sfarson Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 After seven years the stock battery went to battery heaven. Wouldn't start at a gas station and a push start got me home. Put in a replacement battery from Batteries Plus. Has been fine for two months. Last Saturday on a 360 mile ride, at about 300 miles the speedo and tach needle started pulsating... both would display the speed and RPMs correctly for about three seconds then drop to zero, then back, then drop to zero. As RPMs would drop while going through a small town they both stayed at zero then pulse again as I picked up speed. Friend riding behind noted a slight pulse with the tailight. All other gauges and lights worked fine. Five miles from home as I turned off the highway on to a county road, the bike died. Push start no help. 30 minutes later after fetching my truck, a push start did work but the bike died after 20 seconds. Friend had the idea of trying his XX battery. Took it out, placed in my ailing bike, worked fine. Got me home as he followed in the truck. Batteries Plus replaced the two month old battery for free. Have only taken the bike on a ten mile test ride but all is fine. Keep a battery tender on the XX year round. So, what think? Did I just get a bum battery from Batteries Plus? Is the battery not charging while riding? Is a stator going or gone? Would value any opinions or experience as I get to the bottom of this. Now I'm nervous taking the XX on an extended ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Bad Reg/Rec? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Bad Reg/Rec? +1 Your rectifier is what steadies the pulses of electricity that come off of the Stator.... I don't know how to explian that one correctly so I'm just going to stop there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackStreet Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Bad Reg/Rec? +1 Your rectifier is what steadies the pulses of electricity that come off of the Stator.... I don't know how to explian that one correctly so I'm just going to stop there. A stator actually produces alternating current. The rectifier uses diodes to produce DC. The regulator determins how much to produce based on demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockmeupto125 Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 All the symptoms you describe are that of a low voltage condition. Did Batteries Plus replace your battery without checking the ability of the first one they sold you to hold a charge? When you put a well charged battery into the system, everything is good because there is adequate voltage. However, you need to run a full diagnostic on your charging system. A bad battery is a bad battery, and that happens. It also happens because a faulty charging system has ruined it. Get the manual and a voltmeter and get to work, instead of finding out the first time you take the bike 100 miles that you SHOULD have taken the manual and a voltmeter to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfarson Posted August 24, 2006 Author Share Posted August 24, 2006 All the symptoms you describe are that of a low voltage condition. Did Batteries Plus replace your battery without checking the ability of the first one they sold you to hold a charge? When you put a well charged battery into the system, everything is good because there is adequate voltage. However, you need to run a full diagnostic on your charging system. A bad battery is a bad battery, and that happens. It also happens because a faulty charging system has ruined it. Get the manual and a voltmeter and get to work, instead of finding out the first time you take the bike 100 miles that you SHOULD have taken the manual and a voltmeter to it. Thanks for the replies everyone. Have a hunch it is the rectifier but will go through the diagnosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flitemdic Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Late coming in here, but your description is exactly how my R/R demonstrated it was going to heaven- or hell for all the grief it gave me before I picked up a voltmeter. I think Joe may have even been the one that gave me the same- "git off yer butt" advice. 5 minutes with the voltmeter, and I was off to the shop. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red J Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Steve, Mine was putting out the correct voltage, but would die after a few short trips. Bring it back home, charge it, diagnose again, voltages were fine. This happened a few times before I got tired of it and dragged out the wrenches. I ended up with a fried connector on my rectifier and some burned insulation on my stator. Roughly 38k on a 97 (early bikes are the weakest XXs with regards to electrical, I understand). New stator and a upgraded (wired in an 02) rectifier, no more problems. Later rectifiers have bigger heatsinks and better regulation circuitry. Unfortunately, one chink in the armor of the XX. Good thing is, it's an easy fix, and not that expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venus97 Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Those are identical symptoms of my '97 this year. I assumed it needed a battery, due to low cadence when starting and everything was fine for 2 days but the symptoms you described came back. I replaced the R/R and everything has been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky1100XX Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 Steve, Mine was putting out the correct voltage, but would die after a few short trips. Bring it back home, charge it, diagnose again, voltages were fine. This happened a few times before I got tired of it and dragged out the wrenches. I ended up with a fried connector on my rectifier and some burned insulation on my stator. Roughly 38k on a 97 (early bikes are the weakest XXs with regards to electrical, I understand). New stator and a upgraded (wired in an 02) rectifier, no more problems. Later rectifiers have bigger heatsinks and better regulation circuitry. Unfortunately, one chink in the armor of the XX. Good thing is, it's an easy fix, and not that expensive. Hey where did you buy your stator from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 One thing I was told when I bought my new battery (because I went thru this exact scenario yet my RR and so forth checked out fine) was that the battery is never fully charged when you get it - you need to put it on a low-amp charge cycle for a good few hours to get it maxed up before putting in the bike. I put my new battery on a 2A charge for 6 hours, and it has been great. My previous battery (when the OE unit died) lasted a princely 3 months. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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