1987 FZ600 power probs

[Fahren]

Anyone else own one of these old slabsiders and have power probs?

I bought this bike on Independence day and it died after running with lights on after 65 miles.....the bike seemed to run fine after 30 mins sitting on the motorway (bloody coppers said i had 2hrs and they were gonna tow me to the nearest exit at a cost of £120) bloody rip off!...anyhow i ran the bike again the other day with the lights on and it packed in again i.e. it wouldnt start after i stopped off at a shop...had to bump start it...took battery off and topped it up and recharged it for 27 hours (auto charger was supposed to switch to green when charged but after 27 hours i was a little concerned lol) ...so bike was running fine for 2 days started first time every time till tonight when i took bike out for 24 mile night run, stopped for cigs n booze bike wouldnt start...bump again...bike ran crappy with lights on as if it was about to stall so i turned them down to side lights and it ran fine....

old receipts from last owner say he has replaced the rectifer ( brand new) and generator stator arm (2nd hand)..could it be the stator arm?...i.e normal day use battery is fine...lights on it aint providing enough power to charge battery and after a while not enough to even keep engine running?

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

I have had experience with similar charging systems and usually a rotor goes bad and it will take the stator and reg/rec with it. Here is a good flowchart to diagnose your problem better, worked for me great.

Fault Isolation Chart

I don't know if that model has a separate system for the ignition or not like the KLR650 does, but if it doesn't, then when the charging system goes bad you run your spark off the battery. I've had this happen on my 750F before, leaving me about 20 miles away from home.

If you have a bad battery it can cause problems for you too, even just a so-so battery will give you headaches. If you need a strong battery you should look at this:

Turn tech battery

 

[RJ2112]

That bit about the charger not going green in 27 hours....... I think I would be looking at a new battery. Or at least getting the battery you have load checked. That should be a standard, run of the mill lead-acid type..... not too terribly expensive. If you can hold enough of a charge to ride for a few days without the head lights on..... do you know what wattage the bulbs are? Are they the OEM values, or higher?

Look at the electrical connectors, as well. Corrosion creates resistance, and it won't matter how good the charging system components are, if they have to fight with crappy connections. Bright shiny metallic contacts, at the battery and every junction in the circuit.

 

[Fahren]

cheers guys...i did some checks a few days ago, but because the bike was running fine i left the rest...

Like i said it will start first time every day and is fine, when it happened the first time on the motorway i assumed it was due to overheating or rain and never gave it a second thought....that was 1800m ago.

anyhow ill check the whole system and it wont hurt to get a new battery anyway...thanks again guys :thumbup:

 

[Fahren]

well i got a new battery...bike ran fine..in fact in ran better than it normally did, 30miles later it started stuttering till i turned the lights off.

when i got home and turned bike off then on again it woudnt start...so its not the battery....haynes manual doesnt cover much regarding the generator etc but it could be the bushes and or the stator arm ...not sure gonna have to take a closer look...Have checked and cleaned all connections...so ill guess ill use that chart again and check regulator/rectifier...generator etc...least i can use the bike during the day lol..

 

[Fahren]

yay hopefully ive somehow sorted this problem and im not totally sure how!!
But i checked all connections again especially the rectifier socket, cleaned and checked all earth connections to the frame...then removed the gen cover and checked the bushes put it all back together and have had 2 successful runs without any problems...lights on no battery drain..im thinking that when last owner had the generator staor arm replaced he or the garage didnt fit it properly....fingers crossed its ok now!! thanks all for ur help more than i got from the UK yammy owners club lol:thumbup:

 

[leeburstroghm]

Hello all, Brand new guy here. Just came accross this forum, searching for generator, charging system related issues. I recently got a FZ600 for only a few hundred ~YAY~ and it runs. The brand new battery, ended up dying on me. the bike just died while riding, testing it out. then the batery died after trying to start it. It seems to be intermittent, maybe connection related. I did some testing and my results do not make much sense.. Maybe I need a new stator and Rotor? Any help please!! My readings for volts at battery at approx 1400 RPMS was 13v or so. on the low end. I have not had the bike out on the open highway yet, so this was not enough for me to say there was a problem. Days later, after tuning and playing, the bike is running like garbage. and the bike died. The battery was too weak to start. It seems my headlights are on all the time. I have a switch for high beams and low, but no off. Are the headlights always on? the field coil ( rotor right?) is 1.2 and the stator coil was .7 on both sides.

I have not tested directly on the rotor rings or from one brush to the other. that is my next step. I found some info about what those readings might be.

Is it terribly difficult to just re condition the rotor yourself, with new windings? Any one know where to get another generator assembly for an fz600?

I am new to this arena and this group. thanks for all your help and posts.!

 

[Hellgate]

I have had experience with similar charging systems and usually a rotor goes bad and it will take the stator and reg/rec with it. Here is a good flowchart to diagnose your problem better, worked for me great.

Fault Isolation Chart

I don't know if that model has a separate system for the ignition or not like the KLR650 does, but if it doesn't, then when the charging system goes bad you run your spark off the battery. I've had this happen on my 750F before, leaving me about 20 miles away from home.

If you have a bad battery it can cause problems for you too, even just a so-so battery will give you headaches. If you need a strong battery you should look at this:

Turn tech battery

Thanks man! Looks like my stator crapped out on my FZ1, very timely! :thumbup:

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

Hello all, Brand new guy here. Just came accross this forum, searching for generator, charging system related issues. I recently got a FZ600 for only a few hundred ~YAY~ and it runs. The brand new battery, ended up dying on me. the bike just died while riding, testing it out. then the batery died after trying to start it. It seems to be intermittent, maybe connection related. I did some testing and my results do not make much sense.. Maybe I need a new stator and Rotor? Any help please!! My readings for volts at battery at approx 1400 RPMS was 13v or so. on the low end. I have not had the bike out on the open highway yet, so this was not enough for me to say there was a problem. Days later, after tuning and playing, the bike is running like garbage. and the bike died. The battery was too weak to start. It seems my headlights are on all the time. I have a switch for high beams and low, but no off. Are the headlights always on? the field coil ( rotor right?) is 1.2 and the stator coil was .7 on both sides.

I have not tested directly on the rotor rings or from one brush to the other. that is my next step. I found some info about what those readings might be.

Is it terribly difficult to just re condition the rotor yourself, with new windings? Any one know where to get another generator assembly for an fz600?

I am new to this arena and this group. thanks for all your help and posts.!

Ebay is going to be the place to look for parts. I know of a guy who does rewinds for older bikes. He might be able to help you out. Contact him through his website: Tim Parrot I have had rotors rewound through him before. In the US, there is no "off" for headlights because it is a law for motorcycles to have them on all the time. Testing the resistance between the copper slip rings on your rotor is a good place to start, I believe that anything greater than 5 ohms means you have a dead rotor. The problem sometimes is that the rotor will test fine cold, but will short out when it heats up and the windings expand.