BSA issues today

Well first let me say I got 140 miles on my A10 now and it’s running well. Rings have bed in, smoking stopped and brakes reasonably good. I have been dealing with 2 problems.

1) The other day I hit a huge pot hole. It’s bent/ bowed the chain guard in a bit and chain was rubbing. That never fitted very well and I have another chain guard on the way. Anyway I removed it for now. No rubbing. I must have damaged the main chain link as the chain came off miles from home, while out riding today. Easy fix. Called the mrs. And she bought me a new link to the middle of nowhere, rode home.

2) I have an Alton 12v generator and a yuasa 12v battery. The battery keeps going flat. Today I removed the battery and connect my meter to wires from rectifier. When revving I only get 8 VDC. So obviously something is wrong, I got a support email into Alton.

I can’t wait to sort out the issues above, it really is a pleasure to ride. Gearing is a bit long in the tooth, though,

Jerry

I'm glad that the rings bedded in. That's always a worry when a new engine smokes at the start. Most times they bed in, but not alyways.

What size sprockets are you running Jerry?

worntorn said:

I'm glad that the rings bedded in. That's always a worry when a new engine smokes at the start. Most times they bed in, but not alyways.

What size sprockets are you running Jerry?

Click to expand...

Hi Glen,

That’s a good question. I think I wrote it down somewhere, never to be seen again. It’s hard to pull away, but nice when riding, I expect I will change gearing later.

Mine is geared up with a 23 tooth engine sprocket. 21 is standard. It still pulls away easily though. It pulled better thru the gears with the 21 tooth in place but the buzz kill came in at around 55. Now it comes in just over 60.

Perhaps you have a gearbox with a high first. My gearbox is stamped " STD. B"
The RRT2 ( Goldstar and Rocket Goldstar) has a very high first.

worntorn said:

Mine is geared up with a 23 tooth engine sprocket. 21 is standard. It still pulls away easily though. It pulled better thru the gears with the 21 tooth in place but the buzz kill came in at around 55. Now it comes in just over 60.

Perhaps you have a gearbox with a high first. My gearbox is stamped " STD. B"
The RRT2 ( Goldstar and Rocket Goldstar) has a very high first.

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I'm running a 24 front sprocket on mine
I was thinking it'd really over gear it but it hasn't,it's just made it more pleasant

Hi Glen,

I am running a 21 tooth front sprocket, but not sure what I got going on in primary, so need to check that later.

But it depends where you ride, no? Im fine on the levels but it really needs one less tooth
out in the hillies down here.

Jerry Doe said:

I removed the battery and connect my meter to wires from rectifier. When revving I only get 8 VDC.

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It’s worth testing the AC output from the alternator too.

Triton Thrasher said:

It’s worth testing the AC output from the alternator too.

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Yeah, I was going to do that next.
Having a rest from the BSA now for a while (did another 40 miles today), because it’s Norton time.

I checked out the BSA Alton generator charging today.
AC generator wires while revving I see about 19 VAC, measured at rectifier input. I had to cut wires to get direct reading.

DC output from rectifier ( battery disconnected), while revving I only see 7 VDC.

Sounds like it might be a sketchy rectifier to me, any thoughts?

Jerry

Sounds very close to normal for the Alton AC output.

Here is the testing procedure from Alton


QUOTE::This is our testing procedure:

Two static tests (engine off):

[1-1]test continuity between the 2 wires from AC generator. There should be CONTINUITY between those wires.

[1-2]test continuity between one (or the other) wire from the AC generator and the Alton body. There should be NO continuity.

Two dynamic tests (engine running):

[2-1]disconnect the AC generator from regulator. Start engine. Check AC voltage between the 2 wires of AC generator. This voltage should reach 20-22 volts AC as soon as you rev up engine (let's say at a high idling rpm).

[2-2]connect the regulator to the AC generator and anything as it should be. Start engine. Check DC voltage between the 2 terminals of battery. This voltage should reach 13 volts DC as soon as you rev up engine (let's say at a high idling rpm).

The first Alton I had came with a reg/rec box made by Boyer, which pretty soon failed in service.

I now use a cheapo Chinese Ebay reg/rec which is specified for a Honda CBR600.

This sort of thing:

Thank Glen, that might be a better option for me too. Yes I did those tests. I am going to see if they send me a new one or not, hope so. The boyers I have on my other bikes are fine, this one never worked.

Triton Thrasher said:

The first Alton I had came with a reg/rec box made by Boyer, which pretty soon failed in service.

I now use a cheapo Chinese Ebay reg/rec which is specified for a Honda CBR600.

This sort of thing:

Regulator/Rectifier For Honda CBR 600 F(3)-W 1998 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Regulator/Rectifier For Honda CBR 600 F(3)-W 1998 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

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I have been going round and round with Paul at Alton about these charging issues. He has not offered to send me a new rectifier as he does not think that's the issue. I think it is.

First in summary:

VAC from generator: 22VAC when revving, checked at wires when disconnected.
VDC from podtronics rectifier: 8 VDC when revving, wires disconnected from battery.

Paul has told me that the test for DC needs to be done with the battery connected and not at wires disconnected. I suppose it makes sense, but I did not do that. I just assumed the rectifier was bad. I cant really be bothered now as just want to fix it. Over the tests.

Paul has also told me the battery I have is too small and it won't work. I purchased a new Yuasa YTZ7S as that was mentioned on the BSA forum would work. It charges by battery charger ok and is new. The podtronics will not charge it.

I cant be bothered with any more emails with Alton about this as its not getting anywhere. I have a couple of questions:

- What kind of battery would you recommend for my bike? the reason I bought that Yuasa is because it fits in one of those traditional looking rubber battery enclosures and was recommended on the BSA forum. I am not sold on this, so long as its got a black case, I am ok with any battery.

- Would you even bother with a new battery or just get another rectifier to see if it then charges (my one never worked). I think I should probably get the one you did Glen.
Paul said that one of the podtronics battery less rectifiers might be better.

Cheers for now, Jerry

Yes, I would try another regulator/rectifier box.

I’m using a Motobatt MB5U, 9 amp hour.

It’s a good fit in the holder on my Triton.

I have had conversations with those Alton people too, with no better luck than you.

Jerry, connect the battery, measure DCV. Then, you know the tested values. Don't let feelings cloud facts.


JMWO

I just ordered a rectifier like Glen has. Will try that next and if it doesn’t work will get a battery with more amp hours

I often use a battery that is smaller than recommended and it's never been a problem on any kickstart bike. The battery box on the Vincent will only hold a ytz 7 and that has worked fine with that Alton for eons and many thousands of miles.
My guess is same as yours, it sounds like the rectifier is at fault.

Do you happen to have a drawdown tester to check the battery? It's unlikely that a new Yuasa would have a problem, but the drawdown check would rule that out.

Glen

worntorn said:

I often use a battery that is smaller than recommended and it's never been a problem on any kickstart bike. The battery box on the Vincent will only hold a ytz 7 and that has worked fine with that Alton for eons and many thousands of miles.
My guess is same as yours, it sounds like the rectifier is at fault.

Do you happen to have a drawdown tester to check the battery? It's unlikely that a new Yuasa would have a problem, but the drawdown check would rule that out.

Glen

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I don’t have a load tester. Will try the new rectifier when it gets here

Just had a peek at ebay and see you can get a cheapo load tester for about 20-25 quid. Seems like a
worthwhile bit. How often do we find bike batteries going off after only a season? Too often it seems.