MasonHart Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 my xs500 wont charge the battery. The PO checked the stator and regulator/rectifier before he sold it and they checked out fine. So he said it was something in the wires. I have checked the wires and everything is connected and where it should be except on solid yellow wire going from the front of the bike and ends just before the starter solenoid. It doesnt reach the solenoid though, its a few inches too short. the only wire i found that had the insulation kind of torn was the rear left turn signals. Those are now fixed and no more wire is showing. could it be that those where hitting the fender or something and shorting making the battery drain? I dont have a volt meter yet to check and the negative post on the battery to see what it reads. (zero is what it should be and anything else means a short, correct?) Any help appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsnownw Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 my xs500 wont charge the battery. The PO checked the stator and regulator/rectifier before he sold it and they checked out fine. So he said it was something in the wires. I have checked the wires and everything is connected and where it should be except on solid yellow wire going from the front of the bike and ends just before the starter solenoid. It doesnt reach the solenoid though, its a few inches too short. the only wire i found that had the insulation kind of torn was the rear left turn signals. Those are now fixed and no more wire is showing. could it be that those where hitting the fender or something and shorting making the battery drain? I dont have a volt meter yet to check and the negative post on the battery to see what it reads. (zero is what it should be and anything else means a short, correct?) Any help appreciated Is your battery new? I had an issue similar to this and it ended up being a bad battery. Also, you probably need to check the hardware yourself, unless you have absolute faith that the person you purchased it from did the checks properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoughMade Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Pardon me for asking what may a dumb question, but how do you know it's not charging? As mentioned above, if the battery is bad, the bike could be doing its part, but the battery just will not hold a charge. Does the bike die? Does is start correctly? How many volts does it put out at idle and higher rpm? Is the headlight the stock wattage or a newer, higher watt replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHart Posted July 21, 2010 Author Share Posted July 21, 2010 You guys are right it may be charging just the battery is holding. I charged it two nights ago and started it a few times yesterday with the electric start then started it today with the electric start and all the nights are as bright as the were when i took it off the charger and it doesnt seem to have de charged yet. I just picked up a volt meter today. how would i check it at idle? Well where would i check. Where would the neg and positive leads from the volt meter go. The regulator/rectifier is new. PO replaced it a few weeks ago. I'm not sure about the stator though. He said he checked it and it checked out just fine. I determined it isnt a short. There was some insulation that was rubbed off on a blinker and that is fixed now. I checked with the volt meter and there is no short. I wasnt able to check it before I repaired the wires though as i didnt have the multi meter. What is the stock wattage of a headlight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsnownw Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 You guys are right it may be charging just the battery is holding. I charged it two nights ago and started it a few times yesterday with the electric start then started it today with the electric start and all the nights are as bright as the were when i took it off the charger and it doesnt seem to have de charged yet. I just picked up a volt meter today. how would i check it at idle? Well where would i check. Where would the neg and positive leads from the volt meter go. The regulator/rectifier is new. PO replaced it a few weeks ago. I'm not sure about the stator though. He said he checked it and it checked out just fine. I determined it isnt a short. There was some insulation that was rubbed off on a blinker and that is fixed now. I checked with the volt meter and there is no short. I wasnt able to check it before I repaired the wires though as i didnt have the multi meter. What is the stock wattage of a headlight? If you want to check whether or not your bikes charging system works, you need to attach the red lead to the positive terminal on the battery, and the black lead to the negative terminal on the battery. Then rev the engine up to 3-4000 rpm, the multimeter should shoot up into the 14 volt range. If it doesn't, then something in your charging system is defective. Not sure stock wattage on the headlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted July 21, 2010 Moderator Share Posted July 21, 2010 i assume this bike has points ignition 1 have you checked the length of the brushes 2 have you checked the connections to the brushes are correct, if it like the RD,s the connectors need to be isolated from the body of the alternator, 3 you will have 3 wires exiting the alternator all white i reckon, check them for any breaks /shorts etc Merv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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