NC30 Battery Woes

[donkeybanana]

How do. Bought the bike I linked in my first thread, even though advised not too - I was just a little too impatient to get on my first 400

Anyway, after the 30-odd mile ride home, she cut out completely. When I came to start her the next day, she was not even turning over. Hooking the battery up to a charger indicated a very low charge level and after a good charge she fired up first time.

After a few rides out it was completely flat again - draining occurs much faster when using lights etc, making the reg/rect the prime suspect although there is no evidence of burnt connections. I will be getting hold of a multimeter this weekend to confirm, but based on the above what would be your diagnosis?

My current battery is a YTX9A-BS, which as far as I can tell not listed as a replacement part for the YTX7A-BS. Could this be my issue? Its still rated at 1A charge rate, so the reg/rect should be able to feed it faster than it can drain it surely.

Any help is much appreciated.

PS - if anyone else is wondering, the bike is easily as good as I had hoped for, besides the obvious - I thought it would be awful mechanically, after taking my first big bike lessons on an old ER5 of the same age which was an absolute pile of the proverbial! But I have to admit the build quality on these things is more than worth the praise its given, even with these legendary battery issues, and the no-doubt soon-to-be-discovered brake seizures!

[dgunthor]

reg/rec or alternator stator has gone, plenty of threads on here on how to check...

YTX9A-BS is a little taller than the YTX-7A-BS and has a higher capacity - so a worthwhile upgrade.

[CMSMJ1]

you have bought a bike that is going to need some work..oh well.

check the output of the alternator and also the level of charge entering the battery.

99% of NCs have had this problem - the main thing is to fix it right, first time. Lots of people dither and try to cut corners and suffer months of ballache as they are tightwads.

easy to ID the fault and easy to fix.

Worst case = new battery, new reg rec, new alternator and some soldering skills...

[donkeybanana]

Aye I've got the guide from RickOliver and a couple of others, just waiting on the multimeter to get it tested thoroughly before sinking any cash.

On a side note, can anyone recommend a decent multimeter for less than £50?

Also, is the Honda Accumate any good?

[donkeybanana]

On a side note, can anyone recommend a decent multimeter for less than £50?

Ignore that - Maplin has them for a tenner!

[Sam-NI]

I had same problems, you will get it sorted. You can pick up a DMM for about 6 quid. The electrexworld guide is really easy to follow, its posted in a link in a thread here somewhere!

[Sam-NI]

Oh yeh, rememeber to check the cables running from each component. My didn't have a faulty RR, or stator, it was the wiring between them!

[donkeybanana]

I'm getting just under 13V through the battery terminals having literally just taken it off charge. Will leave it to stand for a while and then give it another prod.

Also got these numbers from RickOliver if anyone is reading this and has the same problem:

Fully Charged battery: 12.7-12.9V
Battery terminals @ 5000RPM: 13.5-15.5V = healthy; >17V = regulator failure; <12V = alternator failure;

This is assuming all connections are sound as mentioned above - lower output readings could be caused by loose or burnt connections.

[donkeybanana]

The battery held its charge fine overnight, and I've just taken the reading across the battery terminals - 17-18V @ 4500RMP. According to RickOliver this indicates a regulator failure.

Now before I drop the cash on one, is there anything else I should be testing that could be causing the raised voltage? Or is thi definitely a case of regulator failure? I'm pretty sure the one fitted is the original part, its very worn and the numbers on its face are barely readable.

[magg]

Sounds like a dud rect/reg. Your battery is probably now a little sad too if the rect/reg has been giving it 17-18 volts. When you fit the replacement rect/reg make sure the mounting surface is flat and apply thermal transfer compound to the rect/reg mating surface.