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Post by tom93gts on Oct 25, 2008 0:12:19 GMT -5
Oh how I hate electrical problems.
Tonight I rode almost 30 miles across town to meet up with the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club guys. Bike rode pretty good getting there except my 4500 rpm hesitation.
After hanging out for an hour I was getting ready to leave and the battery was nearly dead. Wouldn't start, couldn't get it to kick start either. Got help push starting and rode it home in the dark with very dim headlight and turn signals that wouldn't flash. When I got home I thought I would try and kill it with electrical load... I guess with a completely dead battery the headlight, turn signal, and brake light all at once will successfully kill the engine. Oh well, hopefully its just the battery and not the charging system. I am not looking forward to fixing an electrical problem.
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Post by Jess on Oct 25, 2008 22:28:39 GMT -5
good thing wal mart tractor batteries are cheap...
Check the rectifer under the seat... They have a tendency to burn up from time to time.
I have a decent stator if you need one.
Best,
Jess
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Post by tom93gts on Oct 25, 2008 23:51:58 GMT -5
Rectifier? Stator? I dont know what any of that is. I know all about modern car electronics but these vintage things baffle me. I am going to start by busting out the volt meter, jumping it and checking what I get for charging voltage. Also will charge the battery and get a load test done on it. Then after that and I still have no idea what the problem is I will look into the factory manual and figure out what a rectifier and a stator is. Will let you know when I figure out if one of those is bad. thanks!
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Post by suzsmokeyallan on Oct 26, 2008 21:02:07 GMT -5
Well on the old bikes the rectifier connector melts up because of corrosion or loose connections that create high resistance. On the RE5 its the white six pin connector just by the cross frame brace behind the oil tank. The one on my bikes got a terminal melted and i plan to replace the connector and terminals as my first point of issue. The stator is basically the field winding inside the top left side engine cover next to the carb. Theres a performance test to check the charging output of the stator, but check the retifier first. Then theres the voltage regulator to also check, you should get a shop manual if you dont already have one.
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Post by tom93gts on Nov 15, 2008 22:00:02 GMT -5
Finally had a chance to dig into the RE5 a little today. Started by looking at all the connectors, the 6-pin connector you mention looked slightly melted so I sprayed in some electrical cleaner and used a little dielectric grease. Hopefully that will hold off the corrosion in there.
Any way, after much digging around the bike I finally decided to recharge the battery and test it. After charging I put it on the load tester and as soon as any load was put on it the battery just went flat. Guess I had a bad battery.
Picked up a new battery and over the next week I will put a couple test miles on it, hopefully that battery was my whole problem!
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Post by Jess on Nov 17, 2008 23:31:01 GMT -5
Tom,
10 bucks says your problem is solved buddy...
Let us know...
Best,
Jess
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Post by tom93gts on Nov 18, 2008 10:04:15 GMT -5
I did ride it around a bit this weekend and I do believe it is indeed solved. Thanks!
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Post by suzsmokeyallan on Nov 19, 2008 22:22:09 GMT -5
Well thats good news, its possible your old battery went south due to sulfation issues.
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