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Voltage variation
- SmokyOwl
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Would replacing my stator resolve this issue? Or could it just need battery replacement?
1982 Kawasaki KZ1100 A2, Shaft
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- martin_csr
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Have you done any voltage checks? After charging, it should be 12.6 VDC, but a good battery will be higher.
Poor connections or improperly sized headlight or bulbs are other things to check.
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- Nessism
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- Tyrell Corp
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Assuming your battery is even half decent then probably cleaning up all your electrical connections / battery clamps / frame earths would almost eliminate this. Your lights will be noticeably brighter too. Any 30 year old bike always benefits from this.
1980 Gpz550 D1, 1981 GPz550 D1. 1982 GPz750R1. 1983 z1000R R2. all four aces
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- 650ed
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1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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- SmokyOwl
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1982 Kawasaki KZ1100 A2, Shaft
Never trade the thrill of living for the safety of existance.
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- bountyhunter
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That's normal. The system voltage drops to 12V at lower RPM and runs up to about 1`4V above 2k RPM.SmokyOwl wrote: I've noticed that my headlight (and all other lights) tends to dim at idle, and noticeably brightens when throttling at any higher rpm. To be clear, the brightness stays constant whether at 2,000 rpm or 7,000 rpms, but when it's at idle (about 1,000 rpm) it is noticeably dimmer.
Would replacing my stator resolve this issue? Or could it just need battery replacement?
1979 KZ-750 Twin
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- Barry2
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1976 KZ900
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- TexasKZ
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Barry2 wrote: It also is a good idea to check the electrolyte level in the battery once in a while. If low be sure to use distilled water.
Or get an AGM battery and forget the water.
1982 KZ1000 LTD parts donor
1981 KZ1000 LTD awaiting resurrection
2000 ZRX1100 not ridden enough
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- SmokyOwl
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I know the old-school distilled water chambers are tried-and-true for these old bikes, but I really can't find any discernable difference between any brands. Any brands to look at or stay clear of would be helpful. Does it really matter? Prices are eyebrow-raising low sometimes and makes me question quality of the batteries. A lot of odd brand names I've never heard of are everywhere.
Now I'm going to check out agm batteries, thanks TexasKZ.
.....and just to be certain....lithium batteries should not be installed in these old bikes right?
1982 Kawasaki KZ1100 A2, Shaft
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- TexasKZ
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I think you are also right about the lithium batteries, unless you have upgraded to a more sophisticated regulator.
1982 KZ1000 LTD parts donor
1981 KZ1000 LTD awaiting resurrection
2000 ZRX1100 not ridden enough
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- martin_csr
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I got a scorpion agm from batterystuff.com & it has proven to be an excellent battery so far. I also have a Ctek US 0.8 smart charger & VC97 digital multimeter.
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