not charging - any last minute advice?

[david]

I bought a used rectifier off ebay. That fixed it! 13.8 volts now. It was interesting that in all the research I did on this site regarding charging problems, I don't think I found anyone that said they had a bad rectifier. Lots of comments on shorts/wiring, bad batteries and even stators. Regarding the advice from the folks that responded - I'm guessing the the stator is stock (unless the PO put in a high output stator in the first 350 miles). Lastly, for good measure I went ahead and bought a Yuasa maintenance free battery. Being stuck in the woods twice on a 400 pound bike with a dead battery and no kick start is enough. I also plan on buying some type of voltage indicator so I can tell if the charging system poops out.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "David" wrote: > > My 2006 KLR quit charging several months ago. It took a while to find out because at first I thought it was the 4+ year old original battery. (Reader Digest version - It left me stranded with a two mile hike out, then I begged a 17 mile ride back to the house. Bought the only battery I could find in stock which was a cheapo brand. Hiked back in the next day in a rainstorm with tools and new battery, replaced it and climbed out over terrain that was OK for the KLR when dry but a handful when wet and muddy.) > > I kept the new battery on a battery tender throughout the winter and only did short one hour or less rides. However, on my first three hour tight trail ride at 2000-3000 RPM with the fan running off and on the same thing happened. Luckily this time I was only 100 yards or so from a paved road that had a nice a downhill. > > I did a bunch of research on this discussion list and found the Electrosport guide plus some good info from someone named Greg. I've run through all the tests three times all with the same results. At 3500 RPM my battery voltage is 12.4v and repeated starts show the voltage continuing to drop. I also replaced the cheapo battery again with one day left on the Cycle Gear 6 month warranty! > > Two tests in the Electrosport troubleshooting guide consistently fail. One points to a bad stator, the other to a bad rectifier! The stator output/yellow wire to engine case resistance test on section B has 0 ohms which seems to indicate the stator. > > However, some of the rectifier diode tests on section C also failed. The white output (+)/VOM red to 3 AC inputs (yellow wires)/VOM black test and the black output (-)/VOM black to AC inputs (yellow wires)/VOM red test all had 0 volts. The other other two diode tests, the second and fourth tests on section C passed with all readings around .47 volts. > > Since a rectifier is cheaper and easier I'll try that first. Any last minute advice before I spring for a new one? >