Electrical problems

[Gixxer]

I keep blowingn out fuses from my GSXR750 "96"
it is taking out the dash, indicators, horn and break lights, it has been in the shop and they are unable to find the problem.
seems to happen when I accelerate, then after that it does it as soon as the gear is engaged or if i am lucky after about 5mins.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Gixxer:

[Quaker]

Make a check on your battery, acidic level... what charge it is holding and what visually looks like.
Since it sounds like it envolves most the electrical components and problems when there is an increase of acceleration when the battery is under almost the most load it has to produce, besides turning over the ignition.
Maybe even your diodes.
I don't know much about your type of bike but.

[Gixxer]

cheers Quaker,

going to strip it today.

[babyB]

could any of you help me out please...

i am in need of a  'Wairing Diagram" for  a VFR400. but any similar honda diagram would do. i mainly need the colour coading.

im looking at fults between  ignition to kill switch,   ignition to coils,     coils and sparkplugs,   ignition to pulse generater coil oh and starter relay, CTI unit  (also want to pull out whats not needed 4 racing)

help be greatly appreciated

 

[Big Dog]

have they tested the regulator and alternator under load?

Had similar problem on gpx was producing too much powwer under sudden changes in engine speed but only under load. found fault by testing while on a dyno with some rolling resistance (no extra charge as not a propper dyno run).

[Redstar]

electrical problems are usually due to a failure of an eletrical componant. wow! what a relalation! firstly its the case that the alternator which generates the current to charge the battery puts out a ridiculus amounts of current (amps) sometimes 3 times the amount required to effectively recharge the battery and at a voltage of at least 5 volts above the 12v required. so it pumps into the regulator. the regulator serves three purposes. firstly it dumps the excess voltage and it reduces things to a quite 13volts or so just enough to recharge but not cook the battery it also reduces the excess current by disbursion as heat energy and thirdly it converts alternating AC to direct current DC (AC/DC)
So it has a lot of work to do. if the bulbs are blowing it is most likely that the current and or voltage is too much and the regulator is stuffed. put a volt meter across the battery terminals and rev it if it exceeds 15volts it is probably the regulator you can put an ammeter in series (break the battery line and bridge it with an ammeter and if it exceeds the rated wattage of the bulb light it will blow it like a fuse (watts = volts x amps)
so 13v x 5 amps = 65 watts so a 60 watt bulb is under stress
if bulbs are blowing its either vibration or failure of the regulator?

ps I made this bullshit up!

[Andrew]

As an electrical engineer in training it would have taken me a year to understand all the theory behind that. There really is a lot more electrically there with motorbikes than what I initially thought.

[Dave]

Yeah-faulty regulator/rectifier would've been my guess.

Baby b, if you've got electrical issues as well as wanting to strip it out for racing heres a couple of ideas;
1, Take it to a good auto electrician and have all the wiring removed and have a new loom made with just the essentials.
or
2, Try someone like RB Racing in australia who may sell an off the shelf loom for this purpose.

http://www.rbimports.com.au

[Redstar]

Yep I agree its probably the regulator duff?
the alternator is actually three phase and usually has three yellow wires going in and two wires coming out the yellows are thiner cause they carry lower current and the output DC thicker as they have to carry the combined current of the input.
the cheapskates will only use wires that just carry the normal current capacity. and save a few yen in production costs.
as the regulator gets supa hot as it sheds the amps off it has a heat sink to dissipate the current.
the heat transfers to the wires and cooks then nicely eventually the spade connectors get all black and the wires drop off one at a time. replacement of the loom is a bit radical but the last few inches of loom in and out of the regulator is a good move with new spade connectors if you can get the buggers out of the plug.
you can do static tests on the regulator by connection of a battery to each input lead to earth and meter the output if all three regulator diode circuits are working you can measure the output 12 volts but reverse the meter and read nothing. that confirms the status of diodes working. if you get voltage positive and negative output connections then you will have AC output not good! or nothing means open diode circuit.
on average a new regulator is $400 and a second hand one $200
but yep check the loom condition throughly first and dont put tool kits or wet gloves on it give it air. and its normal to be hot.
running with your lights on is a good plan to perserve the regulator life (apart from the safety angle cause the heat is dissipated in the bulbs instead of the regulator.

More laymans semibullshit

[Big Dog]

Well thats five votes for a New regulator?

Have you been dealing with an auto electrician of a motorcycle mechanic?

Most auto electricians dont know shite about bikes! And don't care either.

[Redstar]

WTF is your avator? looks like,

A rusty rolls royce RB211 engine on a stick
or an old fishing reel
or the air vent for a 1946 desoto?

I guess you told us before but enlighten me mate what is it

[MikeL]

Originally posted by Redstar

More laymans semibullshit

On the contrary, I think you're spot on. I've read a lot about reg/rec problems because it's a particular weakness on my Honda (not to mention the alternator...)

Seems they generally fail because of overheating, so another thing to check is dirt build-up around the base which acts as an insulator. Also you could consider remounting it on a larger heat sink.

[Big Dog]

Originally posted by Redstar
WTF is your avator? looks like,

A rusty rolls royce RB211 engine on a stick
or an old fishing reel
or the air vent for a 1946 desoto?

I guess you told us before but enlighten me mate what is it

A jet powered snail. Thats me 105ps and still ride like a granny

[babyB]

ok havent tester regulator yet....cool info

could anyone identify these (VFR) wires and elaberate on them?

Brown,   Brown/white,  Black/white,  Yellow/black,  Yellow/orange..none have power (worried bout the underlined

[ScottieX]

The old "GS" series used to commonly be reknowned for alternator/regulator/rectifier problems. Maybe you could borrow/obtain another rectifier regulator unit & try plugging that in. Sometimes though ( I found out through my own experience ) if one went the other went out in sympathy.

Good luck.