Charging Problems, Please Help Me

[hummbird151]

I need help please, i got my bike out for the first time this year and went for a ride, i noticed that when i left my home the volt meter was reading 8 volts , i thought it would charge up but it kept getting lower the longer i rode, after an hour i was back home and my battery was almost dead. it didnt have enough current to turn the motor over. so i charged it over nite slowly to a full charge, now when i start the bike the volt meter reads 10 volts no matter if im at idle or 3000 RPM it dont change. Also about 5 mins. into my ride i smelled something that smelled like something getting hot by i just thought at the time it was something in the air , but now i think the smell came from my bike. Could this be the Rectifer or what do you guys think. 1982 GL 1100a Aspencade, Oh i almost forgot i dont know if this has anything to do with it but now when i shift or pull my clutch lever , when the lever in depressed my nutral light comes on. I hope i have decribed my problem good enough so you can understand my problem. You guys have helped me before and i need your help again, your a very smart bunch of guys, thanks.

[Wilcoy02]

look on the battery side of the bike and see if the 3 yellow wires have been put together without the plug. If the plug is still there it was probably what you smelled burning up.

Check the 3 yellow wires with a volt meter and see what they are doing. You will be checking your stator doing this. If it is failing then do the poor boy alternator instead of replacing the stator. More power.

Your neutral light-- when mine did this it was the diode in the harness. The diode is hidden in the black tape from Honda. It is on the left side of the bike, by the knee to the gas tank filler neck.

keep us posted.
Hope this helps.

[Aussie81Interstate]

As mentioned above, check the three yellow plug connector, and check all your ground connections - they need to be really clean. From what you have mentioned so far I would be looking at either the battery being on the way out, or the alternator needing replacing if it doesn't pass voltage and resistance checks.

Do you have access to a multimeter to determine the volts and resistance checks?

[Johnyy Smoke]

It could be the three yellow wires. Or it could be your rectifier is grounded out. Pull it and see if the back has melted out, exposing metal which will ground the rectifier out to the frame. It happened to me. Regards, Johnny

[hummbird151]

Thanks Guys, i will check with meter as soon as i get one. i do know the 3 yellow wires are already cut and put together with wire nuts, i saw them yesterday. im hoping the rectifer is what i smelled melting, i will have to check it out, by the way where is the rectifer and how hard is it to get off. thanks again for all the Great help

[RBGERSON]

left SIDE under the faux tank..couple of bolts to get it off and the connector..but firtst take battery to battery place and have it tested, then not mine write up but covers it all..
Get a digital voltmeter that measures A/C and D/C as well as resistance.

Pull battery cover (left side) off and put bike on centre stand.

Have battery load tested at battery shop. If ok, charge overnight measure DC volts straight across battery after charge. Should be about 13.5-13.9 VDC. Reinstall battery.

On the left side of the battery you will see three yellow wires either going to a plug or wired straight thru by previous owner.

Disconnect the plug OR cut the three yellow wires one at a time.

VERY IMPORTANT - One at a time mark wires A, B, C. You have to disconnect to get true readings. If left connected a lot of other problems could mislead you. Clean wires leading to stator by about ½ inch. You will be soldering later.

Start the bike.

This will not hurt the bike in anyway. It will run on the battery.

Put meter on A/C scale and across any combination A-B, B-C or A-C. Rev bike to 3000 RPM. You should see 45 to 60 volts A/C across any of above combination.

If ok, shut bike off. Measure on resistance scale (50K is good) from each of three wires to ground. It should be infinite. (e.g. open must not have any shorts to ground.)

Measure from A-B, B-C and A-C. Measurement should be in the vicinity of 1.2 ohms on any of the combinations.

If all measurements are ok (volts and resistance) your stator is good.

Bad News Scenarios.

1. A/C volts under 40 V A/C (with wires disconnected and at 3000 RPM)

2. Any leg A, B or C shorted to ground (Low or no resistance to ground)

3. Any combination A-B, B-C or A-C open (infinite resistance)


If stator is bad you may consider the alternator alternative.

Or it entails pulling engine to replace stator.

If you have the plug cut it out and solder each of the three yellow wires straight thru cover with heat shrink. Follow wiring all the way down to where it enters engine (under sleeve) just to make sure there are no other hidden splices (throw the plug at the neighbor’s cat or something, it’s a piece of crap).

While you are in the area it is recommended that you change the fusible link (30 amp main fuse) to a heavy-duty fuse holder with bayonet style fuses. These old fuses have a tendency to corrode and fail at the worst times leaving you with a dead bike.

Start bike with meter still attached to battery voltage will go down while cranking over but should come back up to 13 VDC plus when you rev bike turn on Hi Beams volt should drop slightly but still be over 13 VDC if not (e.g. 11 to 11.5 dc) replace regulator 10 min job

[hummbird151]

i will do all the checks as soon as i can . i read on the internet the brass bone fuse could be blown and it will not charge is this true. or will it even run if the brass bone fuse is burned out. thank you again. oh and where cani read about that alternator convertion you spoke of, i bet it is a big job to install one of those. when i smelled the burning smell it kinda smelled like i would say brake fluid kinda, it didnt realy smell like a wire does when it burns , to me any way, thats why i kinda think maybe rectifer, but im not nearly as smart as you guys on these bikes

[Wilcoy02]

No if the dog bone is cracked or blown --Nothing will work. That is your main fuse.
As stated above replace the dog bone with a new fuse holder and use blade fuse. 30 amp.
Blade fuses you can get most anywhere. The dog bone is a hard to find item but it is out there.

Follow the next step so you can find a lot of info.

1) go to top of any page -- FORUM--
2) slide mouse down to GL1100 and slide on to GL1100 DIY articles
3) go down about 1/4 way down and look for Wes's GL1100 Alternator or Poor Boy Conversion

Do these steps and you will find a wealth of info that could help you. Now and in the future.

