Chargeing Problems !

[MaDMaNM1Ke]

Hi peeps
Ive finerly finished rebuilding the bike



Got it started nice and easy after new :

Spark Plugs CR9EIX / RedX Engine Flush / K&N Oil Filter KN303 / Filled Up Oil With Motul 5100 10w40
New Oil Pipes (tnx to baz ) / Fresh Coolant (mixed to correct ratio) / Refitted Stainless Exhaust With Sealent & Gaskets & Fixed 2 Broken Engine Bolts
Striped Carbs & Cleaned / Refitted Inlet Rubbers From Airbox To Carbs / Got New Idle Cable

Ok heres were the problems start, I start the bike it runs for 15 - 20 mins then the battery loses charge over that time, Seems to be running the bike off battery power only.
High/Low Beam Working But Goes Dim As Battery Dies & Doesnt Change Upon Reving It Up



New Xenon Purple Glow Bulbs With Fully Charged Battery Side lights perfectly fine 12v 9LED Purple Bulbs


Now after its been running the 20 mins the alternator leads get hot, And do melt a little rectifier end (alternator wires). Also the yellow/black earth pin off rectifier, Ive spoted it has melted the plastic around the earth pin, And the pin has slided forward a bit as shown in picture below



Ok at this point I charge the battery up AGAIN! Get the multi metre out, I checked the battery output @ full charge 13.8v YUASA Gel battery, Then I start the bike with everything pluged in check the charge on battery terminals 13.80v. Then I check the charge every 2 mins untill battery dies, It starts to drop slowly 0.20v every 10 mins. (NORMAL RUNNING POWER DRAIN )

I Then start the bike again with lights off (All tho all wiring tests!) Getting weaker to start as it gets on proberly 5 - 6 starts, This time I check the output from brown wire for lights and accs @ Rectifier 12.8v - 13v. The white wire from battery @ rectifier should be around 14- 15 when running. (From Kawasaki Manual) I get 12.8v - 13.0v lower then battery voltage & does'nt rise when reving it up SO THIS TELLS ME ITS THE RECTIFIER OR ALTERNATOR. Then with lights turned on same voltage, but battery voltage drops alot quicker and battery dies

So then i turn the bike off and check the resistance between alternator leads for a broken rotor magneto/stator coil (Should be between 0.2 - 0.9 @ 1 OHM & 10 OHM Resistance) Mines was 0.4 between all 3 pairs saying they are fine (From Kawasaki Manual)

Then I unplug all rectifier lead and check the AC current @ 200v with multi metre between each alternator lead I get 32v on tick over and goes to 100v @ high revs (The kawasaki manual says it should be @ 43v ish @ 4000 RPM But ive got no clocks ) SHOULD IT GO TO 100v SEEMS A LITTLE HIGH ?

If the voltages are correct then alternator is fine Then must be the rectifier which I thought it might be, With that melted earth pin. But I need to make sure its not the alternator thats burning wires and burning the rectifier. Make sure it isnt the only problem if I replace the rectifier with a new one £70 of ebay, And I burn that one out. :smt013 WOULD A NEW RECTIFIER STOP THESE ALTERNATOR WIRES FROM GETTING HOT (As the rectifier is distributing the power properly) or should I get a new stator coil with new alternator leads £60 online aswell.

Tnx to anyone that can help

[cargo]

Sadly electrics are somewhat of a mystery to me...............but one fact that I can tell you is that a standard fully charged battery will take a ZXR400 on a 226 mile race of the TT course................with plenty left.

[RedexRobB]

It certainly sounds like the rectifier. I do believe you will see 14V at the battery terminal if the engine is running around 4k rpm, was the engine at this speed?

Im not entirely sure, but the charging current could well be enough to heat the wires, afterall the rectifier has cooling fins on it. But equally if the rectifier is broken then that may well be a cause for the wires to get hot, it would depend how the rectifier has come to be faulty.

Everything else seems to be in order, only thing i would ask is did you measure the alternator voltages on the a.c. scale of your multimeter?

[MaDMaNM1Ke]

Hi Rob
Yeah I DC current tested the alternator wires (All 3 Pairs) got 32v @ idle & 100v @ high revs, Ive got no clocks so cant estimate 4000RPM but seems about right.

Question 1 Should the alternator pump out 100v @ high RPM, Seems a little to high to me.

Question 2 Also could the rectifier being faulty course the bike to idle badly?

As the bike will idle at a nice RPM then just drop & spluter and cut out ive checked and cleaned carbs & adjusted idle cable. However I adjust the idle cable makes no difference, either runs to high/low rpm then when I think its perfect and idleing fine ill drop off the revs quickly or even when just on tick over it will cut out. (@ Random) tap start button fires first time

[gavinfdavies]

i assume that 226 miles is running without head and tail lights etc cargo? lights use alot of power, maybe 150w all in?

my gpz reg rec blew due to a duff earth pin. new ones were not cheap, but try searching by the part number on the reg rec. From that you can get an idea of what other bikes use the same part, and maybe find a cheaper one. So my GPZ500s now runs with a Z400 reg rec! Was alot cheaper, and works fine.