My alternator or regulator might be cactus?

[Yellow Meanie]

Went for a ride on Sunday, nothing too radical...
  only about 50 bikes with the Tassie Italian Motorcycle Club

OMG, I had no idea there were so many LUNATICS in Hobart.

I saw: burn out's at traffic lights
         wheel stands at speeds somewhere North of ridiculous
         peg/boot/knee sliding on numerous corners
         and some, well, not so legal or even a little bit sane, overtaking manouvres

WOW, what a ride, I'm definitely going again


    Anyway, at the first stop, my bike wouldn't start. A couple of nice fellas gave me a push start and I was on my way.
We rode north (with more of the previously mention antics) and stopped for lunch.
From the first stop to the lunch stop was about 50km, enough I would have thought to charge a flat battery.
After lunch, the same good blokes gave me another push start
About half way home, I needed fuel. Luckily I found a servo on a hill. After I filled up she wouldn't start again, so I just did a roll start.

When I got home, I put the little Thylacine in her lair, and connected the charger. Approx 36hrs later the light went green.
I disconnected the charger and started her up. At 3K RPM a volt meter across the battery was reading 12.7V.
I've done a bit of reading on the forum, and I know this doesn't sound good.
The battery was replaced about a month ago.
How do I check if the regulator is still working?

Thanks guys

[bazz20]

dave at 3000 rpms the voltage should be between 13.5 and 15 volts ,stator out put is 350 wats and when unplugged check resistance it should be between 0.2-0.4 , you was saying that you blew a new globe in tail light , check your head light with motor running and rev the bike if your head light flickers or brightens and dulls it your regulator , if you have a manual it will cover checking the rectifier regulator it a series of resistance test if you need a regulator contact brad black from memory he can supply them hopes this helps if doesent you can go 50-50 or phone a friend    http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/diagnosis/fault-finding-guide.php

[CairnsDuc]

Also get your new battery checked, lost count how many times I have seen many repairs done on bikes and car's electrical system's only to find the new battery was the culprit.

Also, if it does turn out to be the Reg that has Shat itself, have a look at relocating it when the new one arrives, The regs run very hot, and most of the time Ducati locate them in places where Air flow can be quite poor.
I purchased a TPO Regulator relocation kit, and it now runs much cooler.

Quoting from an old thread, where my Bike was losing it mind with electrical problems, It would run hot, run like a pig once the oil Temp got over 100 degrees, Stall for no apparent reason, every time they would plug in the DDS it would have a list of error codes as long as your arm, from faulty coil packs, to bad earth, to faulty Oxygen sensor (which it didn't even have!) and many others:

we used to get maybe 1 in 10 new batteries fail with 12 months, mine did it, it was replaced under warranty.

but while it was failing, it tested fine, but it would wreak havoc on the charging system and ECU, it lead the Techs on a wild merry chase trying to figure out the problem, numerous error codes, ECU light on one trip, off the next, replaced the Regulator with no difference.

But what threw them was the bike started and charged as normal!!  

fitted new battery, all problems gone and it's been fine ever since.

They made the assumption that the battery was fine because it was new, one thing I have learned over the years with anything electrical, never assume, it will always come back to bite you on the ass.

[brimo]

Yep use the KISS system first. True enough about the battery, seen that more than once myself and check all of your connections to the reg and the battery, I've lost count on how many times someones said to me " oh yeah, I changed the flux capacitor" or whatever,  I've taken it in to the workshop tested it and it's fine. Someone's paid for expensive bits to be replaced, I get a nice spare for the toolbox and it was only a crappy connection, sometimes all it takes is to unplug it and put it back together again and away you go.

[Yellow Meanie]

OK, I've tested the alternator / generator according to the manual. It's all good.
Next time I rev the bike to 6000RPM in the garage, remind me to wear ear-muffs

I've been trying to follow the fault finding "flow chart", but am having limited success.
It says to disconnect the block from the generator and do a resistance test. It reckons there should be three yellow wires (which there is) and some extra ones (there's not). 

