100 miles drained my battery .

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

Hey guys , I got the bike out on a 100 mile trip today ,Battery was fully charged when i left , by the time i was home it died idling 4 times .

I recently had it at the shop , replaced an alternator stator , and im assuming that they looked over the brushes too .

When it was serviced last ,mech said it was charging at 13.3 not sure if thats too low . Is there any chance that it could be the voltage regulator crappin out .

It was my dads bike for he passed away , and id really like to keep it runnin. Only has 12000 on it .

Seems yamaha's were notorious for this . Any pointer would be great.

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

oh ya , the battery is also new.

Retiredgentleman

13.3 volts is Ok when the engine is idling. Rev engine to 3000 RPM......should have 14 to 14.5 volts.

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

ill be checkin that out .

another thing i thought of was the voltage regulator , if i understand right , from reading this section of forums , is adjustable? My question is ...
if ya up the voltage with adjustment , does this change just voltage at the upper rpm's , or would it adjust the voltage for idle for both upper as well as lower ?

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

bet you the rotor in the generator went - do an ohm check on the two brass rings the brushes ride on - if it's not 5 ohms or more - it's toast -
you are about the 4th person this week to loose their rotor.

I wish I sold Rotors

Good luck

Retiredgentleman

If rotors are failing as often as everyone says...............you should take a tip from xsjohn. He has mentioned many times that heat is killing your rotors. I took his advice and installed spacers on the alternator cover..............it gives me confidence that my rotor is getting a fresh breath of cool air.

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

Yep - He is RIGHT - The Day I bought my new rotor I put spacers under the two screws that hold the "round Yamaha cover" on (behind the cover) to hold the cover out to let air flow in. Keep is cooler and save money.

grant

Tatt, Yes they are adjustable. Mine is on the left side under the sidecover. Take off the cover on the unit and you'll have a small screw with a set nut to lock it. It is very tedious and the parts are small but you can do this. Screw the head out to lower the voltage and in to raise it. You'll have to tighten and check or the vibrations will really mess with your adj. I ended up screwing mine all the way out and was still getting 14 - 19 volts so I was cooking batteries. Luckily I had a spare and when installed it read 14.5 - 15.5 at 2500 rpm's. Good luck and have fun with it.

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

dude , thats a good idea on the spacers , keeping them cooler would definitely help the life of it . im gonna take a look at it over the weekend , and see where im at . I really appriciate the advice guys , ill repost and let ya know the outcome.

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

I opened it up about 3 small washers - or about 1.5mm - that is enough to let air in - but the lip is still over the opening to help keep water out ( unless you are washing it or in a driving rain).

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

hey guys , just had a good idea , isnt there some way , a guy could use longer bolts and put spring on the backside instead of the spacers ....
then maybe had the option of adjustment .
that way if ya get stuck in the rain you could close it up , and such?

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

Good Idea -I already tried it - won't close for rain- the backing plate is so close to the round faceplate that the thickness of a collapsed spring is like about 2-3 thin washers (the thickness I use each day).

You'll see what I mean if you pull the Yamaha cover.

xsjohn

Little water won't hurt it..........heat will..........car alternators are out inthe weather constantly........seal them in a box and I bet they would crap quickly..........mine has been open for 38,000 miles........again no problems...even the same brushes that came with the bike at 9,000 miles....if you are all paranoid about the rain stick a piece of duct tape under the seat.........good for shutting up the women too.....

John

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

thought id let you guys know my progress . got the battery which was 2 months old down to Napa to have them check out , turns out the battery wasnt taking a charge . new one in it and charging .
Im still gonna run a voltage test on it in the next couple of days to be on the safe side though , ill let ya know how it all works out.

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

13volts or better at Idle means it's charging (across the battery terminals).

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

well guys , bad news after all . I was always seeing smoke comin from under the seat , well , i know what it was now .
One of the 6 wire plug/looms .... burnt the hell up , totally melted ,
in between carbs going downward , im guessin it the one that goes to the alternator .
Looks as if the 2 leads arced accross inside the plug . Hope its an easy fix , this appears to be my problem the whole time , got one ordered , tearin into it friday , any tips or suggestions , lemme know.

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

No just recheck your alternator and stator - to make sure the short in the wire didn't take one of them out as well - and I would check the Voltage regulator too - the solid state one has diodes in it - and a short could take them down as well - It all depends where in the flow it happened -
I am attaching diagnostics for you to reference... Even though it for G models - it applies to your electronics....

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

got all the electronics looked at , and everything checks out ok . New loom going on it this week. im assuming that either corrosion or weakening plastic in the plug caused a couple contacts to arc . dont know what the hell could have caused it .
keeping my fingers crossed , hopefully everything will work out . Ill keep ya updated , should know more by the weekend hopefully.

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

thought id let you guys know , got all the wiring redone , at least what was burnt up , everything checks out great .
Put a few miles on it today , ran great and no problems with it at all .
found crash bars , and got a faring for it , still undicide on that one .
Painting it this winter ill try to get plenty of pics before and after .

Thanks guys for all the advice , im so glad theres a family of yamaha 650 riders out there .

By the way , 650 or not , it can keep right up with my brothers harly . lol
Im actually quite impressed with the performance . It Hauls %@$ .

jimdi · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Oct 27, 2005 Posts: 512

Think it's good now - put a set of XS john's needles in it - and you'll think you are on an 1100!

No kidding!

tattfish · Full Member Joined: Sep 30, 2007 Posts: 25

actually im thinkin free flow tips from mikes and probably rejetting the carbs for starters . LOL and the addiction begins , its gonna be a long winter.

xsjohn

tattfish.....rejetting won't solve all the BS34 hassels for sure.....it's all in the needles....

John

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