Power to the battery

Thanks Cam...have printed this out so if/when I have problems (still running the original RR in my Corsa) I can diagnose it. Is there any reason to change to a new/modern RR as preventative measure? Hate to have a problem when on a trip a few days from home.
 
RR failures are rare. There's no moving parts in them so they don't wear out. If your present RR is working OK, I would suggest that you leave it alone. At least you know it's good, whereas one that you haven't tried is not proven to be OK. I never carry a spare RR in my luggage on a long trip either. If you're worried about the RR getting hot, run with the headlight on. Burning amps through the headlight means the RR has less to amps that it has to shunt to earth. It's the dissipation of power through the shunt that makes RRs get hot.

In the unlikely event that the RR fails, it's not a disaster anyway. Just disconnect the fried RR and run the bike on the battery as a total loss system (without the headlight on). Recharge the battery when you stop for the night. If you're travelling in company with a friend, you can swap batteries between the bikes. You run one battery flat while he charges the other in his bike. Been there, done that  ::)

 
RR failures are pretty common on modern bikes unfortunately, they run with the headlight on as well. There are tons of cheapo ones on ebay but the quality can be suss. There is always discussion around them on modern bike forums (modern for me working on meaning bikes born in the first decade of the present millennium). True they are simple but component quality can be the issue.
Rob?s problem doesn?t sound like a charging issue, melted plugs (other than from the alternator or on the RR contact plugs due to poor contact) aren?t generally associated with that side of it. He needs to find out if his flat battery and the melted fuse contact are related. If he fixes the contacts first, then he can see if he still has a charging issue.
Rob, is that fuse a direct part of your charging system or is it on the power consumption side?
 
                                            "Rob, is that fuse a direct part of your charging system or is it on the power consumption side? "
Hi Lee,
The fuse is inline between the RR and Bat+ so yes a charging wire. Flat battery was caused by the blown fuse.
Doubt it's the RR as it's putting out 14.6V at the battery unless it's spiking.
I'm going to buy one of those small battery packs and always carry spare fuses so if it happens again I can start the bike and get home.
I'm going to put it down to a dodgy fuse as it's the only explanation at present.
All related connections are clean and tight.
Not planning any long rides in the near future so will do a few runs along my test track, 80km round trip and I have a few farming mates along the way so never too far from help if needed.
 
Tippie said:
RR failures are pretty common on modern bikes unfortunately ? There is always discussion around them on modern bike forums ...
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OK. I bow to your wisdom. I don't tend visit modern bike forums.

I've never had one fail in 50 odd years of owning old bikes, so I figured they were pretty reliable. Maybe I've just been lucky.

 
No high horse here, Cam, sorry if it appeared so. From my experience there is lots of discussion around them, people fitting LED voltmeters to keep track, maintenence battery charging all the time, computer fan over the RR like on my VFR, all sorts of stuff. A lot of problems do seem to stem from resistance through plugs etc. This electron movement through wires hasn?t really progressed over the centuries it seems. It is great when it just works and you don?t need to delve.
 
Tippie said:
No high horse here, Cam, sorry if it appeared so. From my experience there is lots of discussion around them, people fitting LED voltmeters to keep track, maintenence battery charging all the time, computer fan over the RR like on my VFR, all sorts of stuff. A lot of problems do seem to stem from resistance through plugs etc. This elerctron movement through wires hasn?t really progressed over the centuries it seems. It is great when it just works and you don?t need to delve.
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Reckon it has a lot to do with ageing wiring.  I find a lot of wiring that has deteriorated internally, a couple of new bits here and there often restore reliability.

piet
 
Tippie said:
No high horse here, Cam, sorry if it appeared so.
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It didn't appear so.  :D

I now have a digital voltmeter on my Jota. I put it there after one of the spade connectors came adrift on my fuse box and disconnected the charging wire from the RR. Without any charging indicator, I had no idea until I parked the bike and it wouldn't start again. First attempt to start sucked out whatever life was left in the battery. It wouldn't even bump start after that. I carry a cheapo multimeter in the tool kit so was able to diagnose the problem pretty quickly. I had to call a mate to come and rescue me. He brought a spare battery so the bike didn't suffer the ignominy of having to be trailered home.
 
A charging light, now that would have been handy. Would have immediately known that the fuse had blown. I do miss the original one fitted before the Alt/RR upgrade.
After this last incident I am thinking of fitting an amp meter.
 
motoddrob said:
A charging light, now that would have been handy. Would have immediately known that the fuse had blown. I do miss the original one fitted before the Alt/RR upgrade.
After this last incident I am thinking of fitting an amp meter.
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Rob
I fitted a digital amp meter to my twin, when fitting mini alternator, for piece of mind. It shows voltage and amps, and is the size of a cigarette/USB lighter socket. About $20.00 from Supcercheap.
 
I always run with the headlight on...to help improve my visibility and here in Canada all cars for the last 30 years or so must have Daytime Running Lights, basically either dedicated front lights or reduced power to your headlights come on whenever the car is moving.  On the highway other drivers notice the lights before you see the cars. Funny enough only 100kms south of me, the US does not require Daytime Running Lights.

As well, on my last restore I cleaned up all the wiring connectors etc so hopefully this also helps keep the circuits running cool and my RR working.
 
chrisk said:
Rob
I fitted a digital amp meter to my twin, when fitting mini alternator, for piece of mind. It shows voltage and amps, and is the size of a cigarette/USB lighter socket. About $20.00 from Supcercheap.
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Thanks Chris I'll look into those next time I in the vicinity of a stupidcheap.
 
I'm wondering how to fit a charging light (even just so I know when the ignition's on when not running), but have no idea how to do that - the ND alternator just has twi wires exiting: one to battery +, the other to battery -.

Also like the idea of your VA meter, CK. How did you wire that in? Mind you, that Kwaka GPX1000 ND alternator is very reliable.
 
Piranha Brother 2 said:
I'm wondering how to fit a charging light (even just so I know when the ignition's on when not running), but have no idea how to do that - the ND alternator just has twi wires exiting: one to battery +, the other to battery -.

Also like the idea of your VA meter, CK. How did you wire that in? Mind you, that Kwaka GPX1000 ND alternator is very reliable.
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Volt meter is wired though the switched positive power from the battery.
All ND alternators I have played with have three terminals. switched + in, alt light terminal out and + out, back to RR or battery.
 
Just got back from a ride and measured the RR output. 14.95V at 4000rpm.
Last week when I measured it, it was 14.6V.
Using a small SSB lithium battery, was reading 13.5v when I left home and 14.5 volts when I got back but the digital meter was slowly counting down.
I'll recheck when I go back up to the shed after 1/2 an hour of sitting.
 
motoddrob said:
Just got back from a ride and measured the RR output. 14.95V at 4000rpm.
Last week when I measured it, it was 14.6V.
Using a small SSB lithium battery, was reading 13.5v when I left home and 14.5 volts when I got back but the digital meter was slowly counting down.
I'll recheck when I go back up to the shed after 1/2 an hour of sitting.
Click to expand...

Rob, my small alternator gives me 14.6v at mid to max revs. After sitting for a while the battery, non lithium, voltage is about 13.1-13.4.

Dunno if that helps?
 
Battery measured a steady 13.9V after sitting for a while.
Must say I'm impressed with the SSB battery. after sitting on the shelf for the best part of 18 months it still had just over 13V on tap.
What is a normal RR output range?
 
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