Ecosse Woes

[Spud]

I was up in Scotland this weekend when the Tiger died on me  :oops:  and I had to be recovered all the way back to the Midlands. The symptoms were/are as it wont start at the moment.

1. engine cut out momentarily and then continued running, this was a random occurrance with no way of me know when it would happen.

2. all dash board clocks would die even though the engine continued to run sweet

3. there is not enough umph in the battery to turn the engine over now

as I only got drop at early am this morning I have not put the battery on charge yet, but any idea's to the cause will be very gratefully received. By the way Scotland was fantastic a RR will follow  cheers Spud  

[Timbox2]

By the way Scotland was fantastic a RR will follow  cheers Spud  

As will an R/R no doubt, sounds like the classic charging system failure, but which bit may need investigation, could be just the battery, but unlikely, check all the wiring from the Reg especially the block connector first.

EDIT: I could be wrong, but I also have a vague recollection of somebody having similar problems that turned out to be a corroded/bad main fuse on the side of the battery box.

[Spud]

Must confess first thoughts were the battery, it's an 06 bike on the original battery so that is going on a charger soonest now I've had a cuppa. Love the bike and it's the first time it has ever let me down cheers Spud  

[ChazzyB]

Sounds like charging here too. Been there earlier this year... Mine was the stator rather than the reg/rec.

Go grab a copy of this document for troubleshooting help: http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/acatalog/pdfs/Troubleshooting-3P-PMG-&-RR.pdf

[Spud]

Battery has been on charge since 9.30 this morning and still charging. So will charge that before investigation starts cheers Spud  

[Spud]

Battery still charging. I have had a look on RR and all looks good no sign of any external bad wires. So hopefully tomorrow I can start electrical testing cheers Spud  

[Chris Canning]

I've a decent battery you can have for a small fee,and a R/R that you can borrow to find out if it's that rather than buy one.

[Spud]

Thanks mate may well take you up on your kind offer. The battery is the original one so if it's duff I cant complain it 6 years old cheers Spud  

[NKL]

Doesn't sound like symptoms of a duff battery, when mine died it ran fine once you started it, just wouldn't start without a boost.

Look at wires on the back of the ignition switch.

[Spud]

Battery now fully charged so investigations can begin  :shock:

cheers Spud  

[Spud]

Battery charged and kicking out 12.9, engine running voltage dropped below 12 put indicators on dropped to 11.4 revved engine to 3000 rpm voltage dropped to 11.3.
So if I'm correct that means the charging system is not functioning. Please correct me if I'm wrong not a great fan of anything electrical. cheers Spud

[Dan]

I had exactly same problem with my first tiger. Turned out to be RR AND the stator.

All the same symptoms you describe. Clockes going haywire etc.
To respond to your question, I agree, it sounds like a charging problem. You would expect an increase in voltage, not a decrease.

[metalguru]

Hi Spud
Have a look here
http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/msg,26488

It is easier than it looks, all you are doing is making the cableing between the generator and the battery shorter and more up for the job.
Firstly if you have a voltmeter is to check the voltage from the generator, the three yellow wires, separate the connector and measure the voltage (AC) these should read about 30+ volts at 4000rpm. If any are less than this the stator is gone. Take the Black connector apart and ceck the voltage at the red lead this should be about 13-15volts.


Here is something I wrote that will hopefully clear up resistances and bad connections......
Hard wiring and sleeveing the connection will rid the problem.
The basic problem seems to be a high resistance building within the connector component parts. The connectors when connected only have a very small contact area, if for some reason this area becomes contaminated, could be just oxidation from temp changes when charging causing condensation for example, can lead to a high resistance at the connector. If one applies Ohms law to this senario, then as the resistance increases the volts will drop and the amps increase. (eg principle workings of an arc welder). Over time this condition will worsen, ie the contamination or arcing increases to a point where the contact area although very small will warm up. A good example of resistance is a normal incandescent lamp, apply a resistance to the cable used on motorcycles as standard, it will warm very easily creating more oxide, hence more resistance and the cycle goes on untill it gets to a point where due to voltage drops, the battery begins to discharge. Usually by this point the rider will notice but the alternator will still just charge the battery via 1 phase winding instead of 3. If however this theory is applied to the RR to Batt cables the principle is the same, trying to put a quart in a pint pot. The wiring loom is quite capable when new to a few years old, but time and airborne chemicals will soon deteriorate the conductivity hence the Sasquatch mod. A high resistance in this loom or any return/chassis earth connectors will eventually take out the whole charging circuit. Therefore if for example the main engine earth connection may look ok there could be oxidation between cable/connector, engine/connector, purely down to hostile environment and the materials of construction (aluminium).
AAHH but it still starts you say, if the bad connection is across the engine earth for example, as soon as the starter is energised a very high current (amps) is created, this can create a small arc between the connecting surfaces and complete the circuit (think arc welder) also heat and more oxidation.
The trick here as part of an annual service is to check all connections for contact area and condition, remembering that although the connector may look visually good, electrically it may be very poor. A good hint is discolouration of any cable (goes black) and any connector which goes green/black or warms up during operation. Stealers unless specifically asked will NOT do these checks nowadays, only if a fault develops and it is part of the diagnostics. Our Tigers are of the age where these kinds of faults will manifest themselves, particularly if ridden in/on all environments.

[NKL]

Dialectric grease is your friend.

[Spud]

Chris can you PM me your contact details pleae cheers Spud