(yes ~ me again) in search of the lost electrickery...

Ogmios

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yeah yeah - i know :blagblah :p :blush:
i'm again trying to find out why i dont have enough 'juice' to go around.
It IS charging o.k. - that much i AM sure of. I just dont have enough ...

1990 Cali 3

~ with a meter between the Negative pole on the battery and the Positive, meter set to 'Volts ...
Volts drops to 9 as starter motor turns.

~ with a meter between the earth pole on the battery and the earth lead, and meter set to Amps..
turn on ignition / move 'kill switch' from 'off' to 'run' - Amps goes up to 5. :confused: :eek:

~ do same test with meter, but 'kill' switch set to 'off' - no noticeable Amps used. :blast

~ do same test as above BUT turn lights on and Amps goes up to 5. :banghead:

my question is;
W . T . F ? :confused:

is it supposed to do this?
Answers on the back of a valium prescription to the usual ward please.
Thank you kind Sirs.
~~~
Thanks in advance.
The Dim(about 2watts)Wit.
 
Simple things first

Are the battery electrolyte levels correct or Nearly correct

Do you have a fuel pump on that bike?

it has an initial surge to overcome any residual pressure in lines Hence current draw

+ add on the coils which you took out of the system when you turned off the kill switch

perhaps you don't have a big enough "capacity" battery fitted as the voltage is dropping or maybe your starter needs a clean out (carbon dust and tracking drawing excess energy also the starter gearbox may need lubricated

but 10 amps (your 2 circuits switched on) at 12 volts is only 120 watts I think those Alternators are about 180 ~ 240 watt maybe even the later 280 watt

So there's not really anything to worry about


Ah I read that again ....

What do you mean by "Not enough Juice to go around"

Define said expression posthaste and Nirvanna shall be yours !!!

(what the f*ck you will do with them? Gawd knows But Linda would probably like them to visit and sing her a few songs !)
 
Simple things first ~~~~ i am aren't i? (a simple thing) :pullface:

Are the battery electrolyte levels correct or Nearly correct ~~~~ sealed battery, in fair condition, was tested (by a perfessional wif a lectronic yoke :thumb ) and found to be "volts = fine / amps = a _little_ low" - it's getting replaced very soon anyhow with a like-for-like under guarantee

Do you have a fuel pump on that bike? ~~~~ er, no.

it has an initial surge to overcome any residual pressure in lines Hence current draw

+ add on the coils which you took out of the system when you turned off the kill switch ~~~~ wow! even *I* understood that :eek:

perhaps you don't have a big enough "capacity" battery fitted ~~~~ it's a 32ah car battery :cool:.
as the voltage is dropping or maybe your starter needs a clean out (carbon dust and tracking drawing excess energy also the starter gearbox may need lubricated ~~~~ starter was cleaned, checked at last gearbox rebuild - about a 18 months ago? i think it's sound.

but 10 amps (your 2 circuits switched on) at 12 volts is only 120 watts I think those Alternators are about 180 ~ 240 watt maybe even the later 280 watt

So there's not really anything to worry about


Ah I read that again ....

What do you mean by "Not enough Juice to go around" ~~~~ it's fine ...... until i want lights on a short run. like commuting for example. :rolleyes:

Define said expression posthaste and Nirvanna shall be yours !!!

(what the f*ck you will do with them? Gawd knows But Linda would probably like them to visit and sing her a few songs !)

Can i have AC/DC instead of Nerfana? (see wot i did there?.... oh suit yerself. :p )
 
check for bad earths on lights and Bulb wattages

No much point having an 80 100 in front if you aren't racing along merrily at night

18 months X hundred commuting starts ....= Re-evaluate starter

Are frame earths all sound have your copper cables become coated with Verdigras and maybe very stiff and unwilling to bend?

All of the above are energy sapping problems

To check frame earths you can use a jump lead from batt negative to a shiny engine component(which is NOT plastic)! If the bike spins over faster with it connected then its likely that you have high resistance in your cables/connections from some or all of the points mentioned above

Are you SURE all three phases of Alting-nator are putting out equivalent volts PRE the regulator rectifier unit

Also it "may" be a Possibility that when hot Rect reg NOT feeding to battery correctly
 
Your batteries knackered ya tight git.

Moto guzzi starter motors pull around 150Amps so the battery voltage will drop quite dramatically. Have you tried a pair of jump leads to a car battery?
 
A drop to 9 volts when the starter is cranking is not unusual I would have thought. What is the reading on the battery with the engine running??

If the bike is still on coils/points then there may be some amps flowing when the ignition is turned on - through coil / points to earth???
 
check for bad earths on lights and Bulb wattages ~~~~ been there / done that. :thumb2

No much point having an 80 100 in front if you aren't racing along merrily at night

18 months X hundred commuting starts ....= Re-evaluate starter ~~~~ fair comment.

Are frame earths all sound have your copper cables become coated with Verdigras and maybe very stiff and unwilling to bend?
~~~~ No. all is good there. - must be my wallet yer thinking of (piss off Rob Farmer! :p )

All of the above are energy sapping problems

To check frame earths you can use a jump lead from batt negative to a shiny engine component(which is NOT plastic)! If the bike spins over faster with it connected then its likely that you have high resistance in your cables/connections from some or all of the points mentioned above

Are you SURE all three phases of Alting-nator are putting out equivalent volts PRE the regulator rectifier unit ~~~~ er..... i'll ask an adult to check for me.

Also it "may" be a Possibility that when hot Rect reg NOT feeding to battery correctly
.....
 
Your batteries knackered ya tight git.

Moto guzzi starter motors pull around 150Amps so the battery voltage will drop quite dramatically. Have you tried a pair of jump leads to a car battery?
Yeah-but-no-but..... is it really? :nenau
I keep (ever the optimist :rolleyes: ) a dinky set of jump leads i made up, under the saddle - never needed them (my ear is so well trained i can sense when the power is 'borderline') but in tests - result is same as off my own battery. :nenau

A drop to 9 volts when the starter is cranking is not unusual I would have thought. What is the reading on the battery with the engine running??

If the bike is still on coils/points then there may be some amps flowing when the ignition is turned on - through coil / points to earth???
a meter set to volts across the battery, while running does the required 13.5 up to about 14. when revved to approx 3k rpm. a little low perhaps, but acceptable i think. :confused:
I've Dyna Tek ignition on it. (Bloody good improvement over previous set ups)

Thanks Gentlemen.
I've now got a luverly pair of dinky LED DR Lights to fit, as soon as i invent the bracketry - this should keep Her more 'Positive' for longer at least. :thumb2
I'll keep yiz posted.
Thanks again for your patience! :beerjug:
 
Well, it takes time to suss if it works or not... dontit!? :p
New battery - yes. Too early to say if that is a cure all / but i'm optimistic. :)

There was a "fix" posted online which i have spent the last half hour trying to find (no, of course i cant find it now :banghead:)
it involved connecting a new wire from battery positive to starter relay to give more direct power to the starter.
ANYhow - since doing this (oh alright :rolleyes: - since getting an adult to do it for me! :p ) the starter has NEVER done its previous "click / no start" party piece. So that's some good news. :)

Also, I fitted a pair of lovely lil DRLs into the parking light circuit - jeezus they're bright! :eek: Means no more using the low beam on my commute.
every little helps. :thumb2

right - that's it for now.
I will let ye know of any future developments. :beerjug:
 


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