Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Dead battery part 4 (now I'm p***ed)

Ok my original battery died after about a year and a half.I got a new battery at a local parts store,no big deal didn't want a warrenty hassle.About 3 months later battery dies again.Took to dealer and was told no condition was found.1 month after that died again.This time I checked the charging system my self & the dealer and I came up with the same result that the regulator/rectifier was bad.Dealer replaced under warrenty (took 2 weeks for part to come in).Well last week died again.Dealer check it out and said the battery was bad under load test,could not cover batery under warrenty as it was not a orig battery.Killer is battery was $109.00 + 1.5 hrs @ $78.00 per hr to diag & load test battery,do the math I'm not real happy.If it dies again may go off the deep end

If it dies again you either still have a charging problem, or you are buying some really crappy batteries. It is not impossible for a battery maker to put out a run of defective batteries. Try a different brand if you must.

1st dead battery factory,2nd from Advanced Auto parts this one original equipment type.Time will tell I guess.

I had the same problem. Took a while to realize the rectifier was the culprit. I replaced with a battery from Napa. Which went belly up as did it's replacement.
I now have a maintenance free from Batteries Plus. 9 moths, so far so good.
Oh and of course the rectifier was replaced.
Mike

David, did you have anymore issues with charging problems?

I just went thru the same scenario. Replaced regulator and all, still no charge. Then ran heavier (12 guage) wire directly from regulator back to battery, instant joy. One from black w/red tracer to batt pos, one from black w/ white tracer to batt negative. Somehow the wires in the harness are marginal, even tho everything tests ok. I cant really explain it, but it worked for me and is definitely worth a try.
G

You just piggy-backed the 12 gauge wire onto of the factory wires mentioned below? I read about this a few months ago when I needed a new battery. At idle, with the new battery, my horn is still pretty weak. Rev's up, it sounds normal. That would appear that my bike isn't charging properly.

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I just went thru the same scenario. Replaced regulator and all, still no charge. Then ran heavier (12 guage) wire directly from regulator back to battery, instant joy. One from black w/red tracer to batt pos, one from black w/ white tracer to batt negative. Somehow the wires in the harness are marginal, even tho everything tests ok. I cant really explain it, but it worked for me and is definitely worth a try.
G

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I removed the connectors from the plug and ran my wires directly from the terminals, thereby completely by-passing the wires in the harness. I left the 3 wires that go to the alternator in the plug, and they seem fine.
G

Gotcha. I'll take a crack at this.

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I removed the connectors from the plug and ran my wires directly from the terminals, thereby completely by-passing the wires in the harness. I left the 3 wires that go to the alternator in the plug, and they seem fine.
G

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And , run an in-line 30 amp fuse in the positive wire, too, as you have now by-passed the fuse box with this mod.
Even tho you get a "waterproof" fuse holder, I still like to put it under the seat or somewhere relatively dry anyhow.
G

When I did the charging system mod a while back, I didn't eliminate the regulator to plug (black/red wire). As was suggested here, simply skinned about an inch of the insulation, made a buttonhole by parting the wire, divided the new 12 gauge wire into two strands and wrapped them both individually and the together through and around the buttonhole. Then I applied a healthy dose of solder, wrapped with rubber tape, then plastic electrical tape and ran the whole deal inside convoluted tubing for added protection. The new wire was an inline fuse (30 amp) holder that I added a piece of wire to the battery. I don't think it's a good idea to eliminate the regulator to plug wire. I'd need to look at the wiring diagram, but I think you would be getting the current for all of the bikes needs from the starter connections. The charging wire mod was only to increase the wire size from the reg to the battery and to shorten (thus reducing voltage loss) it's path to the battery. The mod I used didn't change any of the factory wiring, just added a heavier and shorter path from the regulator to the battery. After some more soul searching and investigation, I may do the same thing to the ground wire from the regulator.

it seemed easier to me to just use the connector. I dont think it affected anything else, and if it were to, the fuse box is still there to do its job. I think we merely took different paths to the same place.
G