If you do not find it here is the link.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36303

The alternator conversion is the best thing I have done to my 1100.
You have more power for lights, heated gear, trailer..etc...plus your battery gets a good charge.
Put a digital volt meter --it is real good feeling riding down the road and seeing 14+ volts.
It really does not take that long to do. The two hardest things on doing it is finding a pulley to put on the camshaft.

And putting the dang radiator back on.

keep us posted.

[Johnyy Smoke]

I agree, put on a voltmeter. It will wire in on the "aux" side if the fuse box. Turns on when you turn key on.
I got one on e-bay for $10. Cheap insurance and a easy way to monitor your charging system.
We must remember that the problem has not yet been defined. A poor boy conversion would be in order, if indeed the stator has given up the ghost.
Check the simple things first. Regards, Johnny

[hummbird151]

do you have a link to the right voltmeter i could order or the part number of the one i need , also does it install where the old one is or where. thank you.

[jeffcosmo]

¡¡¡ cut and put together with wire nuts !!!

What MORON did THAT??? Remove posthaste and SOLDER those wires!!! Wire nuts are for solid, household wiring and should NEVER, EVER, for ANY REASON be used on ANY motorcycle, EVER!!!!

Cosmo

[hummbird151]

I ordered me a voltmeter to test everything with like you have told me waiting for it to come in, while im waiting i was thinking back in the winter i started my bike to keep all in shape. but it has always been so hard to start when its cold, first the starter doesnt want to catch everytime, i have read that maybe my oil to thick for winter cause when its warmed up it starts instantly, also when cold you cant choke or give it throttle that seems to make it worse so i just let it start with out touching anything and at idle. any way where im going with this is that my battery got low this winter while trying to start it so i hooked up a battery charger that has a 140 amp boost on it, and i got it started that way, but i remember at the time it seemed to not want to charge right up i just thought it was cause the battery was so low. but im wondering now if maybe i messed up the rectifer when i boosted it could that be possiable.

[RBGERSON]

The bike at idle 900rpm's really doesn't charge the battery..on most bikes..charge needs to be above 13v's and at idle lucky if you get 12v's..so runnign it at idle only drains the battery. If you keep it on a charger between times it not a big deal; if not you are hurting the battery.

You can test the charging system right now with a volt meter from harbor freight $10 ..leads on the battery studs before you start the bike and then when she fires at idle hope for 12v's at 3000rpms 13.5..is perfect. Installing a volt meter on the bike is a good idea to keep an eye on the system.

[hummbird]

hi guys im back, ive been in and out of hospital with my heart so i havent been able to test my stator until now. i just checked it with meter and it checks out good so do you think it will be my rectifer that is bad now that thew stator checks ok. Thank you all for your help you guys are very smart , please tell me what ya think

[Johnyy Smoke]

Check your connections, especially the infamous " three yellow wires ". Make sure they are good. Then my guess would be the rectifier.
When my rectifier went out, a small portion of the back melted, exposing some metal, which grounded out to the frame.
Found a used one and all is fine. Good luck. Regards, Johnny

[hummbird]

is the rectifer under the false tank and if so how do i get to it to replace the rectifer, is there somewhere i can read on how to replace it

[Johnyy Smoke]

Yep- under false tank on the left. Easy to replace- take off bolts, unplug, and plug in replacement and bolt into place.
I would put the voltmeter on it before you reassemble the bike, and see what your readings are when its running.
Good luck! Regards, Johnny

[hummbird]

Thank You for your help i will give it a shot

[hummbird]

i just replaced the rectifer and it did not fix my charging, Do you guys have any more ideas ? I do have a question i was checking for loose connections and i found a black wire connected to the neg. side of the battery and it is about 8 inches long with a 15 amp fuse in a holder on the other end, but it only has the wire from the neg. battery going in it , nothing going out of the other side its just hanging there loose, can you tell me whats up with that wire ? i have never have seen a fuse on a neg. wire before. And its odd that it is not hooked to a wire going on somewhere. I need ideas please, thank you

[RBGERSON]

Not stock the only wire from the neg terminal should be the ground to the frame at the rear top hanger. I'd remove the wire. maybe a PO had some extra thing hooked up at one time. Sometimes the neg cable rots on the inside can't see it but it the cable won't ground well. Swap itout cheap easy to do..can't hurt.

have yoiu removed those wire nuts?? if not do it best to solder the wires at very least put in three bullet connectors or crimp wires together.

[hummbird]

yes i removed the wire nuts. i had the wires soldered together but just cut them apart again to double check the stator and it checks good at 3000 its putting out 60 - 70 volts a/c. i dont know where to look or what to do now, ugh !!!!!!!!!!! please help me

[hummbird]

I found my problem it was a corroded melted red and white wire on my starter relay. now at 3000 RPM volt meter at battery reads 3 and 3.4 volts. I plan to replace all those wires in the future when i get time and feeling better. thank you guys for the great help

[plhcpat]

I’m back again! Couldn’t sell the old girl for 2 years! (1985 Interstate )Now the stator appears to be bad. 7volts AC between each leg. Who has done the latest “por boy” alternator swap out? Any help would be greatly appreciated! The old girl only has 43k on her.
Thanks,
Pat

[Rambozo]

You are measuring between two legs, not to ground correct? And @ 3000 rpm?

[plhcpat]

Yup leg to leg like 3 phase power. I only checked ohms to ground. Which was infinite, or open circuit on all 3 yellows. 0.03 ohms between each leg, so it ohms good. Just doesn’t put out. Put a new regulator on last week. It would charge till it got warm, (fan and high beams on), then 12.27 tops at 3500/4000. Then no charge at all now.