Will not charge at high temperature

[Bbennett]

Hello-

 

I have reviewed several related posts on electrical issues but am left with this specific question:

 

**What might cause the battery to drain when driving in hot weather at low speeds?

 

Tach dies and bike begins to sputter when not driving at highway speed on hot days.  Headlight remains on.  Bike then fails to start.  Charging it overnight cures all symptoms.  Battery and regulators are approx 1.5 years old.  Bike is Sport V11, has 60K miles, 1 owner.

 

Thank you,

Bob

 

 

 

 

[gstallons]

I do not think the weather is a factor . With a DVOM connected to the battery , what are the voltages @ idle , 1200 , 1500 & 2000 RPM ?

[Bbennett]

Gstallons,

 

Idle 12.8v

1200 12.8

1500 12.9

2000 12.9

 

Thx,

Bob

[Kiwi_Roy]

It could be one bad diode in the regulator, is it an OEM Dicati Energia, if not please post the model etc.

 

 

Sent from my shoe phone!

[gstallons]

Bbennett , how good are you with doing electrical work ? This is now going to be important !

[Bbennett]

My electrical diagnostic or repair skills are not strong.   I am going to slap a new regulator on and see if it makes a difference.  I will report back on any progress!

[gstallons]

Don't slap anything...Inpeect all connections and run a ground from the engine ( with shakeproof washers between the ground cable to surface ) to the regulator .  Renove the alternator cover and look for any hot / burnt places on anything !   

 Contact Euromotoelectrics for advice / parts while doing this .

[Kiwi_Roy]

If you buy another regulator I would advise going with an after market direct connected type.

I have had good results with Electrosport ESR510

This eliminates the Voltage reference from the headlight circuit which has proven faults.

 

 

Sent from my shoe phone!

[Rox Lemans]

Check your battery. Mine will pop on once in a while.

 

Does it come on after riding 12+ miles or from short rides?

 

Sounds like stupid questions but it kinda matters with these things.

[Kiwi_Roy]

As Gstallons says check the connections
Where the yellow wires solder to the alternator stator.
The bullet connectors that plug into those yellow wires, must be silver not black with no sign of discoloured plastic.
The 30 Amp fuse under the seat, if the plastic has discoloured it's overheating.

If you have the diode test function on your multimeter unplug regulator and touch red lead on its yellow lead, black on red lead, it should read about 0.5 Volts, same on other yellow to red. (this applies to the Ducati Energia regulator)

[Bbennett]

Here is an update:  I installed a new rectifier in my V11S from  Rick's Motorsport Electrics, Inc. (partnum 10-001).  Note: this part had different spacing between the mounting holes and I had to purchase a small extension "tab" in shape of a figure 8 (see pic) to get it installed.  Bit of a hack there.

 

I have an LED bulb on my dash that indicates the state of charging when motor is running.  Upon initial installation and at rest, the LED indicated the motor was not charging even when the RPM's were above 2K.  I suspected my installation was faulty.

 

I examined the 30 AMP fuse and noticed it was slightly burnt - though apparently intact.  I replaced it.  I did not re-test the bike at rest.

 

I decided to take the bike for a spin, just to see if higher RPM might result in some charging activity.  Low and behold, the LED indicated the bike is charging.  As a bonus, the bike now charges at a lower RPM (2K) than it ever did before.   A quick check on my battery voltage after the ride confirmed I had lost no charge.

 

So I do not know if the new 30 amp fuse fixed my situation or if the new rectifier did.  I am just glad that I can ride confidently again, knowing the bike is getting charged.

 

One note about the replacement rectifier.  I think it is rather ugly, kind of clunky.  And it is made in China.   See install note above too.

 

Thank you for all of the advice,

Bob

 

p.s. sorry if pic is rotated

[Kiwi_Roy]

The new fuse is making better contact.

 

 

Sent from my shoe phone!

[Kiwi_Roy]

Sorry, probably a combination of new fuse and new regulator. I have a theory that the shunt type regulators are not so hard on the fuse, current peaks are not so high. Have no proof though

 

 

Sent from my shoe phone!