I have not posted on here before, but I have an electrical problem and I need help. I have a 1980 xs650 and when the bike is running at idle it is not charging the battery. I put the voltmeter on at idle and it reads 12.6, but when I give it some gas and raise the rpm it starts charging and raises to to 14.6. What could cause it not to charge when at an idle? Thank you in advance for any help.
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Charging Problem
- Thread starter dubes
- Start date
Check your brushes.
Pandorasglocks
XS650 Enthusiast
From Clymer: New brush length is 9/16 in, replace if worn to 1/4 in. I know that some guys replace at 1/3 in.
angus67
Welder's penetrate deeper!!
is that sticking out of the holders? or total length when taken out?
That is completely normal and you don't have a problem. There is a graph of charging vs rpm in the manual and that's what's supposed to happen.
Yeah, that's kinda how mine operates, 12.6v@ idle,14+/-v@4k, and I thought it was correct.
Pandorasglocks
XS650 Enthusiast
Angus: That is total length when taken out. I just replaced mine and they had little notches on one side indicating the 1/4 in. mark.
dubes;
Sounds like your charging system is working correctly. With these bikes, the alternator does not generate enough voltage when bike is at 1100 rpm. As soon as you rev up past 1200 rpm the alternator will be able to raise the voltage enough to start charging the battery.
You could check on the wattage of your headlight. If you are on high beam (60 watts) and idle is low i.e less than 1200 rpm, then that may well pull the battery voltage down. Did the PO install a higher wattage headlight such as 70 or 80 watts?. I use a 40watt low/ 60 watt high halogen and works fine on these bikes.
Its also possible your battery is starting to die..............how old is it? A load test is the way to test the battery.
Sounds like your charging system is working correctly. With these bikes, the alternator does not generate enough voltage when bike is at 1100 rpm. As soon as you rev up past 1200 rpm the alternator will be able to raise the voltage enough to start charging the battery.
You could check on the wattage of your headlight. If you are on high beam (60 watts) and idle is low i.e less than 1200 rpm, then that may well pull the battery voltage down. Did the PO install a higher wattage headlight such as 70 or 80 watts?. I use a 40watt low/ 60 watt high halogen and works fine on these bikes.
Its also possible your battery is starting to die..............how old is it? A load test is the way to test the battery.
The battery is new I just bought it about 2 weeks ago. I just finished building the bike and wanted to keep only what was needed to run. So, I got rid of the electric start and it is kick only and there is only a headlight (which is one of the small lights next to the headlight from a harley) and a small led taillight. I figured since it wasn't going to be running much I am running a dirt bike battery. Does the battery need to be a certain size? I can ride the bike all day as long as the headlight is off, but but once I turn the headlight on and let off the throttle the light starts to go dim and it will die.
Get a manual or follow one of the charging system guides on here. Nothing all that hard, a 1/2 hour with a multi meter should narrow it down.
http://xs650temp.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Charging&action=display&thread=3461
http://xs650temp.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Charging&action=display&thread=3461
