07 charging problem?

meadeam

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I'm new here, but already I have my first issue with the bike. Not how I wanted to start posting.

My '07 has ~3800 miles on it, so not much use at all. I'm the third owner, the first barely broke it in, and the second rode it about 250 miles per year. It hadn't been ridden since last fall when I bought it. The previous owner replaced the battery with a brand new one the day before I bought the bike. I've ridden it maybe 200 miles in a few short rides with no issues at all.

Today I took it out of the barn after not riding for 2 days. Fired right up as per usual. Rode for ~20 minutes on an errand, came back to dead battery. Bump started it, road another 15 minutes, bike dies at idle at an ATM (was trying to finish my errands and get home, probably should have gone straight home or kept riding at higher RPM). Now it won't bump start. I can't leave the bike too long, I'll have to put another new battery in it to get it home and figure out wth is wrong.


Are there any common issues I could be experiencing here, or am I just lucky?
 

Motogiro

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It sounds as if you have no output from your charging system. If you've been riding a bike with a faulty charging system it can allow damage to even a new battery. I would first charge your battery to see if it takes a charge. This would be done by fully charging the battery and then do a load test to establish the battery holds a charge. If the battery holds a charge. Then you can start the bike to see if you've got evidence of a working charging system. You should see 13.7 vdc nominal at above 2500 rpm. If you're not seeing voltage above the static battery voltage there is a problem with the charging system.
Don't forget to check the obvious, simple things like the connectors at the battery itself.
You can jump start the bike with a car as long as you don't run the car engine.
Main charging system component are the regulator/rectifier and the stator.
Let us know what you find.
 
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meadeam

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It turns out the battery that was in the bike is very cheap and low quality. It may be the problem. I put a new, higher quality battery in the bike to ride it home. As soon as I can, I'll check the voltage with the bike running and see if it is being charged adequately. I do tend to leave the high-beam on during daytime riding, that should be the only significant drain on the battery. I don't have any accessories on the bike.
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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It turns out the battery that was in the bike is very cheap and low quality. It may be the problem. I put a new, higher quality battery in the bike to ride it home. As soon as I can, I'll check the voltage with the bike running and see if it is being charged adequately. I do tend to leave the high-beam on during daytime riding, that should be the only significant drain on the battery. I don't have any accessories on the bike.


The high beam on won't kill the battery. I have the dual headlight mod(BD43) and have two head lights on all the time.

Checking the charging current is key..
 

meadeam

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So far so good with the new, better quality battery. I haven not checked the voltage with the bike running yet, but I've had it out several times including one all-day ride and no issues. I'll still check it one of these days when I am not too lazy to unbolt the tank.
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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If you have a longish pointy probe, you CAN touch the positive terminal reaching thru from the right side with the tank still installed..

Ground your meter to the frame..


It's likely charging fine as it lasted that long on your ride...
 

Motogiro

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Good news. You might have also checked voltage when you replaced the battery. :) No need to lift the tank then...
 

meadeam

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Good news. You might have also checked voltage when you replaced the battery. :) No need to lift the tank then...

That would have been the smart thing to do, wouldn't it?

It died on me again. I had ridden for a few hours on my favorite twisty roads. I stopped for lunch and she fired right back up. I switched on the high beam at some point, not remembering that I suspected a problem with charging, and sure enough the next time I idled the bike for 10 seconds at a stop sign in the middle of nowhere, it died and would not even turn over once. Luckily I had a fully charged spare battery and someone who could deliver it to me, so I just had a nice sit on the side of the road for 2hrs while I waited for the battery to arrive.

The bike is in the shop now with a trusted local mechanic. I don't have the time or space to work on it, so we'll see what the problem is. Lots of riding left this season, and I want to get in a track day or two yet.
 

meadeam

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My mechanic told me the stator and regulator/rectifier both tested bad. He said it is possible someone jump started the bike with a running car, or the reg/rec overheated some other way. Hopefully I am on the road to recovery after ordering some new parts.
 

meadeam

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Stator and rotor are also bad. One of the coils had come unattatched at some point and thrashed around under the rotor before settling into a place where it apparently went unnoticed for some time. It is hard to believe it ran at all, let alone without some terrible noise. I looked at the stator and rotor myself, they are both trashed. The seller mentioned nothing to me about it, and other than the charging issues I had no problems with the bike during the 500 or so miles I put on it.

So new voltage reg/rec, rotor, stator and associated small parts, stator cover gasket and I will be back on the road. I'll have more in the bike than it is worth after the cost of parts and labor plus the purchase price, but I wasn't planning on selling it. I'll have to ride my investment out of it now. Only 4000 miles on it, I guess I'll have it for a long time!
 

Motogiro

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So new voltage reg/rec, rotor, stator and associated small parts, stator cover gasket and I will be back on the road. I'll have more in the bike than it is worth after the cost of parts and labor plus the purchase price, but I wasn't planning on selling it. I'll have to ride my investment out of it now. Only 4000 miles on it, I guess I'll have it for a long time!

The previous owner probably didn't know there was a problem with the stator Especially if you rode it for 500 miles and didn't know it.
Sometimes monetary values don't apply to the equation of happiness and peace. The FZ6 is a great bike! Enjoy it and ride the priceless fun out of it! :rockon: :)
 
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