Hi Guys,
I just cleaned up the carbs and put an OEM exhaust on the 2001 GS500E I picked up a week ago. It now starts easily and runs great. Now I'm noticing that it's not charging. At idle the battery reads 12.50. At 4000 rpm the battery reads ... 12.50. In my experience that usually means the rectifier has crapped out. Is that common on these bikes? Any preferred vendors for parts like that?
Thanks,
its a 16 year old motorcycle now. and Suzuki rectifiers are kinda famous for being pretty junk.. I would check all the grounding first and make sure somethings not trying to charge the frame.. lol
Double check the plug between the main wiring harness and the regulator/rectifier. Mine had the not-charging problem and that plug was melted/fried. I simply cut it out and put barrel plugs on the wiring harness end so it will attach directly to the R/R and it has worked fine for 1K miles since.
But yes, the R/R is a pretty common issue.
Thanks guys. The plugs look good. No burn marks. I think I'm gong rectifier shopping.
when mine died i replaced it with a kawasaki regulator, been fine ever since
If your R/R is indeed shot - please make a replacement with a schottky diode (or atleast buy one with a schottky diode).
Cool.
Buddha.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brand-New-Motorcycle-Regulator-Rectifier-For-Kawasaki-ZR250-BALIUS-BALIUS-II-400-Zephyr-550-Zephyr-750/32661654747.html?spm=2114.40010408.3.28.a6hwb6
That would likely work just as well. Need to modify the plug probably.
Cool.
Buddha.
Some bikes are more reliable than others when it comes to R/R's and stators. Rarely, if ever, have I seen people on this forum with RR issues. However, on another Honda VFR form I'm on there are new threads daily about RR failures. I myself went through it with my VFR. Like clockwork they will fail at about 16k miles.
My advice is use a volt meter to test both components before you go replacing them (our you'll be chasing your tail and wasting money as I did). It's pretty well documented on how to test them. Check youtube for videos.
***EDIT***
If you do replace one or both make sure you cut out the plug and solder the wires (just the 3 coming from the stator to the RR) if you can. Really, take the time and solder those wires. The plug is a weak point that creates resistance and heat which will shorten the life of your charging system. If you must use the plugs do not use dielectric grease on any of the metal contacts.
Hi Again Guys,
I tried a used rectifier. I'm getting a strange reading. At idle my voltmeter reads about 12.5 across the battery terminals. At about 2000 rpm it reads over 13 volts. But then as rpm continues to increase to 5K or so, the volts go down to 12.5 or so again. You can see the headlight brighten as the rpm increases to 2000, then dim (abruptly) as the rpm goes higher. That's the end of my bag of tricks. Any ideas on where I should go next? Stator? How do you check the stator?
HI again ... again,
Hey, I tested the output of my stator this evening. each lead is giving me about 65 AC volts. The paperwork says I should be looking for 75. So bad stator?
Thanks,
65 instead of 75 is not an issue yet - it could be if it drops to around 20, and the lower it is, the faster it will drop. I think your problem is the R/R.
Now the bike starts to make more voltage as the revs approach 4-5k but after that it could get lower, that's also normal, bikes tend to use more @ higher revs, and internal losses and heat start to choke out the output of the alternator. I think your used R/R is OK, I'd ride it just round your neighborhood, and stop @ your house, turn it off, wait 5 mins, restart and repeat, if you make it 15 miles total with 8-10 starts, you're fine.
Cool.
Buddha.