Motorcycle problem?

Question

1988 suzuki cavalcade charging problem. charged the battery rode all day started the bike 8 times --no prob. end of the day battery dead. how do i check system to figure out what component is bad ?

Answer 1

first of alll you need a meter to check voltage at the battery. it should be 13.5 with the bike running. second you need a shop manual to get the proces check the voltage regulator and the rectifier. you need to check the output of roter

Answer 2

Using a volt meter, check the following:

1)  Battery volts - unloaded, at least 11.5 VDC

2)  Battery volts - loaded, at least 10.5 VDC

3)  Continuity of charging system - should be less than 6 ohms resistance

4)  Output of charging system - should be 25-35 VDC

5)  Continuity of charging system wiring - should be less than 4 ohms resistance

6)  Continuity of regulator/rectifier - should be less than 4 ohms resistance

If everything above checks out ok, you may have too many accessories attached to your bike, like extra lights or similar items.

If you need to know how to perform the above tests, either consult the service manual or send me an email and I'll detail the steps.

Answer 3

The information You need can be found here.

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_garage....

Answer 4

Try clean the battery terminals first.  The 80s Suzuki are terrible with their charging system.  I would suspect bad stator or rectifier or both.

Answer 5

Get a service manual and find out how to check the alternator/generator rotor.  I have a 1979 Yamaha 650 and they are known for having alternator rotors that go bad.  You generally measure the resistance of two points on the rotor with a multimeter to test it.

A quick way to find out if you're charging is to connect a multimeter to the battery terminals with the engine running at idle.  Idle voltage should be around 13v and when you bring the RPM up a few thousand it should increase a few volts.  If it doesn't then it isn't charging.