[crazymon01]

hey everyone. i know my battery is shot. has been for while now. and i have jus been poppin the clutch to start it. now while riding my lights are real dim when my rpms are up. when at idle they are brighter. at idle my turn signals blink real fast and when at higher rpms the blink normal... any ideas???
thanx in advance

 

[Alizard]

hey everyone. i know my battery is shot. has been for while now. and i have jus been poppin the clutch to start it. now while riding my lights are real dim when my rpms are up. when at idle they are brighter. at idle my turn signals blink real fast and when at higher rpms the blink normal... any ideas???
thanx in advance

It's generally misunderstood that you can ride or drive a vehicle with a smoked battery with no damage to the elctrical system. It's not always true. If your lights are dim when revving high, it sounds like either the battery is so bad it is loading the alternator to the point it puts out full charging current and still can't get the system up to 12V, or:

It could also be that running the alternator as it tried in vain to charge up a ruined battery burned the alternator/rectifiers out.

 

[crazymon01]

are the rectifiers easily replaced??? i do most my maintainence on all my vehicles but thus is the firast time anything with my bike other than brakes or spark plugs. and where they located...

 

[A2rider]

...

 

[OKC_Kent]

You should get a new battery, fill it and charge it correctly. That would be at 1 to 1.5 amps for 24 hours. Stick it in the bike and see how that improves the situation. If you still have problems then go to this site

Technical Start (ElectroSport Motorcycle Electrical Parts)

and check out the Fault Finding Diagram.

 

[crazymon01]

well.. i jus found a rectifier off of a low milage wrecked 250 on ebay for $20 plus shipping. where is the rectifier located on the bike? anyone know? and can a person check the one they have. i would hate to buy a new batery and screw it up cause it didnt charge it

 

[crazymon01]

ok.. thanx.. i will give that a shot. well when i can afford the new battery. so expensive for bein so small... where u all get urs? best price i have found was bout $90

You should get a new battery, fill it and charge it correctly. That would be at 1 to 1.5 amps for 24 hours. Stick it in the bike and see how that improves the situation. If you still have problems then go to this site

Technical Start (ElectroSport Motorcycle Electrical Parts)

and check out the Fault Finding Diagram.

 

[A2rider]

well.. i jus found a rectifier off of a low milage wrecked 250 on ebay for $20 plus shipping. where is the rectifier located on the bike? anyone know? and can a person check the one they have. i would hate to buy a new batery and screw it up cause it didnt charge it

It would help if you stated what bike you have.

This is what it looks like

 

[Alizard]

and can a person check the one they have.

Yes, rectifiers are checked using a voltmeter which has a diode test range. I think most rect assemblies are two phase or three phase. The former have a total of four diodes, wired as two center tapped pairs of diodes. The 3 phase assy has six diodes wired as three cenetrtapped pairs.

The meter will tell you if they are blown.

i would hate to buy a new batery and screw it up cause it didnt charge it

Install the battery and put a voltmeter across it. It should read about 12.6V. Start the bike and rev it up to above 2k RPM, and the battery voltage should come up to about 13.5 to 14V quickly. If the battery stays down at the initial voltage or drops a bit whwn you start up, it means the charging system is not charging the battery.

 

[Alizard]

ok.. thanx.. i will give that a shot. well when i can afford the new battery. so expensive for bein so small... where u all get urs? best price i have found was bout $90

You can get them cheaper on the net from places like JC Whitney. But, you have to pay shipping and then buy the acid locally to fill the battery. It may end up costing about the same. I get mine from JC Whitney because I already have a bottle of acid. I think the JC batteries are in the $50 range depending on size and type.

You can try local places like Kragen's, Pep Boys, Grand Auto, etc.

 

[crazymon01]

thanx everyone. i will give these suggestions a try. as soon as i get a chance . prob after Christmas and my wedding expenses in Jan are covered..

 

[JimmyD]

If you know the battery is ****ed that should be the first thing to replace? You don't replace your wheel when you get a flat, right?