Battery charge light

[twhitaker]

Update.

I checked the ground and I've got a good ground. I connected my multimeter to the battery and it reads 12.8 volts. I start the bike and the reading goes up to over 13. I increase the speed to 4000 rpm and the volts go up to 14 and 15. At that point with the throttle steady at 4000 rpm the volts fluctuate from 15 to 13.0 volts. Should there be that much fluctuation? Should I just put a cover over the idiot light?

[Martin Barrett]

. I put the bike all back together confident I had cured the problem.

 

I started the bike and....no joy. I can't make the light go out no matter what I do. The faster I run the throttle the brighter the light gets. This points to a bad ground but I've already looked at that.

 

You would think that if I really had a problem the battery would be tits up after 2 months of flickering. I haven't checked the condition of the battery but the 4 year old original unit still cranks the motor over smartly.

 

 

Once I get my third bike this weekend, a Centauro, by the way, my California is going to become a donor bike. The regulator on it is the same as the one on the LeMans.

 

Are there any other suggestions as to where to look for this electrical leakage.

 

Other than swapping out known good components for suspected bad ones is there any (simple) way to test the regulator or the alternator?

 

Firstly double check that it all has been put back together. Then recheck the main fuse.

It sounds like a good plan to swap out components, you could do it both ways as a double check, but it could take down the cali aswell. When you do keep checking fuses.

I put my dicky regulator back on and it worked after a fashion, then it stopped and I put the new one back on. I didn't recheck the fuse and it had taken the fuse down so the new one couldn't work

Good luck I hate electrickerty

[dlaing]

Update.

I checked the ground and I've got a good ground. I connected my multimeter to the battery and it reads 12.8 volts. I start the bike and the reading goes up to over 13. I increase the speed to 4000 rpm and the volts go up to 14 and 15. At that point with the throttle steady at 4000 rpm the volts fluctuate from 15 to 13.0 volts. Should there be that much fluctuation? Should I just put a cover over the idiot light?

15V is too high.

And it should not fluctuate that much.

I would guess bad regulator, but I suppose the alternator or bad connections could produce similar fluctuation.

I would look to the shop manual for diagnosing instructions.

If you don't have the manual or don't want to download it, I think I posted much of it to Enzo's thread.

[twhitaker]

Folks on the Wildguzzi board are suggesting the reason for the wild fluctuations is that the battery is near the end of its useful life. On the other hand I've never seen the light on my California act this way when the battery started to go. Of course the battery just said, "Surprise, I'm dead. You should have maintained my fluid level, you moron!"

[dlaing]

Folks on the Wildguzzi board are suggesting the reason for the wild fluctuations is that the battery is near the end of its useful life. On the other hand I've never seen the light on my California act this way when the battery started to go. Of course the battery just said, "Surprise, I'm dead. You should have maintained my fluid level, you moron!"

replacing battery is kind of an expensive diagnostic, but considering if the battery is original, you may is well get a new one anyway.

When my last battery went bad it would drain through the ECU, but if the ECU was disconnected it would last, and when I replaced the battery the overnight voltage drop was many times lower.

But no fluctuating voltage...maybe 0.1 V less with the bad battery

[twhitaker]

I have a donor battery now. I picked up a gorgeous yellow and black 98 Centauro GT this weekend (my wife bought it for me!) and it has fairly new Hawker battery in it.

[Guest Gary Cheek]

I have a donor battery now. I picked up a gorgeous yellow and black 98 Centauro GT this weekend (my wife bought it for me!) and it has fairly new Hawker battery in it.

 

It's all in the connector bundle where the regulator and stator wires come together.

 

 

I replied to this thread in Wildgoose. The melt down at the connector bundle is not from overload it is from a bad connector system that develops high resistance over time. The connections themselves get hot and since Guido at the factory sees fit to cinch them all together with a tie wrap or three the sometimes will make an intermittent to constant short. If you fail to catch it you may lose the stator and/or the regulator. It appears you have likely lost the regulator in this case. Check out my response under kg8lb in the Wildgoose thread.

