flat battery

[damien]

hey guys i seem to have a problem with the cbr, the battery keeps dying, it jump starts fine then i go for a long ride to charge it but it wont start again??? i replaced the battery on the weekend and its died tonight on me!

also there is a plug that has the wires disconnected, its right next to the neg terminal, it has 3 wires but one is disconnected im wondering what that plug may be for and if it has anything to do with charging the battery,

any help would be great cheers

damien

[Fonzy]

oh shit................

DONT GO TO A AUTO SPARKIE UNLESS VERY VERY NECCISARY

mine did the same thing. Yours may be a little different with the plug thing but on mine (92 ZX2R) several importang things for charging the battery were fucked and needed replacing = $650

long rides/high revs - wouldnt make the fkr charge. got very good at push starting.

Hope someone one here might be able to help you and save you some $$

otherwise Motorcycle Eletrics in Osborne Park are very honest and efficient and wont bulshit you.

[MattyA]

mate if ur close to cannington pop round in the morn an il help u out sounds like that plug would be the cause tho

[reggie426]

Or voltage regulator or rectifier could be buggered. If the plug was disconnected when the battery used to hold charge, chances are it has nothing to do with it. But worth checking out.

[Nero Diablo]

Look a honda with a charging problem Well I'm assuming its the bike in your avtar note to others please post year make and model of the bike you are asking about it helps no end.

Suggest you do a search but basically you need to get yourself a mutimeter put it on DC volts on a range that will display a minium of 15volts (20 is a fairly common setting). Start the bike put mutimeter across battery e probes on the actual terminals. At idle you probably won't see much lift in voltage. Slowly increase rpm approximatly a couple 100 rpm above idle you should see the voltage lift ie if its 12 you should see a jump of around half a volt (usually more). Contiune increasing rpm the voltage should steadly increase to a maxium of 14-14.6 volts. If it goes over this voltage you also have a charging system fault.

If this does not occour which by you symptom it probally won't you have a charging system fault been a Honda it is likely its the voltage regulator but this is buy no means garenteed. there was also probally very little wrong with your orignal battery other than it was flat. At this piont I'd look for an online workshop manual which will have a more comprehensive trouble shooting procedure. Also do a search and there will be many threads with further procedures in them.

The three wire plug may or may not be realated its almost impossible to tell from your description and models change from year to year without memorising every wiring diagram ever. If there is no obious place it was plugged into and the bike was charging ok before that it's probally unrelated. It could be a number of things wiring of a since removed alarm, hazard lights or some other device not required in australia or pretty much pick anything else a previous owner may have done.

[MattyA]

^^^
tis what i was gonna do but couldnt be stuffed writin all that, nice work nero!

[damien]

ah ok thanks nero and cheers matty, i no about testing the voltage and i have the rebuild manual, unfortunatly dont have a multi meter, going to ktec tonight to get them to look at it, they said the rectifier as well, i undid the tape around those wires and closer inspection tells me the wires are melted/shinged, i think im going to look into this before i go replacing anything,

[Duff]

Checkout this link. It has a good basic fault finding guide for electrical problems and point you in the right direction

Technical Resources Library - ElectroSport Industries

[Mattis]

If the wires are melted then it is probably the rec/reg.

Basically the stators on these bikes tend to put out too many amps, the reg/rec can't handle this and usually over a period of time overheats and starts putting too much load on the battery. Once this occurs for a period of time it results in the battery dying.

Usually you will find that a replacement aftermarket reg/rec is the go (bigger heat sink on it) or have the stator re-wound to drop its output.

You will need to replace the battery as well, even if it seems fine now and is holding some charge, chances are it will die a short time down the track.