Bazz, the headlight does not dull or brighten when the bike is revved.

I'm heading up to Lonnie tomorrow, so I'll take the battery back to the shop and get them to test it.

[Yellow Meanie]

I found the extra wires



I measured the resistance between the two shaded in red. It read 0.67 ohms.
Which, according to the flow chart, points to a dodgy generator.
But, according to the test in the manual, the generator is putting out the correct amount of power

[bazz20]

do a leek test first ,then hook your muti meter up and watch the voltage if it dopes to 6 volts while its cranky over  its the battery  or a bad wire, i would take more notice off your manual , if alternator tested it sounds like the regs gone you can test the reg if you follow the direction in the wiring section cheers bazz

[DUCMONROB]

When you check the output voltage of the stator make sure you place a load accross each wire (like with a light globe). If there is no load it will give you an induced voltage which will read like the stator is OK.

Tricks from the sparky

Good luck!


Rob

[Yellow Meanie]

Ah-Ha! I've found the info I need!

http://www.mad-ducati.com/      Click "Tech Stuff", then "Charging or Not?"

 

[Yellow Meanie]

Sooooooo,
                  a few days later, I've done some more testing.

According to the "flow chart" link, I have a bad negative wire from the regulator. I checked this, and it is OK. I also checked and cleaned all connections that I could find.

According to the "Mad Ducati" link the alternator and regulator are OK.

I have not had a chance to load test the battery yet. Actually, I did take it into "Sports Rider" in Launceston, and they said they couldn't load test it  .
I'm now home again, and I put the fully charged battery back in and the bike still starts, but volts with the engine running are still way too low. I again, checked the alternator output, still OK.

I then put the multimeter across the battery as I started the bike. Volts dropped to about 5V. I'm no electrical expert, but this does seem very low for a fully charged battery??? Is this normal

[dragonworld.]

Seems like it has a crook cell. 

[bazz20]

Seems like it has a crook cell. 

+1 should not drop any more than couple of volts , one thing you can do your self a favor and change all the battery and earth leads too bigger ones it made a huge difference on my old duke 

[Yellow Meanie]

Last night I thought I had a bad earth from the regulator. So I split open some of the harness, so I could trace the black wires coming from the regulator output plug. Turns out they go pretty much straight to the (-) battery terminal.
I tested the continuity, and it was a bit "intermittent". I cleaned the connections at the regulator end (input and output), then looked at the battery end. I had the battery tender cable attached underneath the negative lead. They were both very clean, but I thought I would swap them over.

Techno and I went for a ride today out along Hollow Tree Road, to Bothwell  [moto] 

We stopped into his place on the way back, and pulled out the multimeter.
Voltage across the battery, with the engine running now reads 13.8V    I must have had a bad connection, either at the regulator end, or there was some resistance between the negative lead and battery, caused by the tender cable.

So, after a 200km ride today, I won't put her on the tender overnight, and I'll see if she starts in the morning. 

[dragonworld.]

+1 should not drop any more than couple of volts , one thing you can do your self a favor and change all the battery and earth leads too bigger ones it made a huge difference on my old duke 

A big +1 on the wiring change . I got the wring upgrade kit from DesmoTimes and the result was pretty dramatic. Well worth it, as well as cleaning all the terminals and whacking on some dialectric grease. 

The 80,000k wiring really wasnt up to carrying all the volts, brick wall resistance. 

[bazz20]

Last night I thought I had a bad earth from the regulator. So I split open some of the harness, so I could trace the black wires coming from the regulator output plug. Turns out they go pretty much straight to the (-) battery terminal.
I tested the continuity, and it was a bit "intermittent". I cleaned the connections at the regulator end (input and output), then looked at the battery end. I had the battery tender cable attached underneath the negative lead. They were both very clean, but I thought I would swap them over.

naughty boy put that tender wire on a proper connector then on top of the negative most people neglect the negative side of the wire harness ,glad your getting it sorted , now put some new leads on with high copper content like welding cables they make great battery cables cause there more flexible and better quality and use  the solder ends not the crimp ends cheers bazz