89 GSXR charging system weirdness??? Help please

[pullmyleg]

Hi there,

I have a suzuki GSXR 1989. When got the bike it came with a new rebuilt engine, so i put that in (only experience with engines is swapping in cars etc). a friend helped that had a little bike knowledge. it was all fine after a roll start etc.

Drove it round for a week, then i left the key on by accident and battery went flat. seemed to be alright for a while but the battery never had enough charge for a electric start. ( i just roll started every where) also the bike wouldnt rev past 14000rpm (usually does about 17,000).

Now after a start the bike will not run at all unless the headlights are on hi beam and i am pressing the foot brake slightly to use more power. it wont rev past 10,000rpm and is doing all sorts of weird shite.

any help on this would be greatly appreciated. if someone wants to fix cheaply for cash we can arrange. i am happy to try anything, just don't want to spend hundreds to take to a shop.

Tane.

[Guided_monkey]

Bike electricals can be complete bastards to fault find.

Have you got the electrical diagrams??? Sources for these are listed on this web site.

Then you'll have to sit down and test from point to point.

It sound as though there is a faulty earth somewhere........

Good luck

[HungusMaximist]

Hey bro the first and foremost you need to rule out your battery and then work your way up from there!

First thing you need to do is diagnose your battery whether it's actually dead or not. You can do that at home if you have a decent charger and it will usually tell you if the battery is sustaining it's voltage over long periods of time.

Other thing you can do is check the electrolyte levels (make sure they're all even) inside the battery and top up with distilled water to the required levels and hook it up on the charger.

If not, then take it to 'battery world' or a auto-electrician.

Even better, just grab yourself a new battery.

[pullmyleg]

its a near new battery, still has about 2 and a half years warranty left on it which will help, when the bikes running what sort of ampage should i get from the battery to be enough to charge? there are a whole lota wires unpluged under the petrol tank but they all have no were to go? should i search for wiring diagrams? Thanks for the help!

[Guided_monkey]

Yeah.... having the wiring diagrams will definitely help. The 'spare' wire might be for another version of the bike.

When the bike is running rev to approx. 3-4000 rpm. You should have approx. 14-15V at the battery terminals. If it's only 12 or less then the alternator/recifier is suspect.

Which part of Ak are you???

[pullmyleg]

titirangi, west auckland.. i just got told bikes are made to hold charge not recharge, is this correct? if its completely dead it wil recharge a little bit but not enough if i jump start from a car.

[HungusMaximist]

titirangi, west auckland.. i just got told bikes are made to hold charge not recharge, is this correct? if its completely dead it wil recharge a little bit but not enough if i jump start from a car.

Ah you don't want to do that, because you might end up stuffing up your battery.

As you might know, motorcycle batteries has a lower rate of charge compared to car batteries, so if you do intend to charge it, use a charger which is able to charge a rate of 0.5 amps per hour.

A car charge puts about 2-3 amps which isn't suitable charging bike batteries, but you can use it, just be cautious that you don't over charge it.

What you can do is actually connect your bike's battery up to the car's and start it, but without actually starting the car

[Guided_monkey]

How have you got on??? Any luck sorting the fault??