Bike puts out no (electrical) power

[p0diabl0]

Hello hello again. I bought my GS a month or so back, finally got the carbs cleaned and tuned so it idles now and runs better. But the mechanic type guy shows me that the bike isnt putting out anything... at all. As far as we could tell it looks like its running completely off of the battery, after him working on it for a while (freshly charged battery initially) it showed 11.9 volts, when the bike was off, when it was idling, and when revved to ~5k.

He says replace the regulator and probably the battery first, otherwise it might be the alt. The battery is a couple years old and is the stock one. Does this sound like it might be the problem in this case? And if so wheres the best place to grab a regulator?

The bike runs mostly fine except at the low end (1-3k) and i can still ride it around and all, it just might not start up again after a bit hehe.

[LimaXray]

I believe there are 5 wires coming from the rectifier/regular, a red one (+), a black one (-), and 3 yellow ones IIRC.  When the bike is running, you want to take a multimeter set to measure AC voltage (not DC) and see if you can read anything between any combination of 2 yellow wires.  If you can read something, then it is probably your rectifier.  Otherwise, it's the generator.

[sledge]

There should be between 13.5 and 15.5v across the battery at 5000rpm with the main beam on (ie maximum load on the charging system). Anything under or over these figures indicates a problem with the generator and/or the regulator/rectifier. The Suzuki service manual for the GS5 quotes all the test procedures and acceptable test figures for these components but its far too complicated to describe in a single posting. If I had a scanner I would post the info in the FAQ section like others have done with similar subjects or e-mail you a copy.......unfortunately I dont. However I think Starwalt is suitablly equipped and if you ask him nicely he might just help you out. I have owned and restored many bikes over the years and have always used this company when in need of replacement electrical components, but bear in mind they are (like me) in the UK but there must be a similar outfit in the USA.
http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/erol.html#home

[John Bates]

Charging system testing can be complicated. 

Check out Srinath's short version.

If anyone wants a medium length version (one page) I can email it.  Just send me your email address.

I also have a two-page job (modified Electrex to fit GS500) which is quite detailed and includes testing of the wiring & connections.  Also email to anyone.


PM or email me.