Another.... RG150 Question, ffs

[MDR2]

On my way home tonight it was just hitting dusk so I flicked the lights on so's to make myself that little bit more visible (as you do)

I carried on driving for maybe five or so minutes turning left onto Penrose rd when all of a sudden I lose power and electrics. I free wheel to a stop on the side of the road Tanks almost empty theres a dribble in the bottom (possibly starved the bike of petrol while i was leant over turning into road... but that doesn't explain the no electrics. (was on reserve tap)

To cut an extremely dull story and bad day short I got the bike home on the back of the work truck and checked the main fuse on the + battery terminal (was still intact) changed it anyway just to be sure and still nothing.

Battery fluid level looks fine but I don't have multi meter to test out put. (theres been nothing to indicate the batteries dodgy)

And thats basically where my motorbike knowledge stops.

Oil level is OK, motor didn't seize as i free wheeled to a stop.

Any help appreciated, sorry if this is the wrong area for this post.

[xwhatsit]

I had a weird situation with a loose battery terminal once. I didn't actually know the battery terminal had come loose until I stopped and let the engine revs fall below about 2-3000rpm; at which point the lights dimmed and went out (and my engine stopped too, but that's not unusual).

I'm just guessing here, but could it be that the electrics became disconnected from the battery (not necessarily battery terminals, lots of stuff inbetween), and the only thing keeping them lit was direct output from the alternator? Then you ran out of fuel and when the engine stopped, so did the lights.

[MDR2]

Hmmm possible, the only othr time i've had the lights on (flicked them on at a set of traffic lights while waiting for green) the bike cut out and wouldn't kick start, pushed it back to life.

[(P)]

Unusual for a suzuki to give problems. My impulse is super reliable...

FAST too.

[ital916]

MUHAHAHA experience the awful thing thats is an RG150 electrics failure. I lost both headlights and the indicators. On mine it turned out the bulb inside the headlight unit melted and then this started causing electrical mayhem along with the indicator connections being a bit too tight so i had to loosen them. Squiggles *biker guardian angel to all noobs lol* and I spent three hours pulling the headlight unit apart hand filing and beating the unit back into shape,replacing stuff, resealing it and plonking it back in. Works like a charm now but it was one hell of a job! SO i would say check your bulbs to see if nothing has melted or is on it's way to blowing and check connections. Maybe run a test on your battery, RG battery's are pretty shit, well mine is anyway lol

Note: Im still learning about bikes so i'm no expert, this is just what happened to me, beats me still how a blow well absolutelt toasted bulb could cause so much mayhem but i'm guessing it started drawing too much/little power which was taken/diverted elswhere.

[MDR2]

hahaha that was one of the other things I checked after hearing about your issues :P

Bulbs are fine. (two differint types but same wattage and fillaments are intact

You wern't driving down great south road today on your RG were you? about mid day?

[Sketchy_Racer]

Have you started the bike since? (sorry if i missed anything)

Unlike most bikes, the head light and tail light on the 150 is run directly off the motor (will not work when not running) And if you have a knackered battery then the brake light and indicators will not work either.

Put some fuel in and get the biek running again.

[MDR2]

No I was on a mission to get a new battery this morning Got to red barons after having stopped at mt eden MC before I realised it's sunday... *sheesh*

I'll drop some fuel in it soon aqnd give that ago.

[Monorail]

i also had a loss battery terminal for like 3 months. couldnt figure out the problem. sounds exactly like your problems described so it could be the problem

[MDR2]

Well, one step forward two steps back it seems, dropped some fuel in it and after half a minute or so kicking it spluttered into life, Cool.

I let it idle a while then flick the lights on, after two minutes at idle it shuts down again. (noted that when I put the lights on the needle on the tachometer dropped to zero, if I turned the lights off the needle bounced up to 3 thou rpm, without it actually changing rpm if you get what I mean.)

(all that was with out the battery in it.) Lights were dim obviously.

Chucked the battery back in and kicked the shit out of it ( this is not cool in the blistering heat of summer) gave up and crash started it.

Fired up and lights on dash were all there, indicators working, lights blazing.

Then it died again, no amount of pushing or kicking got it started after this.
(also noted that without motor running the dash lights cut out again, Usually the neutral light is on. Fair to say the battery is not holding a charge)

Checked the plug, looked a bit damp dried it out (out of interest i put the lead on the plug and held it to the head and kicked it, no spark. Thats not right is it? Looks like i'll get another plug while i'm at the bike shop.

My guess would be to say the chargeing system is all up the pooer, any other prognosis guys?

[Dave_G]

I let it idle a while then flick the lights on, after two minutes at idle it shuts down again. (noted that when I put the lights on the needle on the tachometer dropped to zero, if I turned the lights off the needle bounced up to 3 thou rpm, without it actually changing rpm if you get what I mean.)(all that was with out the battery in it.) Lights were dim obviously.

The ignition on your RG150 will most likely be a magneto type (most 2 stroke Suzukis are), where the mag provides the initial voltage to the CDI, which in turn charges the coil when triggered by the crank sensor, it doesn't need the battery to run. The indications you got on your tacho when you turned the lights on are indicative of either a bad earth connection or a bad battery, and since you had the battery out guess what...., but since the lights and so on were all fine when you fired it up after putting the battery back in, its likely the charging system is working as advertised. This is relatively simple to check, just sling a multi meter across the bat terminals. You should see somewhere around 13.5-13.9 volts with the engine running. I would also check the battery at the same time, it should be at least 11 volts minimum, and really after the engine has just run it should be well over 12 volts.

