Charging System

= Charging System =

If you suspect any issues with your charging system, you can use the below steps to inspect the voltages and resistances of the charging circuit.

Tools


 * Multimeter (will need to measure AC and DC voltages and resistance)
 * Phillips head screwdriver
 * 10mm socket or crescent wrench
 * Hydrometer (optional to test the specific gravity of the battery cells)

Steps


 * 1) Remove the seat
 * 2) Using the 10mm wrench, remove the bolt securing the junction box, to expose the battery
 * 3) With the ignition off, measure the voltage across the battery terminals (set your multimeter to DC voltage).  A fully charged battery is usually around 12.60 volts. 1-battery off.jpg
 * 4) Optionally, in order to rule out any battery issues, you should use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of each cell.  You typically can't use a standard hydrometer without modding it because they are designed for car batteries and the hoses are too big.  I personally ordered this one from Battery Mart.  Use the instructions to determine if your cells are charged properly.  If you're still not sure if the battery is good, take it to your local parts store to get it tested.  I discovered one of my cells could no longer hold a charge, hence the new battery in these pictures =)
 * 5) Next, start your bike and warm it up
 * 6) Throttle to about 4K RPMs, and measure the voltage across the battery again. It should be around 14-15V when charging.
 * 7) With the bike still running, carefully unplug the 3-pronged alternator plug. (Image 2) 3-alternator plug.jpg
 * 8) Set your multimeter to measure AC voltage, and measure the voltage across each pair of pins (i.e. the voltage between pin 1 and 2, pin 1 and 3, and pin 2 and 3). All three readings should be around 60V.  If you are not getting enough voltage, you could have an issue with your alternator (Image 3 & 4)4-alternator probe.jpg5-alternator voltage.jpg
 * 9) Turn the ignition off
 * 10) Set your multimeter to measure resistance (ohms). First measure the resistance between the two leads (Image 5) 6-probe resistance.jpg
 * 11) Similar to step 8, measure the resistance across each pair of pins. Subtract the resistance of the leads from this reading. The resistance across the pins should be between 0.3-0.6 ohms. (Image 6) 7-stator resistance.jpg

Note that 0.9 ohms minus 0.4 ohms is 0.5 ohms, which is within spec.
 * 1) Plug the 3-pronged alternator plug back in. Unplug the 6-pronged plug from the regulator (Image 7) 8-regulator plug.jpg

From the top left pin, we'll number them 1-6 clockwise (1 is the top left pin and 6 is the bottom left.
 * 1) Measure the resistance across pins 2-6, 2-5, and 2-4. Reverse the leads (switch polarity) and measure again. One direction should measure at least 10x the resistance of the other direction.
 * 2) Measure the resistance across pins 3-6, 3-5, and 3-4. Reverse the leads (switch polarity) and measure again. One direction should measure at least 10x the resistance of the other direction.

If everything checks out, it looks like you're good to go!

Original Wiki by [CaseLogic], transposed by Elsevere