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Message started by adam and hayley on 06/09/14 at 22:34:52

Title: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by adam and hayley on 06/09/14 at 22:34:52

Hiya, just bought a savage for my wife and she loves it.
Only problem is it isn't charging, the local bike shop has said it's the rectifier/ regulator and that only a genuine suzuki part will cure the fault at £190!
Is this common ?
We have tried another second hand one I bought off eBay and this made no difference still not charging.
Help?

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by Bluesman on 06/10/14 at 01:41:13

I suspect the harness being at fault here. Two regulators that fail on the same bike...unlikely. Start by checking the 2-pin connector that is right under the seat. If the red wire / connector fails, you get no juice to the battery. The rectifier/regulator may work, but the battery gets no charge. Do this as a first step, there are other things to check, but later.

(NO charge at all? Please verify this. Connect a voltmeter to the battery terminals, start the engine.
At idle, you should see 13,4-13,5 V DC. When increasing the revs, the charge voltage drops to 12-12,5V DC. )

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by Yoshi on 06/10/14 at 03:15:38

Did you change the stator?

The stator makes the voltage in AC then the rectifier converts it to DC

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by prechermike on 06/10/14 at 06:22:56

2623262A7F757577470 wrote:

I had an '87 and could not keep the battery charged on short trips, just puttering around town, if I made a 70 mile round trip I had no problems. I changed the rectifier, checked the wiring and "determined" the stator was indeed weak, charging some but not enough for those short trips. I got a battery tender and hooked it up once a week or so and that solved my problem, it was ALOT cheaper than a stator. Just my 2 cents worth.

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by Serowbot on 06/10/14 at 08:13:36

Rectifier's usually go out due to failure of another component... i.e. battery, stator, etc...

Stator replacement is as routine as battery or tires... (but, more work and less frequent)...
Motorcycle stators last 20 t0 50k miles... (some models famously burn them out in less than 10k)...

Same goes for car alternators... 'cept cars last longer because they don't run in hot oil....

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by Boofer on 06/11/14 at 00:15:56

Did you tell the mechanic it wasn't charging, or did he or you put a meter on it. Extra accessories or a bad battery cable or a shorted cell can cause the same symptoms.

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by WD on 06/11/14 at 00:22:51

495F48554D58554E3A0 wrote:

Stator in the VN1500J is just fine at the roughly 100K mile mark... Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha still run the cheap junk ones.

Only got 65K miles out of the alternator on the Ranger. >:(

Title: Re: Rectifier/ not charging?
Post by Bluesman on 06/11/14 at 07:55:38

Start with the basics mentioned - VERIFY that you have - or don´t have - a charging voltage. Verify that that connector is OK. Your battery could be bad, but you need to verify what comes out of the regulator first. Then, proceed the faultfinding if necessary, but step by step, like checking what goes IN to the regulator.

Just forget the stator talk for now. It just adds to the confusion. (They don´t break THAT often. I have a 1953 Triumph engine that finally needed a new one, but that´s because of gross maltreatment)

Report back on your volt meter readings at idle and at 2000 rpm (it will take a few secs for the voltage to stabilize, so keep the engine at the same rpm for some 10 secs).