Battery Issues

Frazier wrote:

The bad wire is almost certainly the problem. The three yellow wires can be in any order. (That is why they are ALL yellow!)

Ok, I feel a little better now. That was exactly what I was going to try first! Will be back with results tomorrow!

The wire to the battery on most older Kawasaki fours was a white with red stripe 12 gauge size.It might have several places where it provided power to the bikes systems.

I had a problem with the 3 yellow wires on my kz 400. They came out from the place and the chain rubbed right through the. The bike died and i had to push it home.......i wasnt happy to say the least.

Well, I'm definitely getting at least some charge from the stator and reg/rect, whereas I was not before replacing the parts. I did replace the severely worn wire, and started the bike earlier (with a low battery), but did not notice a huge bump in voltage with it running. Prior to replacing the stator and reg/rect, it was constant voltage at all rpms, but now I get a slight increase depending on rpm (up to around 12.8v-ish at 4000rpm).

I charged the battery while I was at work today and gt home pretty late, so I didn't want to annoy the neighbors by starting the bike and revving the engine. With the trickle charger on, voltage shows 13.8-ish, with it off I'm getting 13.23-ish. When I turn the key (lights on), the v drops to 12.06-ish. I'm really starting to think the dual headlight setup running two 55/60w bulbs might be the real issue. Tomorrow I will start her up and check v at 3000 and 4000 rpms. hopefully, I will notice a better v than prior to replacing the worn wire....otherwise I may need to go back to the single headlight or replace the 55/60 bulbs with lower wattage ones.

Thanks for all the input guys,

~Clutch

I am happy to announce that the charging system is working exactly as it should, and at the same time disappointed that the dual headlight setup is draining more power than it can handle. Does anyone know of a way to prevent the headlights from drawing so much power from the battery other than a switch cutting off one of the low beams while riding in the daytime (which is when I ride most)???

Thanks guys,

Clutch

Another way to get bright lighting would be to get a HID set up instead of what you've got now. I don't know how the reserve lighting system (if you have one) would work with a HID system.

The old electrical formula for figuring current draw is W/E or let's say 100 Watts divided by 12 volts equals 8.33333 or round it off to 9 AMPS. Most handle bar switches cannot handle this current so it's best handled by a relay to avoid crispy wiring or blown fuses.

There's a thread a month or so ago about someone installing HID in their bike.

I added in a switch for one of the headlights (for now) to turn it off. I forgot that running the dual lights off the same circuit drops the voltage for each light slightly, so the single light is a bit brighter when on by itself. The charging system appears to be keeping up with the single light just fine at idle, and if needed, I can switch the second light on at higher rpm if I need the extra light.

I do have a reserve lighting system, but don't deem it necessary. My understanding is that it switches between the high/low beams when an element (one or the other) is burned out. HID sounds nice, but the dual headlights I am running now are brand new. I would hate to switch to something else after just paying for these...but will take time to decide now that I have the electrical issues worked out. I don't do much driving on the bike at night, so I may stick with what I have. I will be taking a short trip back from a baseball game tonight on the bike to see how everything is working.

~Clutch