With a voltmeter, all you need to know is if there is more thsn around 12.2 volts, your battery is charging. More than 14.8 to 15, it is overcharging. That is very informative and it is what the charge warning leds do for you without an actual meter needed ...the led can go where the original assimilator warning light was in the headlight shell, so things remain stock in appearance.
Right, but it takes a while to realize your rotor stator took a shit because the voltage doesn't show direction of current. You look at the voltage a guess that your rotor stator is working.....
You sure you're on the right forum?
But an output failure from alt would give just battery voltage...ie just 12-12.5v at best. If lights on. That would be below 12. If you're above idle speeds the volts would be well over 12.5v...
. The past 24 hours have been crazy though.
Called Mark at BCS, mainly for moral support at that point, but he gave me a couple of very useful ideas. He suggested a cork to keep oil in until I could get a bolt, and he gave me the bolt specs. I made a quick trip to a gas station two kilometers away, in the dark with no lights on to keep from killing my battery before having to ride hundreds of miles the next day. Made it over, got oil, topped up the primary, and looked for a cork. Tried using a wad of paper towel and waterproof tape to keep the oil in which wasn’t effective but maybe better than nothing. When I left the gas station to go to the camp site I got pulled over by the police…All the embarrassing typos (ground becoming groin etc.) were a symptom of the intense stress. I am happy to report that I am currently on the ferry with a cold beer in my hand
In a nutshell, when you last heard from me it was an hour or so before dark and I was panic-packing the bike and hitting the road to try to get at least a few miles done before the actual ferry crossing day despite the intermittent charging situation. I rode until the sun was setting and made it to a campground just outside Halifax. I pulled in and spoke to the guy running the place (no vacancy but he let me put up my tent just outside the gate and use the facilities for the regular camp fee, which was awesome). When I returned to the bike a minute or so later I immediately noticed a much larger than normal oil stain underneath her. I rolled down to the camping spot and had a look and realized, to my horror, that the primary drain plug was missing…. Someone called it in this thread saying more speed less haste. I had put the bolt in but must not have torqued it down enough. Anyway, I had apparently not lost too much oil prior to getting to the campground based on the amount that came out there, and since it continued to flow until I put a rock under the side stand to level her up.
Better start another reply at this stage in case there is a character limit.
Presumably you meant the primary oil level plug, as there should not be a drain plug on a non mk3 bike. Thus you would have lost some by splash/waves out the level hole, and lost quite a lot when on kickstand leaned over.All the embarrassing typos (ground becoming groin etc.) were a symptom of the intense stress. I am happy to report that I am currently on the ferry with a cold beer in my hand
In a nutshell, when you last heard from me it was an hour or so before dark and I was panic-packing the bike and hitting the road to try to get at least a few miles done before the actual ferry crossing day despite the intermittent charging situation. I rode until the sun was setting and made it to a campground just outside Halifax. I pulled in and spoke to the guy running the place (no vacancy but he let me put up my tent just outside the gate and use the facilities for the regular camp fee, which was awesome). When I returned to the bike a minute or so later I immediately noticed a much larger than normal oil stain underneath her. I rolled down to the camping spot and had a look and realized, to my horror, that the primary drain plug was missing…. Someone called it in this thread saying more speed less haste. I had put the bolt in but must not have torqued it down enough. Anyway, I had apparently not lost too much oil prior to getting to the campground based on the amount that came out there, and since it continued to flow until I put a rock under the side stand to level her up.
Better start another reply at this stage in case there is a character limit.
When the officer came up he said ‘you have no lights’. I said ‘yes, that’s true’ and I explained to him what was going on. The guy then escorted me back to my camp site with his high beams on behind me, which was great. I could see everything.
Made use of the campground shower etc, made coffee with the Whisperlite, took the tent down etc, packed bike, topped up the primary after trying to ply the hole with non-sugar chewing gum and waterproof tape, turned the ignition on, prayed, and kicked her over. She started. Rode to Lower Sackville where they have a NAPA and asked for the bolt I needed and a spare battery. They had neither. I felt like crying. But the guy at the counter suggested I check AutoZone, which was the next building over.
The fellow helping me told me to bring the bike up to the front of the shop so him and another fellow could have a look to try to figure something out. Did that, and they went into the back and found a box of the correct diameter and thread bolts. They were too long but a couple of nuts took up the extra slack and they found me a bag of copper crush washers to complete the package. We put that in and she is holding oil better than she ever has. And because this bolt sticks out so far I am able to look down and and take comfort in the fact that it is still there as I ride along. The guys at AutoZone were amazing. They also gave me good directions to get from there to north Sydney. And so, from there I jumped on the highway and rode like a madman all day and made it to the ferry without a minute to spare. And the bike rode like a dream the whole way. I checked the battery onboard the vessel and it was at 11.99 volts. I guess I just made it on the old battery. I still have the full spare one in my bag if I need it on the other side.
Tornado??? Did he run all day and only used a tiny amount of voltage? or did his rotor/stator work intermittently?
11.99 volts after a ride without and lights one...just the low draw of the ignition (is this EI? those draw a few hundred milliamps)... could mean poor charging (which could be caused by a number of different things, included sulphated battery, bad alt output, poor connections, grounding wires etc). Not sure what you're getting all worked up. Of course there would be more details like what was the voltage WHILE RIDING....which would further tell you if the alt was ramping up output with rpm....if not then yes, suspect the alt. Both an ammeter and a voltmeter give you information that can inform of a problem. They give different info, but both can help.So 11.99 volts after riding all day,... Does that mean the rotor/stator is working or not??
There's no question if it's working or not with an ammeter.... You don't guess, you see current direction and strength of flow
Keep on, Keepin' on Supercat. Everyone's rooting for you to make it home from your odyssey!
