AndyH

Since I'm getting lumpy running and a red charge light at 'idle' something's still not right (and so not to be ignored). And I've already swapped in a new non-OEM reg replacement alternator and relays. So I can't help thinking it's caused by general degradation the connections of other circuit components as you suggest. To be quite frank, I'm running out of culprits to shoot. I'll try wiring the new Electrex reg +ve direct to the battery (via a fuse) and use the Engine to carry the -ve back for a fat Earth/Ground. There's no wire out of the reg for the red/green reference wire in the loom so I'll leave that unconnected (as, if I understand correctly the Ducati reg just uses this for polling voltage). However for good measure I'll also clean up... Ignition Switch contacts Relay mountings and contacts Fuse contacts Earth/Ground contact behind seat lock ...as suggested above. Want to get this sorted as the weather's clearing up a bit!!! and I have to make the call soon: Highlands and Islands tour by Guzzi or tin box

Yeah "idle", and I thought English was converging! Cheers A

Thanks Trevini, Will try wiring direct to the Battery with a good fat cable and fuse. I already created an extra earth strap to the clocks so I'm happy with that. As I said before, the battery easily seems to have the juice to start over and over again, even with the battery light coming on at tickover. I haven't needed to do an additional charge to keep it that way. If that's not where it could be going wrong, what sort of Battery check should I be looking at? AndyH

BTW Roy, I've looked through a load of your other posts on all things Electric and downnloaded and printed the PDFs - a major treasure trove you've created there. Thanks AndyH

Thanks Guys, yes mine's the Electrex. Considering what you say it looks like poor connections and beefing and cleaning them up is the way to go next: fuses, relays, earth straps, ignitions switch. Lots of stuff there for me to be getting on with: will get on with that tonight. Andy

drop o' loctite??

Not looking good so far... I've replaced: regulator rectifier (it's a non OEM part without the black reference wire)* The alternator (used part) Relays 1 and 2 and I still have the battery light come on at tickover. I think it's running a bit rougher when the headlamp is on too but the headlamp does light. * was a bit of a head scratcher to fit. Obtained from Gutsibits - Ed reports no returns from other customers. I have earth straps to the engine and again from there to the battery. I swapped in the original regulator rectifier, same symptoms. In spite of all the mis-treatment it's endured, the battery still has enough juice to start (I know that was replaced last year and is good and strong). I have to conclude it's probably not the regulator/rectifier, not the alternator, not the relays not the earthing Not sure where to look next. Could the ECU be causing the problem? AndyH

Now it's the weekend I've had a chance to run through a number of tests. Both hot and cold the Alternator seems to pass muster well enough on all my multimeter tests. I've tested the Reg/Rectifier too (cold) on Multimeter 'diode' setting and it all seems to be OK too with the right readings. As charging seems to consistently and gradually drop as the engine gets hotter and hotter and the Alternator doesn't seem to register anything different at different running temperatures, I have to conclude that engine heat is compromising the Regulator/Rectifier or charging connections (which I've run through and checked and cleaned). However, as my time before travelling is running out and having already suffered a number of exhaust burns when testing the Alternator at different tempratures, my appetite for more hot testing on the Reg/Rectifier has diminished somewhat and I've caved in and ordered a replacement part. Thanks Roy for the Diode bypass suggestion you PMed but the lack of evidence of diode faults when cold means I can't locate a faulty diode internally to bypass. My basic skills with electrics mean I'm concerned I'll dig myself a deeper hole if I try to extemporise. Sorry for wimping out there! I've checked, cleaned and tightened any connections that might be affected by engine heat. I've checked all the relays: good, clean, shiny and tight connections there. I've put in a short and beefy (27 amp rated) earth strap from the reg mounting bolt to the timing case screw as suggested to supplement the original wire I'll swap in the replacement reg/rectifier due to arrive next week. If the problem remains after that, I have sourced a second-hand alternator which I'll swap in and check again. If I've still got a problem after that, I'll travel with a car battery strapped on my Ventura rack . Andy

I was being fick then...

Just an innocent question, do you want a Standard ECU? I guess an unwanted used ECU will be cheaper if that's the criterion. I always thought that if I needed to replace an ECU, a PCIII would do the job better especially if I had non-standard pipes, intakes etc. Or am I being fick?

I spent 5 days in the middle of nowhere Tennessee cause I ignored intermittent starting problems for months.Finally died on a Friday night of a holiday weekend.Bad reg,and got home almost a week late. Was in Skye in March and there's no way Id want to be riding a bike in a remote Glen in bad weather,and no cell service if I had any doubt.If your not a 100% sure you got it,,...well,you know,,.... Roy will guide you the right way Yeah, I know I was lucky...

