FZ electrical power output (measured)

Hi there,

You can see my other post with battery troubles. They sold me bad brand new battery. It didn't work and I didn't want to believe that new battery is bad so I measured what's coming from alternator.

At about 900 RPM idle motorcycle is sucking about 1.5A out of the battery. Voltage is about 11.8V-12.0V. I have dual headlight mod so that may be a culprit.

Raising RPM to about 1200 -1500 RPM gets voltage up to 13.5V and some current charging a battery. 4000 - 5000 RPM or more gets maximum charging current at about 3.5A. Didn't see more than that.

That is all. May help someone when troubleshooting ...

Very consistent with this post:
http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/fz6/308094-help-i-dont-understand-why-fz6-died-2.html#post2194629

Zack did you have your bike idling at 900 rpm? Our bikes should be idling somewhere around 1300 give or take a little.

iSteve said:

Zack did you have your bike idling at 900 rpm? Our bikes should be idling somewhere around 1300 give or take a little.

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Hi there, by FZ is idling at about 900 RPM. That is how it came from factory 4 years ago.
I am also reluctant to increase that since even now on hot day, standing on traffic light temperature rises rather quickly to 215 or few more F. Fan kicks in but it is really not that powerful. Actual riding lowers the temp more efficiently.

the idle sounds too low to me, it should be around 1300rpm when warm

I've adjusted mine to be low for traffic/fuel to about 1200. I don't have problems launching. Not sure what other detrimental effects could occur with it that low.

Our bikes are designed to idle at 1300 rpm. The oil and water pump need to be spinning faster to provide proper lubrication and cooling for long idle times. Plus as you found out 900 rpm will not let the electrical system generate enough electricity to even run a cooling fan and will need to run everything off the battery.

1250-1350 RPM is the specified idle for the FZ6.

iSteve said:

Our bikes are designed to idle at 1300 rpm. The oil and water pump need to be spinning faster to provide proper lubrication and cooling for long idle times. Plus as you found out 900 rpm will not let the electrical system generate enough electricity to even run a cooling fan and will need to run everything off the battery.

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Quoted for truth! 900 rpms is too low to provide adequate lubrication and cooling from the oil and coolant pumps. Bump your idle rpms to 1,200-1,300 and you should notice reduced engine temps due to better circulation of coolant and oil. Also, the engine will be spinning the charging system faster and be able to make more power instead of drawing from the battery.

champion221elite said:

Quoted for truth! 900 rpms is too low to provide adequate lubrication and cooling from the oil and coolant pumps. Bump your idle rpms to 1,200-1,300 and you should notice reduced engine temps due to better circulation of coolant and oil. Also, the engine will be spinning the charging system faster and be able to make more power instead of drawing from the battery.

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OK, you convinced me! Where do I setup idle?