[1983kaw]

I bought a 1983kawasaki 1100LTD! The very first night the bike died on me. I got a new battery and it lasted a little bit. It is only charging at 12v. Any help would be great.thanks

 

[Greg Schieman]

If I am not mistaken your charging system will only charge 12 volts. So don't be alarmed. You should put your new battery on a slow charge for approximately 24hrs and let the battery be fully charged. I know your dealer said it was fully charged at the sale but I have always had problems with batterys and fixed new bettery problems with a good overnight charge. If after you charge it for 24hrs and you still have the problem then I am a dummy and you never have to listen to me again..........Good Luck .......Sheem

 

[GPZBob]

Is it making 12v at idle? Did you rev the engine to see if it increased? You should have 14v at 4k rpm.

 

[1983kaw]

When the bike is reved it will not go up or down.It just stays around 12. Any suggestions?

 

[GPZBob]

If it were mine, I'd grab a regulator/rectifier off one of the Ebay scrap guys. If you have a multimeter we can check the alternator to see if it's burned out. Simply meter for resistance/continuity across each pair of the 3 yellow wires, if any results are >1ohm then it's junk. There are 3 wires so meter A/B, B/C, A/C. If your meter measures amperage, you can check the rectifier by metering draw from the positive battery post to the positive lead (lead disconnected) with the rectifier plugged up then unplugged. If you have a 500+ma draw that goes away when you unplug the rec. then it's bad. Is that clear as mud?

 

[1983kaw]

I checked the 3 yellow lines. They all measured about .001!

I didnt get to check the voltage regulator yet,but that should be my only other problem right?

 

[1983kaw]

I took the voltage regulator off today. I have a few questions about it now. Is there an easy way to check to see if its good/bad while off the bike now. Also the surface under there was all rusty and what not. Does it have to make a good connection or is it ok?

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[brucewayne50]

when you check the three wires off the stator you can also check for ground. if you have continuity the stators shot. just replaced one no big deal. go after market, alot cheaper. $112.00. kawi wants alot more.

 

[Nate]

When the bike is reved it will not go up or down.It just stays around 12. Any suggestions?

Either the regulator is toast or the generator isn't putting out enough AC to drive the regulator/rectifier. With the engine at about 4,000 RPM the voltage across the battery terminals should be somewhere between 13.5 and 14.5 volts.

I have no idea how similar the 1100 and earlier 650s are, but on the 650 to test the dynamo, a voltmeter is connected to the pair of yellow wires coming from the dynamo (they are unplugged first) and it should read about 75V AC @ 4000 RPM.

 

[zedx11]

this has got to be the oldest thread I've noticed that has been brought back from the dead.

 

[Tod]

 

[Nate]

I never even looked at the dates! :shock:

 

[Gpz1100]

Apparently neither does batman

 

[zedx11]

I never even looked at the dates! :shock:

I've been had by a newb before too. :biggrin:

 

[Mark A]

We must be dead heads for dead threads. It may be an oldie but in this forum it always a popular subject with Kaw Vintage folks. So, it's an oldie but a goodie. I'm printing it off, I think I can use all the information in this thread right now.

 

[zedx11]

good thing it got brought up to the top then.

good luck with your bike.