Alternater or regulator problem?

[Abraxix92]

Hello guys, i've again had to replace a battery 2 in a year, so i noticed something must not be right with the bike or the battery must of been complete crap,

Replaced it today and decided to ask the people at the garage if they could check if the correct volts are going through while the bike is revving to check the charging system, now they say it doesnt work, and it could either be the alternator or the regulator that is not working correctly, i've had so many problems with this bike that it is really starting to frustrate me.

i Have not got the funds to carry out any repairs on the bike and im also not sure how much it would cost to DIY or for a offical garage to do it.

is there any simple soulations that i can carry out to double check the above problems and repair them?

i cannot take it to my normal garage which im starting to think is just draining my money as im currently at filey.

Back is honda cbr125

if push comes to shove would my battery be okay if i just keep taking it out now and again and charging it or would that kill the battery completely? open to ideas even if i have to keep charging it before it dies

[littlecat]

not much of a garage if they cant narrow it down and tell you which ones faulty.

do you have a multimeter( or one you can borrow) ? and where in west Yorkshire are you?

reg rec is a relatively easy and cheap fix.... alternator ( generator) is a bigger job and more costly.

reg rec failure is quite common, so id eliminate that first

[Abraxix92]

Yes i have a multimeter in the garage in a couple of hours once i get it back,

I'm at filey at the moment, but i'm from brighouse close to halifax and hudds/elland.

What would be the best steps for me to take first? i've looked on the internet but only really read to dead unends (unfinished threads) or something completely different.

Would it be best putting voltmeter or the terminals while the bike is running at 5k rpm for example?

what is the normal charge generated through the charging system? can't remember why but i think it's around 13.5-14.5?

i personally thought this battery died from short trips too many at that but i just can't be sure at the moment.

[Abraxix92]

13.09 battery with volto,

idle and rpm = 13.30-14 is this correct? i should i start looking for problems?

Edit: the more RPM = 12.90?!?!!?!?

[Stu]

its above 12.6v so its charging

[eastanglianbiker]

should be up to 14+ volts at 4000rpm is reg/recifier getting hot if its getting to hot to touch then its finished change it before you kill another battery

[Stu]

it could be that its breaking down as it heats up and is either not charging or over charging

[Abraxix92]

Need acess to the toolbox until tomorrow morning, will get to the rec tomorrow morning if possible will keep reading each post to keep thinking what the problem can be as this is 3rd battery since i've had the bike including the one that came with it.

i do short trips often but it blaggs me that idle produces more charge than having high revs, also will check all wiring tomorrow to make sure it's not corroded somewhere.

Note: i cannot turn lights off on this bike as its normal beam or high beam only.

edit: think it's losing current somewhere as if it's over charging i wouldent need to charge battery with a real charger on its first death

[Stu]

mine used to charge more at idle than at high revs

your bike will be injected and using more power when revving

the problem on mine was the wiring....suzuki used crap wiring for the charging system well actually the whole bike and a bit of fettling and running thicker wiring sorted my low charge problem out I now get 14v instead of the 12.9 I was getting

[littlecat]

if you have an hour Saturday morning when your in front of the bike with a multimeter in your hand I could possibly help if you ring me .... pm me if you want my number

[Abraxix92]

I'm currently visiting grandparents at filey, had to jump start the bike at brighouse to get up here, and a nice cheeky push start at a petrol station....

i have the volotmeter now, it would honestly be easier to pm me over here for advise incase you was going to nip over brighouse, + i really don't like wasiting peoples weekend riding time <3 and also not sure when im going home yet.

But i will strip the bike panels down tomorrow and check all wiring also should i place my hand over the reg once i've gotten to that? if so how long will it normally be able to tell if it's getting too hot (timespan)

I was going to try get funds to do it in a garage but to be honest, once again i think i would rather learn and enjoy trying to fix the problem myself and understand similar problems in the future,

Thanks btw littlecat

[Tango]

Yeah....sounds like your reg/rec is stuffed.....should be getting 14v+ when revving the bike.... Had a similar problem on the Sprint just before I sold it.....changing the Reg/Rec sorted it out.....

[littlecat]

no worries, offer still stands if you want me to talk you through it... putting your hand over it will tell you bugger all....you can test each part of the charging system in turn, but it makes more sense in real time, with the bits in front of you, ( and you need to sort it before you end up broken down in between 2 lanes of fast moving traffic, which is how I learned the hard way

[Abraxix92]

Thank you very much littlecat, tok it apart the reg doesn't seem too hot to be honest all seem's fine, in higher revs it does about 12.5, just noticed there is a bike mechanic across the road, i might politely ask him if he could have a quick look as he mots bikes quite alot and seems very legit to be honest, if not i might take you up on that offer next week if it still stands.

Will let you all know if he nips over tomorrow fingers crossed he will have a quick look.

[Abraxix92]

Ordered a new regulator, as the one that was on seemed cracked at the plug, and diden't seem to fit correctly size wise, all works perfect now!

Thanks guys <3

[RoyB]

Hi, i know this post was a couple of years ago but did you sort out the problem? If so where did you get the regulator from? There seems so many but few that are genuine Honda and they are very expensive. Honda £161 Copy £30-£50. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks Roy