chargeing system

[lonewing]

new to this so please bear with me, I have a 1979 Honda Goldwing 1000, having problem with charging, at start up I get 14.5 volts on the gauge but, when it gets all warmed up it will drop off to nearly 8v. I have already changed the regulater with no effect, could it be a rectifier problem if so how do I test for it? all help is greatly helpful

[trike lady]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
There's a chance the rectifier may not be sending back to the battery and you would want to test the diodes.
There are 3 yellow leads, a red and a green ( you may also have a redundant red and green wire).
Set the meter for the 'Diode' test.
The other part of the charging system is the regulator/rectifier and it can go bad. Inside the unit are diodes, one way streets for electricity and they sometimes get turned into two way travel for electricity.
No charge, low charge or over charge it can be traced to this component.

To test the reg/rec
You unplug it from the stator and test the three yellow wires to the red BCL (battery charge lead) and the green Ground.
The meter must be set in ‘Diode’ setting to do the test.
Forward Bias:
Red meter lead on AC1, AC2 & AC3. Black lead to BCL.
Red meter lead on Ground. Black lead on AC1, AC2 & AC3
Range .3-.8V
Reverse Bias test
Red meter lead on AC1, AC2 & AC3. Black on Ground
Red meter lead on BCL. Black lead on AC1, AC2 & AC3
Range infinity

[lonewing]

thanks I will try that and get back to you.

[thrasherg]

I would be looking for a bad connection in your charging circuit. When you start the engine you get full voltage, but as the current flows a poor connection will start to heat up and that will cause more resistance and the voltage will drop. It's unlikely to be the rectifier but it is wise to check, but I would be looking at the connections between the alternator and the regulator/rectifier and then onto the battery connections, I would even try starting the engine, let the volts drop to 8 volts and then go touching wires (Carefully) to see if any are hot. Be careful NOT to burn yourself.

Gary

[lonewing]

ok, i'll try that too

[lonewing]

I did both, checked the rectifier and looked for hot wires and found both to be bad. the condenser under the rectifier blue lead end was corroded inpart and partly melted its cover sleve, does this mean I should replace the condenser? the rectifier wires are corroded blue all down the side of it and can hardly get any readings off it. thank you all very much for your help on this.

[spookytooth]

So has this fixed the problem? This is my worst nightmare.. Many a old 'Wing have been sent to the scrapyard over a worn-out stator..

[lonewing]

this old wing won't wind up in the scrap yard, i'm in it for the long haul. yes I believe a new rectifier and some connection cleaning will take care of the problem. I really like this wing and will fix about anything to keep it going. thanks for all the help.

[Fred Camper]

Keep in mind that the three yellow wires from the stator have a three pin connector that is not up to this job. That connector needs to be cut out and the three leads soldered back together without a connector. Then you need to check the 8 pin connector these three yellow wires go into . This 8 pin is an okay connector but needs to be clean. This helps the stator a lot. The reason the 3 pin connector needs to go is that all three yellow wires are high current and they heat up that connector too much since they are all so close to each other. In the 8 pin connector the three yellow wires are spread apart so it does not get so hot.

[lonewing]

thanks for the tip fred, i'll check on that.

[aussiegold]

Keep in mind that the three yellow wires from the stator have a three pin connector that is not up to this job. That connector needs to be cut out and the three leads soldered back together without a connector. Then you need to check the 8 pin connector these three yellow wires go into . This 8 pin is an okay connector but needs to be clean. This helps the stator a lot. The reason the 3 pin connector needs to go is that all three yellow wires are high current and they heat up that connector too much since they are all so close to each other. In the 8 pin connector the three yellow wires are spread apart so it does not get so hot.

with all due respect, this information is incorrect. the three pin connector is fully up to the job.
the 8 pin is ok ? only if all connections are clean and free from corrosion.
the reason the three pin plug may get hot and melt is simply caused by dirty and corroded connections.
the connections on the 8 pin plug are just as susceptible to overheating as any other electrical plug.
a wire will get hot no matter how close it is to another , if the connection is weak.
removing the three pin plug is a fix, but , properly repaired it will last a very long time with no overheating.

[lonewing]

thanks for the feed back but , I found that the previous owner already removed the three pin connecter and soldered the wires together. problem solved.