On my '98, it does not seem to keep the battery charged. I have jumped out the cooling fan so that it runs continuously when the switch is "ON". I didn't like doing this, but I could not get it to turn on when the engine got hot. I suspected the stator coil might be an issue, b/c when I got the bike, someone had been inside it and actually broke one of the wires. I repaired it and tested it the best that I could.
I have a service manual and did the ohm test for the stator coil. The test showed the resistance at 1.2 oms. A little out of spec (should be .70 to .86). Next, I connected my volt meter to the battery and started it up. If I hold the rpms around 2000-3000, the voltage on the battery steadly climbs up to 13.5 volts. Thats as high as it goes. The service manual says it should be 14V @3000 RPMs.
I changed out the regulator with a different one and the voltage test shows the same thing.
Questions:
1. Is this "normally" how the voltage will change? I mean, does it gradually increase up to a certain point. Even when I let it idle back down, the voltage stayed at 13.5 volts. I expected to see it go up/down when I rev'd the engine.
2. Even with my lights on (with the engine running), the voltage on the battery stayed at 13.5v. So from this test, am I correct in saying that the battery is actually taking some charge? Its a little low, but definitely not discharging as its running.
3. I have a 2000-Big Bear 400 that I can use for parts. I think the stator on it is good. Only difference (maybe) is the plug. I think I can just change out the plugs and I will have a good stator.
Thanks.
Kirk
I have a service manual and did the ohm test for the stator coil. The test showed the resistance at 1.2 oms. A little out of spec (should be .70 to .86). Next, I connected my volt meter to the battery and started it up. If I hold the rpms around 2000-3000, the voltage on the battery steadly climbs up to 13.5 volts. Thats as high as it goes. The service manual says it should be 14V @3000 RPMs.
I changed out the regulator with a different one and the voltage test shows the same thing.
Questions:
1. Is this "normally" how the voltage will change? I mean, does it gradually increase up to a certain point. Even when I let it idle back down, the voltage stayed at 13.5 volts. I expected to see it go up/down when I rev'd the engine.
2. Even with my lights on (with the engine running), the voltage on the battery stayed at 13.5v. So from this test, am I correct in saying that the battery is actually taking some charge? Its a little low, but definitely not discharging as its running.
3. I have a 2000-Big Bear 400 that I can use for parts. I think the stator on it is good. Only difference (maybe) is the plug. I think I can just change out the plugs and I will have a good stator.
Thanks.
Kirk