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The start of 2020


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I'm looking forward to the riding season of 2020.  I finally uncovered the bike, put the battery in and hit the start button.  After a few cranks, it sputtered then died.  Gave it some choke and it fired right up!  I bought a volt meter (cheaper one from Amazon) and the bike is reading 12.9 volts when the bike is off, 14.4-14.5 volts at idol and 13.6 volts at about 5600 rpm which is highway cruising speeds.  I'm just wondering if these voltages are ok?  I cooked my battery and RR last year so I bought a used RR that came from a 91 with little miles from a member on this site and a new battery.  The volt meter is just a two wire hook up so it's on all the time even if the bike is off.  Is there any way to hook it up so it's off when the bike is off and comes on when the bike is turned on?  I'm not too electrical so any instructions would be helpful.  I haven't mounted it as I'm planning on putting down in the empty space below the tach.

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Hi,

 

I got the same kind of setup on my bike. Voltmeter is a Koso mounted on the triple clamp (was there when I bought the bike). Removed the almost new RR (pretty sure non genuine Honda but similar) because everyone on Earth knows how crappy it is and replaced it with a Shindengen. I think it's a FAA20 from a 2012 ZX14R. I am still using the original fuse built with the starter relay. This is important to note since with direct connection of the RR to the battery, charging voltage should be around 15V (I have this kind of setup on my Bandit 400).

 

Here is what I got when running (approx):

- 14.4V when running and lights are off

- 13.6 to 13.7V when running and lights are on

Note that these days (I mean 3 weeks ago before everyone was locked down, damn Covid19...), my battery was 11.9-12.0V before startup (bike sleeps outside under an Oxford cover).

 

I hope this helps.

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On my 96 VFR I have installed a voltmeter in the dash - same voltages 13.5-6 V lights on (2 x 55 W headlight) and 14.4 no lights. I always have lights on, so would know the "light load" voltage at 5600RPM. I will check next time... we are not under lockdown as France (please get better soon) and full insurance cover (not only mandatory 3rd party damage) in force from today!

 

Everybody - take care, keep those hands spotless, keep your distances and stay in the little shed with the bike 🤨

 

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15 minutes ago, snowman11 said:

It looks like the voltage is ok.  Just have to figure out how to wire it so it comes on when I turn the bike on and goes off when the bike is off.

You can wire it to the any of the fuses ("fused side") except clock and fan. Locate the Black/Brown wire ("fused side" fuse A), this or any of the next 4 fuses same side. You can find minus at various locations - a "certified" minus terminal is on the right side of frame below tank.

Alternatively connect to terminals on instrument cluster - fuel or temp gauge. A good location - but best if you need to replace bulbs anyway... 🙂

 

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On mine, the "-" was grounded to the lower triple clamp where I think the horn is grounded too. Not sure this ideal but so far it works great and never generated any hiccups.

 

In the past, I grounded a LED turn signal relay to the frame of my Bandit 400 (which is steel and not aluminium) and this caused the bike to stop working when I used the turn signals... Back to normal when I used the battery ground terminal instead of the frame. I learned the ground is connected to the engine case and not the frame) even if they are connected to each other.

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Thanks for the diagram.  I actually have to replace the bulbs of my instrument cluster as half of them died last year.  It made it difficult to ride at night as I couldn't see how fast I was going.  I could only determine my speed with the RPM's.  I'll give this a try.

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On 4/1/2020 at 8:31 AM, snowman11 said:

It looks like the voltage is ok.  Just have to figure out how to wire it so it comes on when I turn the bike on and goes off when the bike is off.

I've got the same issue. I'm just plugging mine in every time I go for a ride. Not very convenient. I was hoping to find a cheerful circuit in the fuse box without opening the instrument panel. I'll look into RC36B's diagram and suggestions. For the instrument lights, have you found out if inexpensive LEDs are available in that size? If so, that might be a good way to go.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I checked my voltage at about 5600 RPM - while driving, light off, USB charger off.... 14.3-4 volt

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On 4/3/2020 at 9:12 PM, snowman11 said:

Thanks for the diagram.  I actually have to replace the bulbs of my instrument cluster as half of them died last year.  It made it difficult to ride at night as I couldn't see how fast I was going.  I could only determine my speed with the RPM's.  I'll give this a try.

I installed LED lights in my cluster and thought they gave off a sick amount of light...

I sprayed the LED's with a thin coat of black spray paint  - that worked well... almost like shades... 😎

 

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