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Faulty charging system?

5K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  Caulky 
#1 ·
I have a 70' Trophy with all stock charging system. Also running a Boyer ignition system. My gel battery is only about 1 year old but doesn't seem to be keeping an appropriate charge. I usually keep the bike on a trickle charger and battery reads over 12 volts when I put a volt meter on it. But after a couple of weeks of short trips around town the battery without charging in between wasn't keeping the bike running while at idle. Battery was reading about 9.75 volts at this point. A night on the charger and battery was reading over 12 again and running great. Put the volt meter on while at idle and twisted the throttle and read over 13 which (I think) tells me the rectifier is working properly and the battery should be charging. Zenor diode tests properly. Am I missing something? Are my short trips around town not enough to keep the battery properly charged? Any advice is appreciated.
 
#27 ·
update and question

In the end I've decided to upgrade my charging system with a Sparx three phase alternator kit (upgraded rotor, stator and voltage regulator). Im hoping it will increase my low RPM output and be able to handle the electronic ignition and halogen headlight while still charging the battery.

Although the installation instructions are clear enough I'm trying to better understand how the battery receives the charge that the system is producing. The red (+) wire from the voltage regulator unit is grounded to the frame, but the black (-) connects to a wire (brown/white) that feeds back into the wiring harness. In my mind that the black (-) would feed directly to the battery to charge it.

Clearly this isn't how it works, so my question is what happens to the charge that is being produced by the regulator from the time it leaves the unit to the time it reaches the battery to charge it?

Thanks.
 
#28 ·
John looking at my circuit diagram brown/white goes to the ignition switch and the ammeter. From the ammeter it goes to the fuse then battery. Brown/white also goes to the old zener.

So there is a direct connection between black and the battery.
 
#30 ·
Thanks, Derry. That makes sense. It also makes sense that I would connect the black (-) directly to the battery. So I contacted the shop that I purchased the unit from and they agreed that the directions don't make any sense. When in doubt, ask someone who has actually used one and don't follow the directions.
 
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