DC amp reading

Looking for information regarding DC amps on the charging wire between the battery and regulator on a KZ 1000 with points ignition with the motor turning 4,000 rpm.

Thanks

That will depend on the condition of the battery. If the battery is low, there will be more amps to it. If it is fully charged, the current will be lower.

At 4000 RPM, you just need to make sure the current is going TO the battery rather than coming FROM the battery, and it should probably be at least .5amp, but most likely much higher if everything is working.

Not sure if this helps, but:
On a 900, if you put the meter in series with the rectifier and the battery (so that battery charging current can be measured):
9.5 amps at 4000 rpm is normal.
That's from the shop manual, so assume points ignition. I don't think it would matter it you had an electronic ignition.
Edit:
I think the 9.5 amps is with the battery disconnected from the charging system. Says to unplug the green plug under the R/H side panel.

Post edited by: ltdrider, at: 2006/08/24 17:21

9.5 amps, wow that's a lot to pump into a battery. That can't be right. I just ran a couple tests on a fully charged, new, car battery. When the applied charging voltage is 14 volts, the battery is getting about .08 amps. When the applied charging voltage is 15 volts, the battery is getting about .3 amps. And this is a car battery. A motorcycle battery takes less current. On the KZ, the applied charging voltage to the battery is usually 14.5v or less.

Now if the battery is discharged, I'm sure the current will be higher, but I don't think it will be 9.5 amps. That reading is probably the current coming out of the rectifier only. Remember, that branches to the battery AND the ignition switch to power the whole bike.

RonKZ650 did some really good research on the current useage of the bikes and, if I recall, that 9.5 amp figure falls in the range that would account for the entire useage on the bike. That is the current coming out of the rectifier, not just the current going to the battery.

I see your edit, LTD. I think you're right, that reading is for the bike, not what is only going to the battery. By the way, I don't recommend running the KZ without a battery unless you have a "battery eliminator" device on the KZ.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/08/24 17:49

I'm just looking to see what the DC amperage is that flows between through the charge wire (red with a yellow or white tracer), with the battery hooked up and fully charged, and the rpm's at 4,000.:dry:

Maybe I should provide a little back ground as to what is behind the request for information. I have a 1978 KZ1000 LTD with charging issues. The ignition was modified by PO to a Dyna system. I know what the bike is currently doing with regards to the DC amps across the charging wire and would like to have data to compare with a stock ignition set up.

Thanks

TRKZ78 wrote:

Maybe I should provide a little back ground as to what is behind the request for information. I have a 1978 KZ1000 LTD with charging issues. The ignition was modified by PO to a Dyna system. I know what the bike is currently doing with regards to the DC amps across the charging wire and would like to have data to compare with a stock ignition set up.

Thanks

If you are checking the wire right at the rectifier/regulator, then you are checking the rectifier's total output, and not the amperage to the battery alone. In that case 10 amps or so sounds about right.