charging system is doing my nut it!!!!

[cbr_veze]

im having trouble with the charging system on my nc29. ive checked the voltage from the alternator and that was fine, ive bought a new reg/rec, the heat syncd one, and a new battery, but it still goes flat. i just cant get my head round it, does anyone have any ideas? ive checked the loom and i cant realy find anything out of place, apart from on the fuel cut off relay, someone at some point has disconnected it and in the connector put either fuse wire or what looks like half a paper clip across two of the connections to bypass it. personaly i found that rather strange. any ideas would be very greatfull. cheers folks.

[greggo]

Assuming you have also tested the charging at the battery with a voltmeter while the bike is running and found it is okay...

Sounds as if you might have a constant draw on the battery whether the ignition is on or off. Is there anything fitted to the loom that isn't standard? Has the loom been tampered with anywhere? This sort of thing is usually due to crushed wires or someone with NFI wiring in something after market or home brewed. It could be something as horribly hard to find as frayed wires in the loom.

How long does it take to go dead flat? If you have even a small drain it will die overnight.

Fuel cut off relay won't affect charging, however it may have been causing a constant drain on the battery if the bridge was set up to have the fuel pump working regardless of whether the engine was running depending on how it was done. With your ignition off but your starter switch in the 'on' position run a meter over the fuel pump and starter circuit and see if it is 'live' (It shouldn't be unless the ignition barrel is in the 'on' position as well). This is as good a place to start seeing as you have already found some tampering in this circuit. If you find a live circuit, switch the ignition circuit to 'off' and see if it makes any diff. If you don't find anything here, you'll have to run the meter over pretty much everything. If you don't have a meter, grab a small instrument bulb or led, and stick on two long wires. Then use the two wires to test things, if the light comes on, there is a circuit, if not then no circuit.

I don't envy you.

[dannc29]

what voltages are you getting when you test everything.

[cbr_veze]

right well im going to go over everything with a good multi meter in a minute, my dad is an electrical engineer which is very handy, to answer your question about the fuel pum think, it looks like it has been doctord to be on a continual feed, because if you have the ignition on but the engine not running, you can here the fuel pump just ticking once every 3-4 seconds. maybe this could be the problem?
and well, i commute to work, which is about a 30 mile round trip which takes just over an hour or so each day, and it takes a few days for it to go flat, depending on how many times i use the starter motor ie stopping and starting journeys.
but it needs sorting as soon as because i cant use my headlights because if i do, the battery gets so flat it actualy struggles to pull off, literally, like splutters then just dies.
i dont know how or why someone could neglect such a beutiful machine, it makes me sick! lol

[leopard_pagan]

"someone with NFI wiring in something after market or home brewed"
i have got to remember that one.. classic

end of last year i had issues, it turned out to be a dead alternator/generator (how ever you call it).
there is a triangle, when one goes it normally takes the other 2 with it! best advised to replace the other 2 as well.
1- Reg/Rec
2- Battery
3- Alternator/Generator-- usually quite reliable even when the other 2 go.

[cbr_veze]

right, well ive spent some time tinkering. the battery is reading fine - 12.6-8 volts. there is no current drain with the igntion off. ive tested all the fuses with the ignition on, and the only one drawing power is the fuse for the lights on the intrument cluster ie neutral light, side stand light ect. they are drawing 0.5 amps. which is imagine is fine. the fuel cut off realy has been bypassed at some pint so it is on a continual feed , which i think someone has done because the relay has fail. but it is not draining the power. ive tested the headlights with the ignition off, and with the engine running but they are not drawing a massive amount. when you rev the engine, the lights do not get brighter. so i tested the regulated output and ive got nothing. but its a brand new regulator because the old one had failed, the battery is brand new aswell as the old one was buggerd. ive tested the alternator for resitance, and for voltage from the center yellow wire that goes into the reg/rec connector block. with the + on the center yellow wire then the - ont the left and right wires in turn. the resistance of the coil is 0.7 ohms on both wires, and the voltage from both wires is 1.4 volts AC.

[dannc29]

ok, i think i see your problem. or atleast the way it comes across on paper.

when you test each phase (3 yellow wires) you should get 50v-60v AC (from memory) at 5krpm if not higher. your telling me your currently getting 1.4v between the 3 yellow wires.

just to make sure your testing using the same method. unplug the connector with the 3 yellow wires, we'll call them 1,2,3 (any order doesn't matter) put the + in 1 connector, then put - in 2. start the bike let it warm up alittle and look at the volts. make sure you set your multimeter to 200 ACV or equiv. rev and hold at 5k rpm, once you get a reference voltage take out the - lead and put it in 3, rev and hold at 5k rpm. once you get a reference voltage take out the + and place in 2, rev to 5k rpm and by now you should have 3 voltage readings. all should be around 50v-60v AC. what are your readings?

[leopard_pagan]

http://www.400greybike.info/newforum/vi ... or&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
the above link is what happened to my bike last winter.

it was reading 2V from the 3 yellow wires = dead alternator

[cbr_veze]

yup, ive just tested it again, not via the reg/rec connector but from the connetor coming straight from the alternator. still reading about 1.4 volts. ive got an alternator on my old engine so im going to swap them over tommorow hopefully and see what happens. i havent got anything to lose. hopefully it works and i can go to that autojumble at newark on sunday :-). i will let you know how i get on. thank you folks!

[leopard_pagan]

bought a reconditioned one from GF, cant remember how much it was but wasnt much.