changed to solid state reg what did i do wrong?

[cmattina1]

just as a bit of an update as the rain has stopped for the morning.

With the old regulator and the yellow wire disconnected.

I got 12.6 at idle on a fully charged battery
13.6 at 3000rpm
and it climbed at a decent rate to 14.89 (within 15-30 seconds) before cutting out ubruptly to 14.3

 

[retiredgentleman]

Your charging has now returned to normal! (14.3 volts.) Whenever you are testing for voltage after using the starter motor, you should wait a few minutes for the battery to recover from the heavy load.

Of course its not normal to have the yellow wire disconnected. It comes from the centre of the "Y" connection of the stator, and goes to the safety relay. You now want to measure the resistance from the disconnected connector looking towards the safety relay coil. About 20 ohms is expected.

If the old regulator is working for you, the VR-115 should work even better.

When you previously mesured 9.5 volts AC from the stator white wires, perhaps you did not wait long enough ( a couple of minutes) after starting the engine.

 

[cmattina1]

wow, you must have replied just as i was typing

So, RTG, looks like I am back to square one, possibly a tired regulator.

Now, in reading many of the charging threads, seems like a perfect charging system would have me reading 13.6 at idle, and 14.1-5 at 3000 rpm.

I have read a few other sources that say to disconnect the yellow and cap it off???

The rain has started up again, so I will have to do those measurments tomorrow.

I think you are are right on not waitng long enough. All the measurments I have done have been RIGHT after starting the engine! I'm a dumby, and new motorcycle owner, but, I think i am learning relatively fast at this rate!

It is still weird that the old one is working better than the new one... Maybe it has to do with not waiting... but, even with not waiting, my old one still gets to 13.6 (at 3000) only after waiting 30 seconds after starting...

 

[retiredgentleman]

At idle the voltage should be around 13 to 13.5 volts, it varies such that 1100 rpm may be 12.8 to 13, but 1200 rpm may be 13.3 to 13.5.

3000 rpm should give you 14.2 to 14.7 roughly.

Measure the safety relay resistance to ground as I just mentioned, in case it has a problem.

 

[cmattina1]

So, the male or female end of the relay?

nevermind (can't delete post)

 

[retiredgentleman]

Capping the yellow off is when guys remove the Safety Relay. The Safety Relay is a good thing to use, but not a must have.

Its not really a valid test, with the yellow wire disconnected, because the yellow wire to the safety relay is what turns on the headlight. So the 14.3 volts you got was with the headlight off I suspect.

On your bike there is also a headlight switch that by-passes the safety relay contacts. A correct test would be to start the bike, wait a few minutes, then switch on the headlight on low beam...................then measure battery voltage.

 

[cmattina1]

You were right, the 14.3 was with the head light off.

With the low beam on it was struggling to get above 13.9

I attemped to measure the AC on the white wires after everything was hooked back up. I actually didn't get any reading until I disconnected the coupler, and then I wasn't much above 3... So I'm thinking a ground on the stator that is intermitant? Then again, is it not weird to get absolutely 0 with it hooked up, especially considering the battery is getting juice at the terminals?

 

[retiredgentleman]

cmattina1;

You're having some kind of measuring problem. Since you are seeing 13.9 volts to the battery, there must be AC voltage on the 3 white wires, probably 12 volts AC. Is the 13.9 battery volts steady with the engine reved to 3000 or more?

If you can get a steady 13.9 volts at the battery ( at 3000 plus rpm, and the head light on low beam), then that may be sufficient to keep the battery charged.

I like to keep the slip rings clean. Once a year I use 400 grit emery paper to polish the slip ring surfaces.

 

[cmattina1]

That may be a good idea for me to try, as they do not look particularly clean by any means.

The 13.9 did vary somewhat, but when holding both probes to the battery terminals with one hand, while holding the meter between my knees, it is hard to keep the rpms steady.... obviously, i should get some clips....

Also, last time I measured the resistence between the slip rings I noticed that the outer brush terminal is fitting very tightly (flush). As in, the one screw holding the outer brush in is not providing a tight fit. I originally figured the spring would take car of any lacking tension. If you are unsure what I mean, I intend on posting a picture later.