Thanks Roy, all really useful stuff. I've multimetered the Alternator, even run it hot and the AC voltage output is right on all revs (have to guess as Tacho's knackered but looks/sounds about right). Resistance is also by the book which is what I feared might have gone wrong if the insulation breaks down when hot. So I'm looking to the reg now and will test as advised. Cheers Andy

Neutral light problem hasn't repeated so I put that down to temporary failure of the laws of physics. The grounding wire was on the agenda anyway: I'm planning to put in a main grounding backbone cable from the headlamp to tail with lines to all major components. It's worked for me before with old Brits (and old cars) where the chassis/bodywork connections were none too sure because of rust and vibes. Andy

Ok Will try that...

Update on this issue, and a question: The charging light was coming on increasingly frequently at tickover when the bike was hot, so all was clearly not well. Last Saturday I set out for a trip to West Wales (about 250 miles): invitation to mishap really: Shortly after setting off the headlight stopped working, the side light continued to work... Then the brake light stopped... Then indicators... Then after 15 miles the engine. The RAC rescue came after about 40 mins (luckily on a holiday weekend), started the bike with a jump and tested the voltage across the battery: charging fine initially (~13.8V) then as the engine warmed again it dropped gradually to just over 12V. I got back home under my own steam escorted by the RAC Van but with no lights as it started to chuck down with rain. Reflected my mood really. Conclusion: alternator failure clearly and I've just ordered a replacement Alternator from Stein Dinse but there seems to be a world shortage and just three weeks away from my Highlands tour. However, could this be a Reg/Rectifier issue as well? I feel that 300 quid for an alternator is one thing but if the Reg is actually part of the cause of the problem I feel I'd better replace that too to be safe. Any suggestions? Andy H

i used the flourescent tube trick to evenly line up front and back tyres (as mentioned in another post on this forum). I tried laser levelers but lo-tech was easier. When you have it right, just before you tighten up the lock nuts, pinch the bearings in the screws until resistance is felt then back off a quarter turn or less on either side to avoid undue thrust on the bearings and resulting acclerated wear - they have a hard enough life as it is. Andy

you can download manual here. http://www.guzzista.com/ClassicGuzziManuals/V11Sportworkshop.pdf Free... AndyH

Just sharing some of my pain here... I'd check the swing arm bearings - they seem to start notching after an unfeasibly small number of miles. IMHO: I suspect a design compromise that forces the use of double row angular contact ball bearings rather than taper roller which you can't manage the thrust on in the V11 - any enlightenment from engineers out there? It's the double row bearing thing that causes the grief - they're really wide and almost impossible to remove without application of heat, and even then they're a bugger... this means you'll wreck whatever coating you have. In the meantime, you may find the screw bushes for the hugger just rotate in their sockets (I had two out of four like that). It's quite a trick to get the screws out without harming the hugger. I had to grind off the screw heads which melted the plastic a bit but just took my time, let it cool off each time and got there in the end. You can get replacement bushes but if the hole in the arm is too large (which caused the problem in the first place), you'll have difficulties in future so I used a spot of brazing to fix them in place. That'll damage the paint too! So get the bearings out, sort the hugger screw bushes, then sort the coating. The paint often looks OK on the outside of the swing arm but in the wet, salty UK at least, the coating around the shaft tunnel on both my swing arms was peeling off and seems the be the most vulnerable place for rust: you won't see this until you get the arm off. For what it's worth, I had the swing arm blasted and stoved. Mask/plug all screw holes, axle holes, drain holes and bearing holders before blasting. Because I had replaced the swing arm and bearings and also took the pork chops off to paint them, I felt it best to re-set the swing arm pins myself from scratch rather than using depth measurements (as above) from before - not rocket science but not done in a hurry either. Andy H

Yeah, my party trick is tripping over the oil tray just after the engine's emptied itself. That'll do it. I think you can be fairly confident the Thing came from somewhere else: 5th dimension perhaps through a temporary rip in space time. Garages are like that. Allen keys tend to go out of this dimension the same route. AndyH

OK thanks... The manual says "0,10 mm" and "0,15 mm" which is like .004" and .006" which all sounded way too low when I did them so I did set them a bit looser (can't remember what I used) so I'm probably around that. Maybe for town work I need to go even looser as savagehenry suggests. I've learnt by now you can't really trust the manual all the time. Otherwise I'd have a shed full of used and new shafts for replacement every 20K (the lube interval is the same as replacement)!! AndyH

If the hole is the right size for a sump screw you might well be right. In that case, why hasn't he seen it before? We all must have had the sump off loads of times. A

How big is it??

Easily done, I'll check it out. AndyH

Yes, I just wipe it off and it's black. Pretty sure it's fork oil and road dirt. I've done 500 miles or more since the overhaul and the tide mark keeps coming on the left (stopped on the right, so there could be something in what you say?).

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