Topic: Where's the rectifier? (pic)

[Lynxdk]

Is this ugly black and rusty box outline in the pic, the rectifier?



And is there a way to test it without removing it from the bike(multimeter)? it looks like they spliced it in... (see yellow wires to the left)


( referencing my new bike from this thread http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=77977.0 )

[scottly]

Yeah, that looks like a rectifier. Before you worry about testing it, start at the beginning: have you measured battery voltage with the ignition on, motor not running, and then with the motor running?

[voch]

that IS the rectifier... your multimeter has to have a diode function.


It's a bit complicated, you might wanna take the rectifier off and take it to the shop and have it bench tested.

[Lynxdk]

Yeah, that looks like a rectifier. Before you worry about testing it, start at the beginning: have you measured battery voltage with the ignition on, motor not running, and then with the motor running?

Battery's been replaced probably 4-5 times over the summer, it won't recharge. The guy I bought it off of was told it might be the Stator, which I tested, along with the coil, and they're both alive. The bike will run fine, all the way until the battery dies.

[scottly]

Battery's been replaced probably 4-5 times over the summer, it won't recharge.

You mean every time the battery was run down, you bought a new one, instead of using a battery charger?

[Lynxdk]

Battery's been replaced probably 4-5 times over the summer, it won't recharge.

You mean every time the battery was run down, you bought a new one, instead of using a battery charger?

That's why I linked the previous thread ~lol~ The kid I bought it off of, did, yes.

[scottly]

That's why I linked the previous thread ~lol~ The kid I bought it off of, did, yes.

First rule: never believe the Previous Owner.
Second rule: use simple voltage measurements first, when attempting to troubleshoot a charging problem. 

[Lynxdk]

Yeah, that looks like a rectifier. Before you worry about testing it, start at the beginning: have you measured battery voltage with the ignition on, motor not running, and then with the motor running?

Motor not running, it sits at about 11.24 - 11.25
Running it drops to 11.15-11.16
What does that tell me, and what's next? =D

[scottly]

It tells you the battery needs to be recharged, and, if the running voltage test was at 3000 RPM, (sorry, I should have been more specific) the charging system isn't working.
I would next measure the voltage at the battery, and the 3 regulator terminals, with the ignition on, motor not running, neg meter lead connected to the battery negative post. Expect to see the battery voltage, minus .5-1V on the black, the same as the black on the white. The voltage on the green (ground on Hondas) should be no greater than about .5V. If these readings are OK, and you have already checked the field and stator coils, move on to the rectifier test.

[Lynxdk]

Awesome, thanks. I'll go through those... might not be till this weekend, Thursdays and Fridays are really full for me, and let ya know how it went =D

[Lynxdk]

I found I have some time this morning...

yep, it was the same volts running at 3000

Regulator test:
it's saying 9.5 on both the black and the black and white, and .076 on the green, which is quite different than what you described... does that mean it's the regulator that the problem? or is there something else to check too?

[scottly]

The black wire is where voltage is fed into the reg, via the ignition switch and main fuse. The white wire is where the voltage comes out of the reg, feeding the field coil. You appear to have an excessive voltage drop between the battery and the reg.

[Lynxdk]

I still don't understand what that means ~lol~

Generally, when it comes to electrical problems like this I either
1) Throw money at the problem, replacing parts till it starts working
2) pay someone else to fix it

Both solutions tend to cost about the same, and I don't learn anything from either, really...

but reading up on what "voltage drop" means, is sounds like your saying this is probably a problem with the wiring rather than any easily replaceable part?

[scottly]

Yeah, it sounds like a wring problem. Check/clean connections at the ignition sw and the main fuse. You might try temporaily running a jumper from the battery + to the black reg terminal and see if the battery voltage goes up with the motor running.

[Lynxdk]

I'll see if I can make time for that tomorrow morning, but I'd like to see if my understanding is correct:

Is the reason why I'm getting higher volts on my multimeter than you expected because the electricity is finding it easier to travel thru my multimeter rather than the wires is ~supposed~ to be traveling thru? Which means something is slowing down the electricity in the channels it's supposed to be running, such as a bad connection or a corroded wire? And that's likely what's keeping my battery from recharging the way it's supposed to?

[scottly]

I'll see if I can make time for that tomorrow morning, but I'd like to see if my understanding is correct:

Is the reason why I'm getting higher volts on my multimeter than you expected because the electricity is finding it easier to travel thru my multimeter rather than the wires is ~supposed~ to be traveling thru?
Your readings at the black reg terminal are low. There will always be some loss of voltage in the wiring harness, but it should only be .5 to 1 volt less than the reading at the battery plus terminal. (This is the voltage drop.) The voltage on your green wire is good; should be very near zero.


 Which means something is slowing down the electricity in the channels it's supposed to be running, such as a bad connection or a corroded wire? And that's likely what's keeping my battery from recharging the way it's supposed to?

Correct.