Battery / Alternator trouble?

[Itchy]

Hi

As many of your know I ride an older NTV650 '93 to be exact,

Now I've had an iffy problem all week , in that the bike starts ok but when riding using the brake
or any light on the bike for that matter such as indies , makes the lights on the clocks dim quite
alot , much less so than normal. (note my ride into work last week was 12 miles each way ,
other weeks it is 26 miles each way).

This hasn't really been a problem but it might be some useful background information.

Today I wheeled out the bike after a 56 mile ride yesterday , which I would have thought would
be a good ride to charge up the battery (there were 7 stops though) and it barely barely started,
and seemed to almost pop and or bang as I started her up , it eventually started fine and it was
a short ride (3 miles) I stopped revved the engine for some extra juice and went into my weekend
job , 6 hours later I come out and on the starter , loud pop , then it gave a clicking sound
(which i've heard before ie the battery is flat) , I'm wondering whats wrong?.

Luckily I could bump start it ,

I'm thnking either battery and or alternator,

Any ideas , and how to check? ,

I mean if its just a new battery = easy ,
its its a new alternator = I don't know how to change it and its a bit late in the season to
be getting another one for a fairly old bike.

Anty suggestions as to the problem?

I had a similar problem almost exactly 12 months ago but it went away, the battery has not been
changed since 2003 , and not by me the bloke who sold it me had a service sheet from a big
bike place where they'd changed the batt.

Ta
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[yambabe]

First of all can you start it with a booster or charge the battery?

Your symptoms sound very similar to mine when the reg/rec went.

I shall enquire about the checking thing, brb...........
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[yambabe]

OK I have asked Himself and he says it's more than likely your reg/rec.

He says check the wires going into it first cos especially at this time of year it could have suffered corrosion there rather than the reg/rec itself needing replacing. You might be able to get away with cleaning or replacing the block connector if this is the case. WD40 would clean it, and apparently so does piss! (I thought he was joking with that one but he swears it's true)

Have you tried putting another battery on it?

He says if you get the bike running get a voltmeter on it, you should be showing 14v at about 3000 rpm.

Do you have a battery charger?
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Itchy]

[Itchy]

[finpos]

You've either got a charging system that's not charging or a battery that is incapable of holding enough charge. You really need to check it with a meter as described before splashing out cash on anything. Do the check immediately after you have charged the battery off the mains.

Agree woth the general comments that it's more likely to be the regulator than the generator, and checking all the connections in the charging circuit is a good idea. But then a 3 year old bike battery is probably a bit tired by now.

finpos.

[Itchy]

I'm going to have a look when I find my Haynes , thing is I can't find it and the bit I need to check (and work out the cost of replacement!) I'm not sure what is what,

I hate it when I can't find stuff like that .
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[stinkwheel]

Sounds like the reg/rec to me too. Modern Hondas seem to have a problem with them, my mates VFR750 is on its third.

You can use pretty much any reg/rec on these bikes, the older Honda type that they used on superdreams (among others) is pretty reliable but you'd have to redo the connectors if you were going to do this.

£55 for a genuine one that plugs straight in (usually two bolts and one or two snap connectors) from David Silvers.

[irving]

>>

[Itchy]

Thanks for all your help , the problem went away again, however since I know how to bump its OK , and I also have a spare rec in the box of spares I keep at home.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.