Battery problem...?

[alanyluan]

I just got my 1991 FZR600 a couple days ago and was riding it around for about 10 minutes when it stalled and died on me. I tried starting it back up and it was having difficulties cranking over. It had all the symptoms of a dead battery, weak crank and clicking noise. I ended up having to leave it (a couple blocks away from my house). I came back a couple hours later and tried starting it back up and it started up fine. I tried riding it home and it died again and i ended up having to jump it.

I'm just curious to see if anyone could throw in their 2 cents on what is going on - I really hope the previous owner didn't leave me with some dead battery. It was cold out (probably around 40) so maybe that's what is killing the battery.

 

[Fred]

If it died on you, then you should also test your charging system. The battery may be dead just because the bike's not charging it anymore.

Charge the battery overnight. Then put a meter on it and start the bike. When you rev the engine, you should see around 14 volts. If you don't, the bike's not charging.

Frederic

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I just got my 1991 FZR600 a couple days ago and was riding it around for about 10 minutes when it stalled and died on me. I tried starting it back up and it was having difficulties cranking over. It had all the symptoms of a dead battery, weak crank and clicking noise. I ended up having to leave it (a couple blocks away from my house). I came back a couple hours later and tried starting it back up and it started up fine. I tried riding it home and it died again and i ended up having to jump it.

I'm just curious to see if anyone could throw in their 2 cents on what is going on - I really hope the previous owner didn't leave me with some dead battery. It was cold out (probably around 40) so maybe that's what is killing the battery.

If you have a volt meter, you can check voltage across the battery terminals and make sure you have over 12 volts. Make sure there's fluid in the battery covering the plates. Also make sure the terminal connections are clean and tight.

Crank the bike and watch the voltage with the meter. If it drops alot, its likely the battery is failing. If it starts, watch the voltage again and rev it up some (4-5K RPMs). If the bikes charging, the voltage should go up to around 14 volts. if it goes up, your charging system should be ok...


You can also have the battery load tested to confirm if its good or not.

Good luck..

 

[alanyluan]

I'll be sure to get my hand on a voltmeter thanks

 

[ChevyFazer]

Also if a bike dies and wont start because of a battery or charging problem, id say about 75% of the time it will push start. I would have tried that before leaving it anywhere. Also when the bike stalled how did it stall. Ideling then just died, started ideling real low then died, on the gas then died etc etc etc??m

Sent from my Pocket Rocket with Tapatalk

 

[alanyluan]

luckily my friends house was right there so I guess it could have been worse. The final time it stalled, it was having issues whenever i was letting out the clutch and getting into first. And there were also some times when it would be idling and then just die - but i assumed that was just from the cold weather

 

[alanyluan]

Jumped it and got it running. Voltmeter read 9...

 

[Motogiro]

I would still completely charge the battery and have it load tested just to be sure it doesn't have shorted cells. As always check the simplest things like connections to the battery and wear safety eye ware when working with batteries etc.
You might want to test your stator. You'll need to unplug it and see if you get proper resistance readings on each leg. The manual will give the procedure and specs. If the stator proves good and the battery passes load test, you probably have a bad regulator/rectifier assembly and need to replace it.

 

[alanyluan]

Awesome thanks I will do that as soon as I can! And by load testing, you mean just starting it, revving it to 5k rpm and get a reading on a voltmeter?

Hopefully disassembling the stator and rectifier isn't too much of a hassle..

Thanks!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Cliff is referrring to load testing the BATTERY, (as I did in my first post.)

Charge the battery fully and bring it to an automotive shop/Walmart/etc(anyone that sells batteries) and they can load test it to see that its functioning properly. It tests the internals of the battery to see if it'll hold a charge and put out the CCA (cold cranking amps) its designed to do.

If it passes, you'll need to check the stator (works like your alternator in your car).

****ALSO, if jump starting from a car, TURN THE CAR ENGINE OFF or you WILL damage your bike....

 

[alanyluan]

When testing the stator, what am I looking for? To my understanding, I am not looking for a specific number or anything right? Just seeing that there is a current going through it.. And also, how do I go on about testing the current?

Thanks

 

[Motogiro]

In your service manual you should find an ohms reading for testing the stator. There should be 3 leads that you will test against each other. those readings should all be close to each other and within a specific resistance in ohms. You will need to set the ohm meter to the range specified for the test.

 

[alanyluan]

Just read through the manual and couldn't find the number of ohms...

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Just read through the manual and couldn't find the number of ohms...

Check page 8-76 in the Yamaha manual, .22-.34 ohms @ 20 degress C (68degree's F)

Ohm meter set at: Ohm x 1

PM me (with an e-mail address) if you need a Yamaha PDF manual to run the tests

 

[Motogiro]

As Scott posted, even though the bike is a 91 it should be fairly close in technology.

Unplug the stator plug.

First test each of the 3 leads individually to ground. You can use the negative lead on the battery for ground. There should be no continuity between any of the three stator leads and ground.

Then test each lead against the other other. The readings should be close to what Scott has posted. The idea is that you are trying to establish that a winding in the stator hasn't shorted to ground, a winding hasn't shorted itself, or a winding hasn't opened completely.

These charging systems are simple compared to the alternator in a car in that there is no regulated separate field, dependent on battery/system current. The stator is dependent on permanent magnets on a drum that spins on a shaft. So simple ohms tests are generally an easy test of the stator.

The down side of these type charging systems on our bikes is it uses a shunt regulator that turns excess current not needed into to heat through a semiconductor attached to a heat sink to dissipate the heat. If the semiconductor has failed as a dead short it could cause the stator to fail. If I found my stator had failed I would probably wonder why and for the price and peace of mind I would also replace the regulator/rectifier. Other than checking for shorted or open wires or faulty connections in plugs (look at the pins) these are all tests that should be fairly simple to do.

Good Luck!

See attached.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I forgot it was an older bike, my boo..

Cliffs da man for deep electrical troubleshooting

 

[alanyluan]

Thanks Cliff, I will be sure to get the battery out, charged up and load tested as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'll unplug the stator (and maybe rectifier/regulator as well) and test those to make sure those are working properly.

Something i was thinking was that it could possibly be the dual headlight setup that one of the previous owners installed along with a digital tach that is just draining the battery. If that is the case, would a new stator be sufficient to supply enough power to all those extra instruments? I've heard that some aftermarket stators are capable of supplying much much more power compared to stock OEM stators.

 

[Motogiro]

Those added items shouldn't over tax your charging system. That doesn't negate the fact you could have a drain on the system when the key is off, if something is wired incorrectly. A this point is sounds like you're not charging your battery and the best way to approach this is systematically.

 

[alanyluan]

Just tested the rectifier and it read ohms ranging from 3.69 to 4.34

 

[alanyluan]

whoops that was resistance