 

Many of the late model Guzzis are at risk for this under reported and usually mis-diagnosed problem. It is a good idea to check your bike BEFORE the gen light flickers or the regulator dies. Too many people think the meltdown at the connector is a symptom. It is the problem and it is generated right there by the connectors. On all late Guzzis the bundle needs to come apart. The connections need to be tightened and cleaned. Reinsulate with heat shrink but do NOT pull all the wires together in a bundle. Apart they can run cooler and are not likely to short. Kept clean and tight there will be less heat. Problem solved.

[twhitaker]

It would seem I fixed my problem last night when I swapped batteries. Thanks for all the suggestions. If this becomes an issue again I will dig into the wiring system like Gary said.

[Guest Gary Cheek]

It would seem I fixed my problem last night when I swapped batteries. Thanks for all the suggestions. If this becomes an issue again I will dig into the wiring system like Gary said.

 

 

Great, The pics I referred to were the pics by Mr. Barrett. But It is a good idea to check the connections BEFORE they do what Martin's did! I have found a few that were ready to fail and luckily hadn't yet. If nothing else it is worthwhile at least separate the wires in the bundle to head off a possible short.

 

The first time I saw this it was on my 93 Cal III and I lost both the stator and the regulator. I also saw it happen on 2003 EV with less than 1200 miles on the clock. He only lost the regulator.

 

Once again I really suggest every late model Guzzi owner check out that area and take the steps to head off any pending problems.

 

Glad to hear you got her going , happy riding!

[dlaing]

Once again I really suggest every late model Guzzi owner check out that area and take the steps to head off any pending problems.

Ditto on that!

My melting point was at the fuse.

It did not get hot enough to blow the fuse, but the case of the fuse was slightly melted.

Not sure what to do about that, except clean the fuse contacts a couple times per year.

When I replaced my regulator, most of the contacts got replaced....and all got cleaned.

Following your post and comments by others on the potential damage done from resistance, I think I may replace them all with Posi-Seal connectors.

[Guest Gary Cheek]

Ditto on that!

My melting point was at the fuse.

It did not get hot enough to blow the fuse, but the case of the fuse was slightly melted.

Not sure what to do about that, except clean the fuse contacts a couple times per year.

When I replaced my regulator, most of the contacts got replaced....and all got cleaned.

Following your post and comments by others on the potential damage done from resistance, I think I may replace them all with Posi-Seal connectors.

 

Check out www.waytekwire.com They have everything you need in wiring(alsmost). Get their print catalog. There are "POWERPOLE" connectors that work real well and are available in different current rating. The stock Guzzi connectors are pretty bad. No detent and poor contact pressure. You can take them apart,clean and re-tighten them from time to time. The most important thing is to get them apart so they will not force a short as the factory set up promotes. A little cunductive grease is a big help at a connection like this as well. Not DIELECTRIC but the copper bearing conductive grease or in a pinch Metallic Anti-Sieze is a good substitute. Don't over do it . Just enough to cover the contact area.

 

Ther have been a lot of rotors and regulators replaced because the wiring Chernobyl was not addressed in time. Most of the time the real cause was repaired but never rocgnized as the root problem.

 

 

You will know it when you see it from now on.

 

Glad to see you have a handle on it. Spread the word . It may save a friend a few hundred $$$

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/108744431PhmXQC

[twhitaker]

Catalog ordered. Hopefully I'll be able to do some rewiring without spending a lot of money on specialized tools. Of course, I can rationalize this over 3 bikes.

[Guest Gary Cheek]

Catalog ordered. Hopefully I'll be able to do some rewiring without spending a lot of money on specialized tools. Of course, I can rationalize this over 3 bikes.

 

 

If there is something you need but cannot justify buying drop me a line. If I have it there should be no problem sending it out on loan.

[docc]

Ditto on that!

My melting point was at the fuse.

It did not get hot enough to blow the fuse, but the case of the fuse was slightly melted.

Not sure what to do about that, except clean the fuse contacts a couple times per year.

When I replaced my regulator, most of the contacts got replaced....and all got cleaned.

Following your post and comments by others on the potential damage done from resistance, I think I may replace them all with Posi-Seal connectors.

 

 

The connectors in the fuse block only make about 25% contact with the fuse. Not hardly good for 30 amps. I'm testing an external fuse holder to see if the fuse melts again.