someone do this? what is the advantage or purpose of rectifier direct to battery? new to the site and just trying to learn and understand as much as i possibly can about these bikes. thanks!

 

Then ignore this thread. there is no “purpose” of bypassing factory wiring to charge your battery. Least not a good one. The factory wiring is extremely simple and very effective
If your bike isn’t charging then test the 3 main functions and replace what’s bad. If it’s the wiring. Replace that.

 

I wired my rectifier to my battery to figure out my problem. My rectifier and stator both tested good. I had a brand new battery but my battery would still die. Sometimes i could rife for 5 mins and sometimes I could ride for a hr or 2 before my battery would go dead. I knew it was a wiring problem. My flywheel/ alternator had good magnetization. So I basically had it narrowed down to a wiring issue. Something grounding out. I spent all day with a multimeter checking wires. So I said screw it and wired my rectifier to my battery and it would charge. So that let me know that I def had a wire issue. So after a day or 2 of scratching my head and tracing wires I couldn't find out where the problem was. Something told me to hard wire the rectifier to the harnes but figure out what wire was the ground wire and jump a wire from. My ground on my rectifier to my battery. BOOM! That fixed my problem. So I'm guessing somewhere on my bike I'm missing a ground or something. But I've went through both manuals and so called myself going through all the wires. Can't find out what missing. But that's the reason I wired my rectifier to the battery. Call me dumb and that a stupid idea but it led to me fixing my bike to where I csn ride. Its a 05 636c with 17 thousand miles on it I'm the second owner never been laid down but one time at 5 mph. I love the bike that's the only major problem I've had out the bike.