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rectifier finished on my 2001 vfr800?


MechN

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So i bought a new battery after the previous one died, revived after push starting and then grew significantly in size. Now i just put a new battery and when i start it the voltage starts from ~13 V and slow goes up to 16+ (in not more than 30 seconds). Is a fried rectifier the only possibility or are there any other things i should check? (i checked the rectifier for visual damage after the first battery  but I didn't see obvious burns etc.)

 

thanks!

kind regards.

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Sounds like your previous battery died from over-voltage, and the only thing that can cause that is the reg/rec.  That is a very destructive mode of failure, so the same over-voltage could have killed the connectors, the wiring near the connectors as well as various bulbs.  There is no need to measure the reg/rec resistance if the output is off the scale!  The regulated output is supposed to be no more than 14.8v.

 

If you're lucky, you didn't kill the replacement battery, too (like I did, the first time I had a reg/rec failure, many years ago)...

 

Ciao,

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Being electrically ignorant, what about the stator? When my first oem r/r failed, I killed a battery in the death of my r/r. When I got it to the mechanic they said they could not test the stator to see if it was broken until it got hot. But, frequently, the death of the r/r will either take out the stator or the stator took the r/r out (I cannot remember which). And when they pulled the stator cover it was indeed fried like alcoholic on payday-Friday in the local tavern.   

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Yes, I agree that the stator should also be checked whenever there is a big charging system breakdown. 

 

Ciao,

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@MechN

 

Here's a quick check testing for charging systems and you can use it for your stator... but I do agree with JZH and Max... your  R/R is toast. Park the bike, test the stator and go from there. GL

 

 

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Yeah thanks that what I thought, I only ran it with the new battery for half a minute max to see if the voltage was ok, so I imagine that one will be fine. I actually drove the bike with the previous battery for quite a bit and turned it off running before I found out the battery was slowly expanding so I think I might have been lucky and only the r/r and the battery died (it was actually still charging/working). We'll see as soon as I have found a new r/r to order.

I am definitely installing a volt meter now btw, I feel it should be standard on the dash, might have saved the battery and prevented any worse (pretty sure I went at least 20 km on a battery being charged with what, 40 volts?).

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5th gens are famous for r/r failure.

6th gens are famous for Stator failure.

Still, in extreme cases of critical charging system failure it's good practice to check both. Yet I'd put money on it being the r/r that allowed the battery to be boiled, in your case. Hope you get it sorted soon!

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I had this happen too. Replaced it with an ebay R1 reg and been good since then, it actually provides more stable voltage across the rev range and the heat sink is way bigger. You may need to drill one more mounting hole but I don't completely remember.

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4 hours ago, thereisnospoon said:

I had this happen too. Replaced it with an ebay R1 reg and been good since then, it actually provides more stable voltage across the rev range and the heat sink is way bigger. You may need to drill one more mounting hole but I don't completely remember.

Speaking of heat sink, when I put LED headlights in I was told that they would draw considerably less electricity than before and put more load on the r/r. So to further beef up my electrical system I believe it was MelloDude that made me a thick square aluminum piece that precisely fit the upgraded r/r. No electrical problems. Yet. Ever. 

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