Hey y’all. I’m honestly lost and feel super down.
- Facts: CBF1000 sc58
- Last thing I did was get my alternator and regulator repaired/changed. My alternator was burnt out. The mechanic said that it’s am usual problem with this model and the regulator is the problem.
- I had to learn to take it out and rebuild it myself. About a month ago, I finally put the alternator back in and my bike actually started! I was overjoyed.
- Since a week now I’m trying to actually ride it again and it won’t start. I recharged the battery (Li-ion). When I tried starting it, the battery kinda drained immediately. It just didn’t start. Luckily, I have a second (gel) battery that was full. I put that in and my bike didn’t even light up. The fuses all look fine to me. The cables should be correct (there aren’t that many options).
I just don’t even know where to start. Thanks for reading
Well. Something is definitely wrong. I think the Li-ion battery is fried, it’s losing charge immediately after unplugged from the charger. It powers the bike enough to try to start it, but then falls off to under 10V. The gel battery doesn’t even get there, it’s losing charge apparently immediately when I press the starter.
There’s no leakage, as far as I can measure. About the grounds, I still don’t know. But it seems like that could be the issue. I don’t know if I can do that whole measuring on my own though. Maybe I need a mechanic to pick up my bike and pay for that. I just don’t have the equipment or space to take my bike apart, check the spark plugs or anything. Do you maybe have a good tutorial for dummies like me on how to check the grounds?
Easy check is disconnect negative from battery, set the DVM to continuity (the beepy mode), check that the DVM works first (make a beep), then test the connection between batt negative, and:
That’s the critical stuff.
Thank you. I needed that explanation.
Glad to help, try to keep us posted whether you succeed or encounter difficulties.
Well it always takes me forever until I get the time to work on it. I think I just measured all of the things you mentioned. Nothing beeped. Again, the battery is draining by the minute. Again I checked the main fuse and it’s fine. I’m measuring all kinds of things and don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with it. I measured the beeps with the battery connected and it beeped with basically every metal part. I measured resistance with the battery connected and got about 7 ohm between the battery and the metal parts. The DVM manual says it should be between 0-1 ohm. I don’t know anymore. I think I will message the mechanic who repairs the alternator. But it’s been really long now
Something should’ve beeped, that indicates a disconnected ground connection…
Oh? I thought it would be the other way around. So I just need to check the regulator connectors?
You’ll have to use your intuition as we can’t see what’s happening there as you can, but the electrons need a way into the system as well as out.
Verify the connections are all truly seated, maybe even disconnect and look at them individually to see any evidence of arcing (black sooty appearance) or malformation (bent/twisted/what have you). Reconnect and verify everything is tightly snapped together, tug on it just to be sure, your engine vibration certainly will do the same.
E: to be clear, the meter will beep when there’s a direct connection from a to b. I was trying to get your verification that the negative terminal of the battery was indeed connected to the regulator, to the frame etc. if it does not beep, that means the electrons trying to flow around are stuck at a broken connection, so cannot possibly get to your battery. Logically if the bike starts and runs, even momentarily, the connection from battery to engine spark system is ok. The dropping battery while running must mean that either the coil inside the engine is burned out, or the regulator itself isnt working, either because of being disconnected by a broken wire/connector or something inside the regulator itself has been zapped and killed.