Read charging system in the FAQ still have a question

[gregvhen]

when its telling you to test between your altnernator wires (the 3 wires on the left side of the bike that pull apart with bullet connecters) its says test between each color, (one probe in green, one in blue.  one in yellow one in green, etc.) It says all the reading should be close to 0. well between my yellow and green i have 6.5, (my meter is set to 200 ohms just like the post says) and between my yellow and blue its about 2.9.  between yellow and green it keeps changing. one time i checked it said 6.5. then 30 seconds later it said 48.3 then just now 30 seconds later, it says 1.2.  what does this mean? also between green and blue it says about 1.2

[The Buddha]

You're talking open circuit voltage ? or resistance or what ? and 0 for either plain sounds wrong ...

OK to actually perform the voltage test (also called a shunt test) you cannot do open circuit, you have to do closed ...

Ergo, the thing has to stay plugged in, and you test it with a thin probe via the back side.

You also should check it in AC, not DC and definetly not resistance ... and you should get semi steady voltage ... 12 and up ... as much as 75 V at 6-7K. Literally linear (OK losses mount as RPM climbs) 1200 idle 12V and 5000 rpm 50 V lets say for rough estimate ... some like that.

You test voltage in the resistance scale sounds like a good way to fry your multimeter.

Cool.
Buddha.

[beRto]

I suggest changing the battery in the multimeter, or trying another multimeter.

[gregvhen]

no buddha, your talking about a differant test.  im talking about right here. the three bullet connected wires. doesnt say anything bout havin the bike running or nothin, its to check the resistance.
but i keep getting differant numbers, and 6 or 7s, and it says it needs to close to 0. but i dont know close compared to what? like if it can go as high as 100 then 7 would be close, but if 15 is the high then 6 or 7 would not be close.  Ive got the no connectivity when going from colored wire to ground, but between the wires themselves i get varrying numbers.

[The Buddha]

No clue what you're testing for. Charging ?
Cool.
Buddha.

[BaltimoreGS]

He's checking the continuity on the AC generator.  Looking at the repair manual from 1989 it says "check the continuity between the three lead wires".   There is no specific value you are looking for, just make sure there isn't an infinite reading (no continuity).  There should be an infinite resistance reading between each of those wires and ground which you said you have.  I would say everything of yours is checking out ok.  Is your bike not charging?  If so, I'd be looking at the regulator/rectifier.   There you are looking for specific ohm values.  According to my manual you want a reading of 6.0 ohms between Y1&BW, Y2&BW, Y3&BW, Y1&R, Y2&R, and Y3&R; a reading of 40.0 ohms between R&BW; and an infinite reading between each of the yellow wires.  Y=yellow wire (there should be 3 of them), R=red wire, and BW=black wire with white tracer.  Good luck!

-Jessie

[gregvhen]

yes, thank you jessie, that is what i was checking and thanks for letting me no there is no specifc value i need. with the reg/rec, i checked that but everything that i tried didnt change anything on the meter, no matter which wires i would go through, thats why i think i have the meter set wrong. the manual says set to ohm 1 on the suzuki pocket tester, but i have a regular craftsman multimeter, so how should i have it set up?

[BaltimoreGS]

The 1 ohm thing in the manual is just letting you know where the decimal point is (not measuring milli-ohms).  The setting in your picture looks like it measures from 0 to 200 ohms so you should be fine.  The meter should read infinate ohms (no continuity) when you turn it on in that setting and hold the probes apart.  Touch your 2 probes together and your meter should read 0 ohms (no resistance).  If it does that your meter is working correctly.  Check the wires again and if you are still getting no continuity I would say you have diagnosed a malfunctioning regulator/rectifier.  And if you are ever probing for DC voltage, start by touching the meter to your battery terminals first to make sure it is working correctly.  Nothing like wasting time chasing an electrical problem with a bad multimeter 

-Jessie

[The Buddha]

He's checking the continuity on the AC generator.  Looking at the repair manual from 1989 it says "check the continuity between the three lead wires".   There is no specific value you are looking for, just make sure there isn't an infinite reading (no continuity).  There should be an infinite resistance reading between each of those wires and ground which you said you have.  I would say everything of yours is checking out ok.  Is your bike not charging?  If so, I'd be looking at the regulator/rectifier.   There you are looking for specific ohm values.  According to my manual you want a reading of 6.0 ohms between Y1&BW, Y2&BW, Y3&BW, Y1&R, Y2&R, and Y3&R; a reading of 40.0 ohms between R&BW; and an infinite reading between each of the yellow wires.  Y=yellow wire (there should be 3 of them), R=red wire, and BW=black wire with white tracer.  Good luck!

-Jessie

I believe its y1 and y2 and y2 and y3 and Y1 and y3 for testing the stator coils.
Any of those Y's to body is infinity.
The BW and R are regulator tests.
Cool.
Buddha.