Voltage fluctuates

[Sidecar Bob]

12.9v can't charge the battery properly. Current flows from higher voltage to lower voltage at a rate that depends on the difference between them (this s why the current decreases as the battery charges). You need at least 14v to make enough current flow into the battery to charge it.

As for soldering the wires, I hope you never have a year like I did in 2012 & 13. Between transmission problems and a few other issues I had the engine out of Eccles (CX6500E based winter machine) at least 5 times during that period. If I had soldered those wires they wouldn't have reached after that

[redglbx]

Bob’s guidance & help is what drove me to buy the new regulator/rectifier for my bike,, I really liked the ricks piece because it controlled the voltage so closely (13.1-13.2v initially) but then suddenly just dropped to only 12.8-12.9v,,, not enough ! So I bought the new Caltric piece… I hope it turns out to be a good piece ! It doesn’t control the voltage as tightly as the Rick’s piece did but it’s within a good range,, Being that I may never get to ride my bike again it’s good enough !

In a long ago job I had a battery rep I dealt with always said you need 2.2 volts per cell and with 6 cells in a normal 12v automotive type battery to be properly charged,, so 13.2v is the minimum target. Honda does spec up to around 15v but that I think is because their R/R setup isn’t so great as much as it is about proper battery charging.

In the early years of my 76 I seen it charge to 16-17volts at times and it was common to have to add water to my battery after a ride with a 1-2year battery life common. Now with everything better controlled with the Ricks R/R a 10-12yr old battery has been common. Much better !

[Don R]

I bought a SH775 Polaris/Indian replacement rec/reg for my Suzuki GS1100, I clicked on the wrong ebay ad and got a generic brand, I think it's the same as Caltric. At any rate it works awesome, I put a voltmeter on the handlebars that plugs into the battery charger plug. I can tell when it turns the alternator off, it drops from 14.0 to high 13's.
I've wondered if it would also work on the 78 GL1000 wing.

[redglbx]

Thanks Don ! Durability is the only concern I have for the cheaper reg/rec’s , the Caltric that I put in my 76 GL seems to work well but I do worry if it will last or leave me walking , the factory OE setup that was in my 77 cb750 left me walking 3 times before I replaced it with a modern setup, I added a handlebar mounted volt meter to several of my bikes because of it,,,,,, thank goodness for an understanding brother with a trailer!

By the way them Suzuki GS 1100’s are on my “want” list ,,,, they are pretty terrific bikes ! Enjoy

[Rednaxs60]

Just about any RR will work on a GW or other motorcycle as long as it is wired correctly and has the proper amp rating. The SH775 is a series RR and would be a good upgrade for the GW.

The picture attached illustrates the heat range between a shunt and series RR. The series RR operates cooler lower picture at 97 degrees C than a shunt RR upper picture at 114 degrees C:

Stator Heat Signatures.jpg

Notwithstanding the heat signature, the series RR is significantly more efficient than a shunt RR. Only issue might be space to install a series RR.

[pidjones]

A voltmeter might be your best bet to avoid being stranded. Ushally, the voltage tails off fairly slow - slow enough to go several miles, and you can see if you are drawing more than the alternator is producing. I have added one to most builds that I plan to keep.

[redglbx]

Very cool Ernest ! Interesting !!!

PID,,like you I have added small digital volt meters to most of my bikes after my 77 750 left me walking 3 times… the last time I had installed the voltmeter on it and like you said you could watch it slowly degrade.. I was at a bike night and heading for home , but unfortunately I didn’t make it as it was close to 50mi, (got about 1/2 way) but fortunately we weren’t to far from my brothers place so it was fairly easy for him to retrieve his trailer and take me home.. being at night there really wasn’t much I could do to conserve the battery but fortunately I had converted everything to LED’s except the headlight since resurrecting it so it gave me a little more.

I guess I’ve been fortunate in that it’s the only bike that ever really left me walking other than one time with my 76 where I’d just put a new “Craftsman” battery in it the day before and was at the Chiropractor to get my back adjusted and came out to find a completely dead battery.

Luckily my Mom & Dad only lived 2 blocks away so I just pushed the wing through the woods behind the Chiro’s office and then the 2 blocks to my Mom’s… Sears at that time said they’d had a batch that were just shorting out internally, just glad it didn’t catch fire and burn my bike up… so there is a bit of a bright spot….

But like you I find the value of a small digital voltmeter hard to beat !

[Sidecar Bob]

Re voltmeters: Don't make the mistake I did when I added a voltmeter to Eccles. It seemed logical to mount it in the fairing, where there is lots of real estate; In fact, there was even room to relocate it because the sun reflected on its face. It works but as I mentioned earlier there is a lot of wire with a lot of connections between it and the battery so it reads at least a volt lower than what I measure at the battery.

4 - fairing changes 2021.jpg

Mr.H doesn't have a fairing but when I changed to an electronic instrument panel that is much smaller than the original instruments there was room for a speaker & wiring box with the new instrument panel attached. I mounted a keyswitch in the end and a voltmeter between the speakers, connected directly to the black wire coming from the keyswitch and a green in the main harness so it reads close enough to the voltage at the battery as to make no difference.

Spkr+wiring box garnish 2.JPG

One of these days I'm going to move Eccles' voltmeter out of the fairing, perhaps into a little box next to its keyswitch so that it can be connected the same way.....

[Don R]

I put a voltmeter in my gl1000's windjammer, it reads low until it's been on the road for a while. My handlebar mount one plugs into the battery maintainer plug so it reads direct battery voltage, both also have a usb port that keeps my cell phone GPS charged.

[dartman1962]

]A beautiful day in Saskatoon -1C for work on the 75 GL.

I installed the new Rick’s MOSFET today. Removed the 3 male blade connectors from the Stator, added new wiring & soldered in all connections. On 2 of the wires running to the 8 pin plug, they just clip in as normal with new male ends. The one that runs to the main harness, is soldered as well so only one connector to un solder if I have to remove the engine.
Checked ohms on all wiring from stator .001 ohms perfect!
Idle voltage without electric fan 13.7volts
2-4000 rpm 13.7 to 13.9 volts
Idle, cooling fan running normal 12.5 - 12.6 volts normal.
Hopefully you can view the video & 4 pics.
Doesn't matter which way place them pics they're always the wrong way

Running like a GL should!

IMG_5973.mov

IMG_5974.jpeg

IMG_5975.jpeg

IMG_5976.jpeg

IMG_5977.jpeg

[Whiskerfish]

[redglbx]

Nice job Dartman !! Clean GL !