a few electrical accessories

[Fred]

My 05 KLR has always overcharged its batteries. After a 1000km (600mi) trip, with the original the water level would go from slightly above the "full" line to just below the top of the plates. My nearest Kawi dealer ripped me off the only time I went there, so I haven't been back and never bothered going thru the hassle of making a warranty claim. I had to buy a battery on a Saturday night before a trip that was planned for the following day, and found a sealed battery at K-Mart that was the right one for the KLR. Of course, I haven't been able to top up the water level in that, and now it's dead too. I measured the voltage of the battery with the engine running: 15.5V. This is WAY too high. I looked at the spec. in the KLR600 Service Manual (Base section p 14-7), and it says it should run at 15V. (See pic @ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm57/BlindFreddie/KLR650/KLRchargingVolts.gif ). This is WAY too high !!! If you type "automotive battery charging" into your favourite search engine, you will soon find statements like "The charging system provides essentially a fixed voltage of typically 13.8 to 14.4V, unless the alternator is at its current-limit" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_battery). One possible reason for a high charging voltage is a voltage drop between the battery positive terminal and the voltage sensing wire that goes into the regulator. In the KLR's case, this is the brown wire (BR): ( See Charging Circuit pic (manual p14-6) at http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm57/BlindFreddie/KLR650/KLRchargingCct01.gif ) This wire is disconnected when the ignition is switched off, so that it will not drain the battery when the bike is not in use. However, if there is any voltage drop between the battery "+" and the regulator, eg due to resitance in the wiring and dirty contacts in the ignition switch, the regulator will see a lower voltage than is actually at the battery, and it will increase the charging voltage to compensate. If this is happening, you can cut the brown wire and wire in a relay that connects the positive lead of the battery directly to the sensor input of the regulator when the ignition switch end of the brown wire is activated. I measured the voltage drop on the KLR, and to my surprise found it was less thatn 0.1V, so this is not the source of my overcharging problem. Where can I get a regulator that charges at around 14.0V, or how can I modify the existing one to do so? [I searched the DSN_KLR650 archive for "overcharging" and found just 2 references to similar problems, but no followup posts: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/message/24739 "charging system, wiring & Electrex results, theory & reality" -- Jim Hyman, 2 Apr 2001 and http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/message/86869 "Battery or rectifier?" -- dcorym, 16 Jun 2003 ] - Rick -

[Craig Kahler]

I have owned two 07s and they both overcharged. Does anyone know a way to reduce the voltage output of the regulator by about a volt. Craig Kahler

--- On [b]Mon, 9/13/10, Fred [i][/i][/b] wrote:

From: Fred Subject: [DSN_KLR650] KLR Overcharges Battery To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, September 13, 2010, 2:03 PM   My 05 KLR has always overcharged its batteries. After a 1000km (600mi) trip, with the original the water level would go from slightly above the "full" line to just below the top of the plates. My nearest Kawi dealer ripped me off the only time I went there, so I haven't been back and never bothered going thru the hassle of making a warranty claim. I had to buy a battery on a Saturday night before a trip that was planned for the following day, and found a sealed battery at K-Mart that was the right one for the KLR. Of course, I haven't been able to top up the water level in that, and now it's dead too. I measured the voltage of the battery with the engine running: 15.5V. This is WAY too high. I looked at the spec. in the KLR600 Service Manual (Base section p 14-7), and it says it should run at 15V. (See pic @ http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm57/BlindFreddie/KLR650/KLRchargingVolts.gif ). This is WAY too high !!! If you type "automotive battery charging" into your favourite search engine, you will soon find statements like "The charging system provides essentially a fixed voltage of typically 13.8 to 14.4V, unless the alternator is at its current-limit" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_battery). One possible reason for a high charging voltage is a voltage drop between the battery positive terminal and the voltage sensing wire that goes into the regulator. In the KLR's case, this is the brown wire (BR): ( See Charging Circuit pic (manual p14-6) at http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm57/BlindFreddie/KLR650/KLRchargingCct01.gif ) This wire is disconnected when the ignition is switched off, so that it will not drain the battery when the bike is not in use. However, if there is any voltage drop between the battery "+" and the regulator, eg due to resitance in the wiring and dirty contacts in the ignition switch, the regulator will see a lower voltage than is actually at the battery, and it will increase the charging voltage to compensate. If this is happening, you can cut the brown wire and wire in a relay that connects the positive lead of the battery directly to the sensor input of the regulator when the ignition switch end of the brown wire is activated. I measured the voltage drop on the KLR, and to my surprise found it was less thatn 0.1V, so this is not the source of my overcharging problem. Where can I get a regulator that charges at around 14.0V, or how can I modify the existing one to do so? [I searched the DSN_KLR650 archive for "overcharging" and found just 2 references to similar problems, but no followup posts: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/message/24739 "charging system, wiring & Electrex results, theory & reality" -- Jim Hyman, 2 Apr 2001 and http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/message/86869 "Battery or rectifier?" -- dcorym, 16 Jun 2003 ] - Rick -

