Regarding Charging System Failures

[matttys]

Dang.  That is quite a difference.  There's a big voltage drop going on there somewhere.  13.7 isn't bad.

I agree.  I think my system may be fine and there is something going on with the APC2.  I'm wondering now how to wire my Datel to a switched source to read the actual voltage of the battery without having it always "on"?

I'm using crimped ferruls to mount the wires and have soldered every connection. . .

[Stretch]

It draws such a small amount of current, it wouldn't hurt anything to wire it straight to a switched source without a relay.

[DRB Imagery]

What a great thread, sure glad I grabbed a Tiger, the camaraderie among owners is amazing!!

[Stretch]

Misery loves company.  

[matttys]

Misery loves company.  

Haha, all this "charging system failures" that I've been reading about scared me into thinking that I really had a major problem.  

I'm going to talk to someone from Centech (or one of their distributors) today and will see what they can say about voltage loss.

Thanks for the help last night Stretch!

[matttys]

New plan. . . I'm going to try running a relay tonight that will link the battery straight to the AP-2 and will make it a switched source.

[Stretch]

Oh.  I thought you already had the accessory fuse panel powered from a relay.

[matttys]

Oh.  I thought you already had the accessory fuse panel powered from a relay.

The AP-2 has 8 connections for accessories; 5 are connected to the bike via a powered source (brake light in my case) and the other 3 are connected to the bike via the battery and are always on.  

I didn't have to use a relay on my F650 for a fuse panel and did not use it here.  Maybe the run from the battery to brake switch in the front of the bike to the brake light in the back of the bike to the fuse panel in the middle is too long and is causing a voltage drop.  That's why I'm adding in the relay.  The other relay in the pictures above is running the Stebel air horn.

[matttys]

14v at idle and 14.5v at cruise . . . I fixed it!!!

So here's what I did:

Shortened the sasquatch fix as short as possible.  I mean really short with 10 ga wire.  

Next my inefficency was with the switched portion of the AP-2 fuse panel. The brake light that I tapped into came from the battery, then to the handle bars, then to the back of the bike, then to above the shock before it connected with the fuse panel.  To fix this I put a simple four pole relay between the battery and the fuse panel.  The previous wire that was attached to the brake line was used to activate the relay. This reduced the run to the fuse panel from about 15 feet to about a foot.  As I was running the volt meter off this circuit it was reading the reduced voltage.  

Now everything is running perfectly and I'm no longer afraid of the Tiger's British charging system.  As a test, I turned on the driving lights, gps and heated grips and the system remained at 14V at idle and 14.5V at cruise.  

Thank you very much to Stretch and the others for helping me through this process!

[Stretch]

Awright!  

[TigerTrax]

Just a note...
A good buddy of mine is a Kaw Nomad freak... he was down looking at the 2009/10  (?) 1700cc Nomad.

We  talking about Triumph's 1/2 assed way of doing things and then
about the wiring problems and alternater output, and all the BS.

He said the new 1700 Nomad has a 590 watt output and is oil cooled, tied in with the oil cooler. As a result it is dissipating heat and pumping out at max ..... I see Christmas Tree lights! And heated vests, gloves, boots, flame thrower aux lights, radios, phonograph, and coffee maker!

WTF!

[DRB Imagery]

Has anyone tried this unit, I read it is supposed to be a direct replacement for the G-75 but with 30% more output


http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/g175-gen ... 284-0.html (http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/g175-generator-stator-alternator-yamaha-xv1600-road-star-electrical-parts-for-motorcycles-electrex-world-3284-0.html)

Dave

[Bixxer Bob]

I have an Electrex on my Blackbird - the original toasted itself after 50k miles.  I have their matching reg rec too.  The Blackbird specialist I use:

http://www.jaws-motorcycles.co.uk/ (http://www.jaws-motorcycles.co.uk/)

recommends them - slightly lower output than the Honda's 460 watts - but very robust.  I've known John at JAWS a long time and trust him.

On my Blackbird I run heated grips, HID lights (35w against bulbs 55w but much brighter) autocom / radio and GPS.

Anyone priced re-winds???  My Honda dealer reckons about 2/3 price of replacement, and better control over quality because you can discuss your needs with the re-wind specialist and he'll use the right number of turns / gauge of wire to suit - within physical limits of course...

[Tom Herold]

*** Rant On!***

This is the last thread I'd ever want to have to revive, but here I am.......   again....... and I'm not a happy man at all......

As I was on my bike this afternoon in the midst of my commute home, I watched my voltage meter start the dreaded downward spiral from 13.9 volts to 6 and the bike ultimately stopped running.

For all the love I've given my Tiger, it's failed me again, and this time it left me stranded beside the road. With a heavy heart I dialed my insurance company and requested road side assistance to get the two-wheeled paper weight back to the garage.

As I sat waiting for the flatbed to show up, I pondered parting the bike out..... I pondered selling it off..... I wondered why my Harley's proven more reliable and trouble free..... and then came the embarrassing ride in a tow truck with the very dead Tiger strapped to its flat bed for all the world to see.  I hung my head in shame as my neighbor watched me push the lifeless beast into the garage and close the door.......

I changed the battery for a fresh one and fired off the bike. The voltage at the battery was no more than 12.3 and then started to drain as I turned on the running lights and heated grips, so I knew it was my recently replaced stator and rectifier....... again....... both components were replaced together and only have 5000 miles on them.  This is trully unacceptable behavior and something I'm not going to tolerate for very much longer. My mind is saying "Maybe I should've just kept the Sprint ST and been happy......"

The only consolation is they're Ricks Motorsprots parts and presumably under warranty. I'll be calling him first thing in the morning.

So I started up the Harley, put the old Tiger battery in a saddle bag and rattled off to the nearest autoparts store to have it load tested. Of course the battery failed, it had Tiger stink all over it......

I'm going to work hard to get the bike back on the road as quick as possible. I had a planned trip to Deals Gap, the Cherohala Skyway and The Great Smokey Mountains the weekend after next (28-31 May) and the Tiger was to be my mount while the wife wrings out the Thunderbird.

The Trophy's undergoing it's 24k maintenance and won't be ready in time and there's no way in hell I'm riding my fat assed Harley on those roads!

                                       ****Rant off****

[Stretch]

I feel your pain.  I U-Haul'ed mine back home from a trip last fall, due to a charging system failure and no parts within a couple days' delivery time.  The bike is on probation for a while, and it knows it.

Let us know what Rick's Motorsports Electrics has to say.