Member Contributer vfr Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 I have always put the bike on my battery tender after each ride just out of habit. I recently noticed(wasn't looking before) that after each ride when I plug in my battery tender, the battery tender stays solid red(battery less than 80% charged) and charges for a long time before going to red & green flashing (charge over 80%). It charges for about 2 hours in total before going to solid green. This makes me wonder if the bike is not properly charging while I am riding and my battery tender is masking a problem. I decided to take a look at the connectors and do some basic voltage checks based on great information here. The good news is that all of the connectors look great. No hint of burned connectors etc. The battery voltages without load and under load(ignition on, engine not running) look fine. The stator resistance measurements and continuity to ground tests are good. I didn't do any checks on the rec/reg. However, when the engine RPM is from 2000-5000, my meter shows fluctuating voltage at the battery from 13.4V to 14V. It will not steady out and keeps jumping around in that range even at steady RPM. The bike is a 2003 with about 11,000 miles. It has had the wiring harness recall performed. It is running great. Any suggestions appreciated. I'm not an electrical genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asphalt_Pilot Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Thinking it might be the battery - has it been replaced? If it's more than 3 years old, take it to a local shop and get it load tested. Also possible the R/R starting to fail, though at 11,000 miles that would be a very early failure, but between the bike's age and the fact you are in a warm area of the country, that might lead to that type of early failure. Also, be sure to check the connector at the starter relay, should be in front of the battery. I've posted about that twice in the last couple of weeks - mine had failed, though I'd been good about checking the other connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 13, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 The battery is only about 18 months old. It takes a charge well and maintains voltage under load. I'm thinking the battery is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Any new mods lately ? And did you do a stator output with the R\R disconnected? AC output at idle and 4000 or 5000 rpm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 13, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Any new mods lately ? And did you do a stator output with the R\R disconnected? AC output at idle and 4000 or 5000 rpm. No, I haven't done anything to the bike. I haven't checked the stator AC output. I'll check that tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 It would be worth it to check the grounds for any corrosion - esp. follow the battery negative cable up the connection to the frame under the fuel tank hinge (the bolt is vertical - not the horizontal one you can see just looking from the side). Dis-similar metals (the magnetic connectors / bolt and aluminum frame) have different electric potentials which can over the years can cause galvanic corrosion. That drives boaters nuts since they're often in the presence of salt which accelerates the process. It could be that something's just not quite tight - ground bolt, fuse seated, or a wire that's not held in a connector securely, etc. Maybe jiggle various connectors while watching the volt meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 13, 2014 Any new mods lately ? And did you do a stator output with the R\R disconnected? AC output at idle and 4000 or 5000 rpm. No, I haven't done anything to the bike. I haven't checked the stator AC output. I'll check that tonight. 10-4 .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 14, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2014 OK, I tested the AC voltages on stator disconnected from RR per instructions here. It tests out near perfectly at idle and 5000 RPM: around 19.6v and 67v AC respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2014 Sweet R\R .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 14, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2014 OK, so now the age-old question. Which R/R to get and where to get it? a) OEM b) Rick's MOSFET c) Shindengen FH020AA d) Other ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted June 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2014 OK, so now the age-old question. Which R/R to get and where to get it? a) OEM b) Rick's MOSFET c) Shindengen FH020AA d) Other ? www.roadstercycle.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Im really not sure if leaving on a tender all the time does much in longevity benefit, I never do. If the bike sits a lot , every couple of months maybe. First thing is to check all your connections, from the stator 3 yellow wire plug, and the redwire charge line from the rr has a few connections on the way to the battery, and the start relay connections is an area too while there. If running lowbeams at 3 to 5000rpm, your going to see a lot of fluctuation , cause voltage is getting shunted to ground, Highbeams stabilizes that so you'll see a more stabilized reading. I don't have a problem with the oem rr unit, and I don't have all the heat issues that people say it has. so check the continuity through those connectors where you can and mechanically adjust if needed and hit them with wd40. Then if still reading badly on voltage, you could have a stator that's begining to flake out, but the easy stuff will create voltage loss and fluctuation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 21, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2014 Any updates ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 21, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2014 Received new FH020AA this week from roadstercycle. Installing this weekend. I'll post up my voltages after. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I'm pretty sure c) is the same one sold on Rick's as well as wiremybike.com. It is the preferred R/R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted June 21, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 21, 2014 I'm pretty sure c) is the same one sold on Rick's as well as wiremybike.com. It is the preferred R/R. Nada -- -The FH020AA is a Shindengen product, the OEM brand that the big 4 uses for most bikes nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 23, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 23, 2014 I decided to put Oxgard on every connector I could find on the bike before I put the new Shindengen RR on. I checked the charging voltages afterward at various RPMs. It is good now! It must have been a flakey connector somewhere. Since I did them all, I have no idea which one it might have been. None of them looked burned at all. I think I will still install the new Shindengen RR and keep the old one as my backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 24, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2014 I decided to put Oxgard on every connector I could find on the bike before I put the new Shindengen RR on. I checked the charging voltages afterward at various RPMs. It is good now! It must have been a flakey connector somewhere. Since I did them all, I have no idea which one it might have been. None of them looked burned at all. I think I will still install the new Shindengen RR and keep the old one as my backup. Good idea .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearfreezing Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I decided to put Oxgard on every connector I could find on the bike before I put the new Shindengen RR on. I checked the charging voltages afterward at various RPMs. It is good now! It must have been a flakey connector somewhere. Since I did them all, I have no idea which one it might have been. None of them looked burned at all. I think I will still install the new Shindengen RR and keep the old one as my backup. Thanks for posting the follow-up. What's the voltage at the battery now? When I cleaned/Oxgarded the charging system connectors (all looked ok), the battery voltage gained about 0.5V and stabilized at 14.2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 24, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2014 I decided to put Oxgard on every connector I could find on the bike before I put the new Shindengen RR on. I checked the charging voltages afterward at various RPMs. It is good now! It must have been a flakey connector somewhere. Since I did them all, I have no idea which one it might have been. None of them looked burned at all. I think I will still install the new Shindengen RR and keep the old one as my backup. Thanks for posting the follow-up. What's the voltage at the battery now? When I cleaned/Oxgarded the charging system connectors (all looked ok), the battery voltage gained about 0.5V and stabilized at 14.2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfr Posted June 24, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 24, 2014 I decided to put Oxgard on every connector I could find on the bike before I put the new Shindengen RR on. I checked the charging voltages afterward at various RPMs. It is good now! It must have been a flakey connector somewhere. Since I did them all, I have no idea which one it might have been. None of them looked burned at all. I think I will still install the new Shindengen RR and keep the old one as my backup. Thanks for posting the follow-up. What's the voltage at the battery now? When I cleaned/Oxgarded the charging system connectors (all looked ok), the battery voltage gained about 0.5V and stabilized at 14.2. I'm getting the exact same. 14.2 and stable. Oxgard is pretty incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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