[Jeffrey]

I am glad it overcharges. My original battery lasted over 4 yrs though it was a pain adding water. But my now glass agm whatever battery seems to not mind the overcharging. And since I am running 100 watts extra in lighting minus the savings from the LED taillight, I am a happy camper. Jeff #3

[Richard Bassett]

Thanks to the guys who've responded to my post. It seems I'm not the only one with such problems. I didn't see anything about it in the KLR tips & mods guides (hint). Jeff #3 said: I am glad it overcharges. My original battery lasted over 4 yrs though it was a pain adding water. Well, along with the water that gets split into hydrogen & oxygen in perfect proportions to cause an explosion if there's a spark or flame around, you also lose a mist of acid out the breather tube. Really nice stuff. What a good idea! And it must dilute the acid in the battery & reduce its function. I'm surprised you got 4 years from it, Jeff. Maybe it wasn't overcharging as much as mine. Sorry, but I don't like the idea of getting a more robust battery and continuing to abuse it, and I don't know where I'd buy such a battery locally anyway. Reducing the charging voltage is much more appealing. Craig Kahler asked: Does anyone know a way to reduce the voltage output of the regulator by about a volt? A solution that I thought about to reduce the charging voltage would be to fool the regulator into thinking that the battery voltage is higher than it (the regulator) thinks, by inserting a small (1.0-1.5V) voltage source in the brown sensor wire, between the ignition switch and the regulator. (I haven't measured the current needed). If this voltage source was powered by the bike electrics, it would have to have floating outputs so that its negative terminal could run at 14V or so (battery voltage) above bike ground. It may be possible to find a DC-to-DC converter that would do the job. An easier idea that is impractical except for the short term would be to wire in a single torch (US: "flashlight") cell. Choice: Ni-CD (1.2V), NiMH (1.25V), old-style carbon-zinc (1.5V), or alkaline (1.6V - maybe too high). However, if the cell went flat, its resistance would mean that the overcharging would be even worse. In the case of an NiMH, the reverse voltage would kill the cell. Monitoring the charge in the battery would be too much trouble. I decided to take a look on the local fleabay, and found "Voltage regulator/6 pins" AU$35: (this link will expire): http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Voltage-Regulator-6-Pins-/160418680978?pt=AU_Motorcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2559b2d092 Here is a pic of the unit, with seller's details: http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm57/BlindFreddie/KLR650/V_Reg_ordered1.jpg With 6 wires, it's actually a rectifier/regulator, the yellow wires being 3 phases of AC in. Seller's details are on the image. His ebay ad says he posts to: Australia, N & S America, Europe, Japan, NZ. It looks like the genuine KLR unit, and may well be, and it may have the same problem. For the price, I thought it's worth a try. Will let the group and the seller know how it goes. I also saw on fleabay "5-wire regulators" from HK, that appear to have only 2 yellow wires coming in. These would be single-phase rectifier/regulators, and I think we could use 3 of these in parallel, one on each phase (there are 3 combinations of pairs of the KLR's 3 yellow wires).

[Fred Hink]

Sounds like you need one of these....... http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/images/ato_accessory_kit.jpg This sealed fuse block uses mini ATO fuses and has enough fuses for three circuits. Fred http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com     [b]From:[/b] fasteddiecopeman@... [b]Sent:[/b] Thursday, September 16, 2010 9:52 AM [b]To:[/b] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [b]Subject:[/b] [DSN_KLR650] Re: a few electrical accessories   Don, I put mine under that cover (starter relay in there too), but mine are individual fuses, not a block. Ed --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Don Montgomery" wrote:

> > I set my fuse block up

there near the horn but a possibly more convenient place would be under the rectangular cove that houses the sidestand safety switch gear. That cover is easier to get at if/when you need to replace a fuse. Definitely go with mini-blade fuses.

> > Don M