The fact that it starts and runs for a few minutes and then dies suggests a couple of things to me. Either something is failing when hot, eg ignition coil, crank sensor pick up coil, CDI unit etc and these are not easy to diagnose without being able to substitute known good items or, you have a fuel supply problem in which case I'd have a look at things like the fuel tank breather line or anything else that could restrict fuel flow to the carb.

Good Luck.

[MDR2]

Good info, I'm really appretiating this guys.

[ital916]

Haha im everywhere on my rg150 so yeah prb was me lol Umm just a thought but did you get your bike checked out after you binned it at the track, it could have jolted something loose plus RG battery's don't like being rolled aorund which i found out. At the moment im having worries about the stability of my bike...prob just cos im a noob and still a little nervous bout leaning lol but im starting to lean slowly, do you find the wheels tend to wobble and pick up every deformation in the road lol

[MDR2]

I wasn't on the RG at the time of the bin so we're safe there :) Ordered a new battery today from haldanes to pick up tomorrow.

Perhaps You've not got enough speed for the amount of lean your using in corners?

On my ride the other day the wheels did feel sqwidgy which I put down to not enough air in the tires. I've yet to actually check them. If I find them to be at the correct psi then I'll probably pump them up to the recommended pressure for 2 up and try that.

But at residential speeds I havn't noticed anything.

[NotaGoth]

Okay this is the one and only time I will post this... So read carefully and I hope it helps...

Over 6months ago I purchased my first bike an RG150... Had all kinds of problems with it... Bike was extremely hard to start at times... Lack of power.. My indicators would stop working... My display lights would either go dim or disappear altogether... There was even at one stage where I was following CBobR.. My head light was on... Suddenly my bike jerked a couple of times... Engine cut out.. And coasted to a stop... No matter how much I kicked the bike over it just would not start... Turn the key on and off a couple of times.. Then suddenly all my display lights where back and the bike started...

The next time this happened Wayne was watching.. And noticed my headlight went out and my bike died completely again coasting to a stop..Turn the key off and on a few times.. And everything comes back to life.. And bike starts fine... My battery had been checked and was perfectly fine... No loose wires.. Etc.. We were pretty stumped...

Hummed and harred over it... Started my bike one day and jiggled the key... The bike coughed and spluttered, backfired, cut out completely at times, i indicators played up, display lights and my headlight.. So I was guessing ignition... Sure enough the end of my ignition barrels screw had come loose so it wasn't connecting properly, and vibrations where bumping it out of place, and the bike was shutting itself off... (well in theory, fixed it and haven't had any of those problems with my bike since so I'd assume that was the problem)

Your display lights, headlights, indicators, and wether or not your bike runs are all controlled by your ignition... After my situation with my RG I reckon your best bet is to check the ignition.. It could be something hilariously silly just like it was with mine...

[MDR2]

Hilarous.... mm like a broken leg :P

Another avenue to check. Cheers.

I've only got one more day of holidays left before I start back at work, I've given up on the idea of being able to get another ride in and don't want to waste another day on it...

Well, I say that now but after a good nights sleep and with re-newd vigour I'll have another stab at it.

I hope it is something stupid.


Thank you all.

[NotaGoth]

Send it to me, I'll fix it.. lol

[MDR2]

I had it booked in for a service before xmas but the mech ran out of time so rescheduled for the 14th of jan. Seeing how i'll be working most of that time im resigned to just waiting now :)

All he'll have to do is make it work and sort out why I can't select Neutral while the motors running.

5 minute job eh?

[ital916]

there is a trick to finding nuetral as mine also has a tendency to say fuck you when i wanna find it. When im stopped at the lights in first and want to put it in neutral it tend to to roll the bike back and forth a little and it usually pops in. Same with switching to first. Sometimes it doesnt want to so i just roll it back and forth a bit and then try. Most fo the time it works though. Man byt he time you hit your full youll know all the tricks lol

[MDR2]

Heh, once I have her running again we should hit the roads and compare notes :D

Gearbox wise it's all good, just when ever i wanna select N it almost pops in but pops on to the next gear.

Can't blame the bike, being a learner bike it's probably been hammered in it's time.

[MDR2]

Well, Had a shit nights sleep and decieded to have another go at it today, or atleast employed the help of someone handy with electrics to help.

had CircuitR (The nitro wearing dude in the avatar) come around and help, we pulled apart the ignition switch and greased it up (was dry) still no help. Started working backwards from there.

Coil was fine, new battery was fine (old battery was fine for that matter)

pulled the plugs apart on the ignition wires and bridged the positive and negative and got the light working and spark from the plug when held to the head. 'great success'

Dodgy terminal block. Add that to the list of things to check when your RG wont start :)

Many thanks to the people that took the time to help me out and to CircuitR and Grant from Penrose Motors for letting us pick his brains (ex bike mechanic)

Yeahhhhhhh Ning ning

[ital916]

we should get a really large group of rg150/rgv250/nsr250/tzr250/krr150 riders together and ride around in second gear all the time...mmm the smell..mmmm the noise. It would be great. RINGINNGININGINDINGNINGINIGNGINGING! Like a swarm of friendly wasps.

[MDR2]

And watch as Aucklands Carbon Footprint balloons :> muahhahahahahahaa

oh, can select neutral now, cheers for the tip.