Joining the XS650 world!

I tried to charge a new battery that had been run completely dead last year and the trickle charger wasn't able to get it charged since it had no charge at all. Not sure if that was a cheap charger issue or not. It was borrowed from a buddy and he said that happens with trickle chargers.

Well, the weather was amazing today so I decided to ride the bike to work!
Well, there's something wrong with the charging system for sure.

Suuucks. Luckily the bike died as I was exiting the highway.
That's weird, though..it didn't die at all when I rode the bike home on Sunday!
Any ideas, guys?
I found a troubleshooting guide earlier, so I'll jump on that tomorrow after an exam.

Oh hey, how long do you think it'll take to fully charge a dead battery? Hah

Yup do the trouble shooting guide, Get a cheap Volt ohm meter, check the brushes they tend to wear out in about 5,000 miles or so.

Luckily I have one at home. Not too handy with it, but I'll figure it out. Haha
I honestly don't know where the brushes are, but I'll find out soon enough!

HiPurpleTurtle said:

Luckily I have one at home. Not too handy with it, but I'll figure it out. Haha
I honestly don't know where the brushes are, but I'll find out soon enough!

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Left side behind the round 2 bolt cover that says "Yamaha."

They're probably run you crazy the first time 'round but you'll get it.

A really good battery fully charged might well do 120 miles with a bad alternator the first time but with each repeat of the death cycle the battery grows weaker. If you end up having to buy a battery go the extra bucks and buy a gel cell. I let one sit a year and it still started the XS with the electric starter. The old lead acid batteries would never do that.

Nice bike!
After a few changeups I replaced the seat on my '83 with a '79.....less of a rise to the back end, comfortable and good for 2 up.
Enjoy.

The computer controlled chargers won't charge a completely dead battery. Hook your battery to your car battery with jumper cables. DON"T start the car, just let it set hooked up for awhile. This will partly charge the battery, then try the battery charger.
Leo

My bike's been sitting at the police department a few miles from my job, but a friend will be helping me tow it home tomorrow. Then I'll be able to crack down on the charging system.
I'm really hoping it's just the brushes. hah

Thanks for the tip, Leo!

Welcome to the club! Lots of great info on here. Lots of great people too.

Gonna be a good amount of work turning your bike into this....


....that's a Honda, lol.

Keep us all posted.

littlebill31 said:

Welcome to the club! Lots of great info on here. Lots of great people too.

Gonna be a good amount of work turning your bike into this....
View attachment 14818

....that's a Honda, lol.

Keep us all posted.

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Will do.

Haha yeah, I'm aware that it's a Honda.

I know ya did. I was making a funny.

littlebill31 said:

I know ya did. I was making a funny.

Click to expand...

So the brushes aren't absolutely terrible, but I'll probably be replacing them soon. I've actually yet to measure them..Lost my tape measure..hah
But I'm assuming they should be replaced once they reach the indention mark? The left brush has a corroded spring, so I'll be replacing both anyway. The right brush is almost too short, so yeah.

"The mechanical regulator models ('70-'79) work opposite of the solid state bikes. The regulator feeds power to the rotor on the positive brush (the insulated one) and it grounds all the time on the negative brush. So, to perform the regulator bypass on a pre-'80 model just apply 12+VDC to the positive brush with a jumper from the battery and watch for a rise in charging voltage at the battery terminals when you rev it up just like on the solid state equipped bikes."

I'm trying to follow Curly's guide, but I'm honestly not quite sure how I would do this..Do I just hook up a positive jumper cable to the battery and to the positive brush?
I'm terrible with wires and electrical things..

I don't want to do anything stupid, so yeahh. Just going to wait and inspect other parts of the system before I try anything.


Edit: just found my tape measure! The left brush is 10mm long and the right brush is at 8mm. Geezz. How long is a fresh one? So replacing these is a must for sure.

Brushes start out about 18 mm long. The book calls for a minimum of 1/4 inch, about 6-7 mm. Most have found that to be a bit short. 3/8 inch, 10 mm is a better minimum. As the brushes wear the spring can't push them against the rotor as hard. Age weakens the springs. The alternator gets warm, this heat after a few years weakens the spring, this just makes thing worse.
Most likely the brushes in there are the originals.
Yes, hook the jumper from battery positive to brush positive. If every thing works well the battery voltage will climb even at idle.
You may also notice the idle speed drop some when you do the jumper.
It did on the last one I tested.
There are several ways to get replacements. Mike's or some other parts seller or a good hard ware store.
The hardware store sells brushes that are just the brush and a spring. They sell them in many sizes. Take an old brush with you. Find brushes as close to the same size as yours just longer.
If they are just a bit to big you can lay them on sand paper and sand them a bit on all four sides till they fit in the brush holders.
Once they fit unsolder the old brushes from the metal mounts. Now on the new ones push the spring back and hold it back with needle nose pliers. Unsolder the round thing on the end of the brush wire. Solder it too the metal clip.
Soldering the wire back to the metal mount on the brush side so you don't have to wrap the wire around the mount makes it easier to install them.
Oh, don't forget to use the little insulator pieces from the old brushs on the new ones.
I got my new brushes at Sears Hardware for about 3-4 bucks each. Thats about half the price of Mike's. And no shipping charges.
Leo

Cool beans. That's really great info. Thanks so much! I'll be going to Sears tonight to try and find some. I would never have thought about trying Sears. Hah
If I can find them tonight, I'll solder the new ones onto the old ones and I'll be able to test everything tomorrow.
Hopefully I won't have to go further than test #3!

Well, I tried Sears, ace hardware, harbor freight, And like 3 other local hardware stores and none of them carried any alternator brushes. What?? Sucks!

They are not specificcaly alternator brushes. They are just brushes. They work in all sorts of electrical things. Drills, electric motors, grinders, saws. I found them right on the rack.
I'll try a search and see what I find.
Leo

Ah okay. I'll give it another go later, then!

I think I'm jumping the positive brush incorrectly. The positive brush IS the farthest left that has like black insulation (iirc), right? I'm getting sparks pretty much everywhere I touch with the jumper cable.

So the battery was at 12.8vdc when I put it back in the bike. It didn't want to start with the kick start for some reason. Electric start worked a bit better but it didn't start either. Got it running after mixing it up a bit.
But anyway, the battery seemed to have a constant charge of 12vdc on idle and when I rev it, too. Can't really get anywhere since I'm not doing the regulator bypass correctly. Haha



Edit:

Seems like Sear's website has these: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM2151039501P?prdNo=18&blockNo=18&blockType=G18

Hopefully they have a few in store so I can compare them. hah




2nd edit:

Where would I touch with the jumper cable that is attached to the positive battery terminal in order to bypass the regulator?

Screw #3 the one with the green wire. The black wire is ground. All black wires on an XS650 are ground.
Leo

Awesome. Tomorrow should be a productive day!

So on a side note, I think I may be trying these clubmans out: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cafe-Racer-Ace-Clubman/dp/B004PQOT8Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

These are the same ones sold on eBay, but it seems most of the people who buy them like them, so I might just give it a shot. I'd like clip ons, but I don't want to spend that amount of money just yet. First things first..Gotta solve the charging system issues first.

A few weeks ago I converted my Bing Rewards points to Amazon Gift Cards and bought a new back tire with them. Cost to me-- $0. Yesterday I got $10 off a front tire by converting Bing Rewards to Amazon Gift Cards. All in all it came out to 2 new Shinko radials for $40.oo.

Amazon even has used parts available through their various vendors.

I can't say how long it will last but right now I am loving that Shinko rear tire.