Does anyone have a reg/rec older type we could borrow to try and I'll of course paypal money for postage or pickup? I'm near Newbury.
Phil Set your multimeter to read AC volts in the appropriate range that will enable it to read the highest voltage that you should generate. for example: 0 to 250v if you could take a photo of your multimeter and post it up here I could advice you how to set it! Yes, across yellow and yellow.
Here is the multimeter, thanks for the guide, if u have ideas for setting up for AC measurement across the two yellow wires we will try it on Friday.
Phil Just turn the knob 2 clicks anti-clockwise, so that it's set to read from 0 to 200 volts. It's a Digital meter, so what you will inevitably see is a constant flurry of numbers as the meter try's to display something that is quickly changing. Not the best meter for this task, but it should suffice to give an indication that the voltage is increasing up to it's maximum level in a linear fashion. Best meter to use for this kind of task is non -digital meter,doesn't need to be an expensive on either, you can find one for less that a fiver that will be o.k .
Did you spot the deliberate error , Just to see how on the ball you were.:wink: Turn the knob 2 clicks clockwise, so as it's set to read ~ ac volts, the other direction ,2 clicks anti-clock wise would be to read dc volts.
Yep, I did wonder! Haha thanks for that, I thought it was there and we had it set there but were measuring from each yellow charging wire to the battery so not the correct task. We are going to try as u have mentioned on Friday with the alternator leads disconnected and see what output we get, if it's correct we will look at reg/rec. As bootsam suggested, we are thinking that if the output from the stator is low we will try and borrow the tool and take the stator out, then get it fully re-wired. Then look at the reg/reg and replacing with a MOSFET one as well documented, but we need to make sure we are getting good output from the stator first.
If I we're in your shoes I'd check the stator, if that's ok, leave it be. Move on to the reg/reg then replace/check wiring. Good luck...
So...... At idle we get around 17v AC out of the stator at 3000rpm we get 35v and at 6000rpm we get 64 volt, so all figures are roughly half what they should be. Chopped the wires back further to retest on shorter wire, but still the voltages measured EXACTLY the same, we never had drops in output, we just know that the overall output is approx half what it needs to be. We are thinking that West Country windings is the next port of call; however Bootsam can you give me a guide as to what it cost to get yours done? We didn't bother doing much with the reg rec simply because if we know the stator is bad we need that fixed first, the reg rec wasn't connected, this was purely testing static output on the stator.
To try and keep the thread useful; we have spoken to West Country Windings quite a bit (thanks Bootsam) and we are going to replace the Reg/Rec with an Electrex and also the Stator is being re-wound. Apparently it's not only common that the stator burns out due to damage to the connectors, or heat in the leads but also because the REG/REC fails and send the voltage back to the stator which burns it out. The thing we noticed is that our 13.9v at idle is dropping off when the bike is revved and when the alternator is outputting more volts (even though it's still half what it should be) the dropping off at the battery suggests that the Reg/Rec is not a healthy bunny! Will update you all in a few weeks when we get it sorted and back together.
Glad you restored the balance there Phil re: wiring/connectors - worse scenario is when people replace windings and Regulator with new but leave the (usually severely impaired) wiring and connector in place only for it to happen again within 6 months.
Good luck Phil and yes mine is an RR51, the 2wire RR from electrex. The other one the RR53 is fine too as you can just ignore one of the 3 yellows.
If you are buying a new reg/rec I would go for the Shindengen Mosfet unit, far superior to the Electrex one in many ways. Steve Ps and cheaper.
I've always understood that a rule of thumb for the alternator AC output was approx 15V AC / 1000 rpm. So 15v at 1,000 rpm, 30V at 2,000 rpm, 60V at 4,000 rpm, etc. So I don't think there is much wrong with your stator. You might like to read Shazaam's take on Ducati alternators pinched off another forum.
According to Haynes and some other sources; it needs to be 30v at idle; 70volt at 3000rpm and 140v at 6000rpm. That's what I've read and had confirmed by a few others ?
It might be useful to fit one of these while your at it. LED MOTORCYCLE / BIKE Battery level and Charge monitor | eBay This is mine fitted just to the right of the temp gauge. Steve
