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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appears!
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Message started by HondaLavis on 06/01/13 at 20:12:16

Title: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appears!
Post by HondaLavis on 06/01/13 at 20:12:16

This morning I took the bike out of the garage and went to start her up. All the lights came on, but I got the repeated solenoid click of a weak battery. "No problem," I thought. "I'll be riding plenty long enough to charge the battery a bit; I'll just push start it." I did so and was on my way. It did leave me wondering why it would be low, though. The last time I had ridden my bike was Monday, and that was 200 mile ride.

I rode for about 6 miles, making sure to keep the RPM's up to help with charging. I stop, pay my rent, and go to be off on my way when CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK. OK... I was going to get the bike inspected today, but I guess I'll just ride her back home and look into it there. I push start it, and I make it about 3 miles before it starts to bog down during acceleration. I pull over and let it idle. Any acceleration from there, and the bike would bog. I killed it, and as soon as the engine died, so did the all of the lights. :(

Long story short, I get it home, take the battery out, and put it on my trickle/float charger. (At this time, I'll mention that I have an AGM mini battery installed rated at 6AH and 130CC that's had no problem over the past year.) After that, I took the battery to Batteries+ to have it load tested, where they confirmed it was fine. So I reinstall the battery and decide to check out my charging system just in case.

THIS IS WHERE I THINK IT'S WEIRD: So I try the load test suggested by the Clymer's. I let the bike run until she's nice and warm, and I hook my multi-meter up to the battery's pigtail. Flip on the high beam, and approximate 5K+ RPM by ear. The book says indicated battery voltage should be between 14.0V - 15.5V. With RPM's up it wouldn't get above 13.6, but when RPM's were back down, it would show 14.08. This got me confused. My next step was to do the no-load test, but I was quickly distracted by this: :o :o

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee291/Lavis325CL/20130601_202253_zps295ad05e.jpg

I guess you could say I'm environmentally irresponsible. When I put on my cone filter, I just routed the crankcase vent hose down under the engine. Still, why would SO MUCH oil come out? I was only running like this for... 1, maybe 2 minutes? I'd estimate it was about 3/4 throttle.

So to summarize my questions: Why did so much oil come out? And Why was my batter already dead? Should I still do my no-load test?

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by Serowbot on 06/02/13 at 00:38:55

I wouldn't worry about oil... it's probably normal blow-by... that you are noticing now because you are revving the tar out of it sitting still...
Not something you normally do... ;D...
You'll probably blue your pipe as well... that won't mean anything either...

Focus on the voltage problem... the rest will likely go away when you start riding normally again...
;)...

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by ToesNose on 06/02/13 at 04:15:20

LOL Lavis I like the "sense of urgency" in the picture with your hand there ;D Reroute the vent hose and get a breather when you get a chance, +1 to Serow don't sweat it till you get the electrical gremlins hunted down ;)

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by Dave on 06/02/13 at 06:39:52

It wouldn't surprise me either is a lot of that oil....is actually mixed with water vapor from revving an engine that was not really warmed up.

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by HondaLavis on 06/02/13 at 07:28:58

Word! :D This is what I was hoping for, but that seemed like a lot of blowby to me for just a minute or two. Dave, I had her running for about half an hour before I started, and I don't mean just sitting there idling by herself. FWIW, I was just adding my hand to give a general size reference.

Anybody have any ideas on why the voltage would display that way during the load test? I'm fairly good about following procedures in the book, but I haven't troubleshot a bike charging system before. I'll try to get to the no-load test today, but I have plans with the wife today. Those were supposed to happen yesterday, until I got stuck 4 miles from home with a dead battery.

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by verslagen1 on 06/02/13 at 08:52:54

Sounds like you're having the same troubles as this guy...

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1369768822

we're going to try swapping out the rectumfryer today.

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by Serowbot on 06/02/13 at 10:12:27

4166676D6845687F607A090 wrote:

Anybody have any ideas on why the voltage would display that way during the load test?

This is odd,... but I'm having the same problem,.. doubled...
I have one bike in storage that wasn't charging, so I replaced the stator,(AC output was in single digits on all three taps)... but, when I fixed it, DC voltage at the battery would still read 14+ at idle, then drop to the 12's as rpm went up...
Now,... my regular bike has a dead battery... it was 11.6v, so I charged it for 4 hrs and got 12.4v but it still barely cranked the engine and dropped to 11.4v under stater load instantly... (new battery on order)...
I jumped it, and checked ouput... it reads 14v+ at idle and drops as rpm increases.. same as the other bike...

I was thinking that that reduction was a function of the rectifier... reducing the voltage as the amperage increased...(what do I know)...
That's what I'm hoping... or else I may need two rectumfriers...

Man,.. I hate electrics... :-?...

Can anyone give an example of a good working charging system?... Voltage at the battery at idle, and as rpm raises?....

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/02/13 at 10:13:59

YOu wear a ring & a watch while you wrench? I gave up on those things years ago. never wear one, my watch hangs on a belt loop ( as designed to, from Kohls) & I havent worn a ring in so many years I cant even guess how many,, LOts of ways for a ring to get a guy in a bind,,

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by HondaLavis on 06/02/13 at 11:35:00

Justin, NO, I don't wear them WHILE I'm wrenching. I'm an aviation mechanic, and I've seen too many stories and pictures of guys "de-gloving" their fingers climbing up or down on aircraft. When I took this picture, I had decided I was done for the time being. I put my tools away, put on my watch and ring to account for them, and took the picture. Then I just cleaned up the oil and rolled her inside - taking care to avoid the wet spot.

Serow - from what I've seen before I would think your regulator or rectifier to be at fault. I'm just at a loss on mine because my voltage doesn't DROP as RPM's increase. It goes up, levels off below 14 as I hold steady throttle for several seconds, and when I release the throttle voltage peaks at 14.08 or so, then returns to normal idle voltage.

I might play with it tonight, but tomorrow morning I leave for a 2 week exercise out in the desert of Fort Bliss. Yeah, flying in the heat... ::) I'll be on once in a while, but I might not be troubleshooting for a while.

EDIT:

Reading my original post, I see I wasn't perfectly clear about my voltage output. At Idle, it's right around 13. Increase RPM's and V increases, but not to 14. Decrease RPM's, and as it approaches idle reading will peak above 14. Then it will return to normal idle RPM's. Now, when I hooked up my multi-meter, I used alligator clips to connect the leads to the pigtail I installed for the charger. I don't think this would change the reading... would it? I may check resistance across those later to see if it's enough to affect the outcome...

Title: Re: Chasing an electrical bug; an oil gremlin appe
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/02/13 at 12:38:38