Pittmania
New Member
I did test the battery voltage (not while running, though) before removing and replacing. Was somewhere around 11.5v.
I did test the battery voltage (not while running, though) before removing and replacing. Was somewhere around 11.5v.
You can get a very nice volt meter for under $50.00.
First off, part of your issue is having dual High beam head lights and the low beam headlight mod MAY be questionable. That's why your getting a yellow light at idle.
(1) You should NOT have BOTH HIGH BEAM filaments working, EVER....If it does, it needs to be put back to stock.
(2) The dual headlight mod(the most popular -BD43), simply uses the factory harness and lights up the RS (as you sit on the bike) LOW BEAM.
When the HB switch is turned on, ONLY the right side should go to HIGH BEAM and the LOW BEAM FILAMENT should turn off-
You DO NOT want both filaments on at the same time. It shortens the bulbs life and IF your burning ALL your filaments on HB, you way
OVER TAXING your electrical system.
If all your mechanic has is a red, yellow, green voltmeter, FIND ANOTHER MECHANIC.
That's like feeling your tire, by hand to see if the air pressure is correct...
As always, you should fully charge your battery and then have it load tested, After you've established you have a healthy battery you should then check your charging system. As I've mentioned in many threads there is a more accurate way to establish the charging system output by measuring current(amperage) and voltage. This would be more difficult with our type charging system and that leaves us with the voltage reference as a guide to whether the system seems to be working. Unfortunately these basic tests don't actually guarantee our charging systems are up to their design capability and would require more test equipment and experience with the bike's charging system design and requirement.
Other practical and oft times overlooked are connections, Check that the battery terminal connections are clean and secure. Check your regulator rectifier plug for signs if pin damage or poor connection. Check that the battery case is clean. Wash the top of the battery with a toothbrush and some dish soap. This can eliminate constant low current leakage across the top of the battery which drains it. Consider you may have a bad diode in your regulator rectifier assembly. If you have a damaged diode it will reduce current output or can cause a drain on the system. There can also be a damaged shunt in the regulator rectifier.
Do I take it to a mechanic/shop to load test, or is this something I do on my own? I will check the connections on the battery and clean them as suggested, thanks! I will look up what a regulator rectifier plug is and check that too, lol, but what would be signs of pin damage? Do I do something to check the diodes? Or the shunt?...maybe a better question is, should I be asking a mechanic or an electrician to help me figure out all this stuff? lol!
Did either of you check out that sportbike electrical upgrade thread I posted? I think I'd be able to follow the directions in it if you think that would cover what you're mentioning here.
Thanks guys!! Battery is on tender now, will get it load tested soon and proceed from there. Townsends, do you think that triumph electrical upgrade tutorial I posted would make a difference and allow me to run 2 filaments, gps, heated grips?
I haven't seen what upgrade you have (Triumph ?), but the system (again, unless always in slow city traffic) can handle both headlamps (that's stock-one LB and one HB on).
In POST #5, did you watch the video I posted?
It shows with the dual headlight mod on, GPS, the voltage output of the engine. You want the output obviously above 13 volts with your goodies turned on or your running down the battery(and literally running off the battery-eventually killing it).
If you want more light W/O major mod's, I run PIAA bulbs(plug and play). They draw the same watts as the stockers but put out more light. Not cheap but, for me, they work fine and last fairly long: PIAA | H7 XTreme White Plus Single Halogen Bulb #70755
the "extreme white bulbs", You'd need one H7 and one H4
. Should I leave it on the tender for several days, until I can take it in? Or take it off now that it's showing charged?
When your HB is on one side, is the LB on the other side as well? With the mod? Or is that standard?
The PIAA's are definitely something I've considered, I'm not happy with my LB's at night at all. Thanks again for the info!
Found an H1 bulb in the cages glove box so I had to know....
Using the same setup as above the mighty incandescent bulb is very hungry!!! And unlike the electronic hi-voltage counter part the more you give it the more it takes....
4.5A @ 11.5V (51.75 Watts)
4.8A @ 13.5V (64.8 Watts)
The bad news is; the FZ's Regulator Rectifier simply consumes all excess wattage making heat so it simply goes to waste if not used! :spank:
PS - I'm still seeing spots.... Bulb is bright w/out containment! lol