G1 Battery Issues

[ky_mike]

Any help would be appreciated.

Ever since I rebuilt this G1 I have had problems with the battery running VERY dead after 10-15 minutes of riding. I am on my second battery because it ruined the first one. I have double checked all of the wiring and everything appears to be where it should be.

I shot this video wth my voltmeter hooked up to the battery. The beginning of the video shows it not running...then running for a bit and then stopping. Does anyone see any apparent problem with the voltage?

YouTube - ‪G1 Battery‬‏

YouTube - ‪G1 Battery‬‏

[Marathon Man]

Looks like its charging to me it hit 14 volts when the throttle was goosed for a second I know some times they don't like to charge at lower rpms

[ky_mike]

Could it possibly be overcharging the batt therefore ruining it? Or does the voltage look like it's supposed to?
I was at a campground this weekend and the speed limit was 5mph which may have caused my battery to fry if I wasn't driving fast enough to charge the battery correctly.
I'm at a loss and batteries are getting expensive :-)

[smallblock450sl]

When "reving" the engine you should have 14.5 to 15.5 volts. Your voltage regulator is adjustable, so take the 2 screws off the cap, loosen the small jam nut and turn in the adjustment screw till you get the correct charging voltage you need. Be aware, the reading will change when you screw the cap back on, why it happens? I have no clue Are you useing a "deep cycle battery?

[ky_mike]

Originally Posted by smallblock450sl

When "reving" the engine you should have 14.5 to 15.5 volts. Your voltage regulator is adjustable, so take the 2 screws off the cap, loosen the small jam nut and turn in the adjustment screw till you get the correct charging voltage you need. Be aware, the reading will change when you screw the cap back on, why it happens? I have no clue Are you useing a "deep cycle battery?

I took the cover off the voltage regulator, but I didn't know which screw to turn but I'll check it out again.

The battery in it right now is deep cycle, but I had a regular car battery in it prior to frying my battery this weekend. In the video the voltmeter gets up to 14 volts one time briefly so you may be right in it needing adjusted.

I'll give it a whirl and thanks again

[caddylac camper]

Here are my thoughts on your voltage reading. Starts at 12.4 indicating battery is undercharged, rises to 14 briefly but mostly 13 indicating generator is producing electricity, ends at 12.2 lower that the start indicating battery undercharged. What is the voltage with the key in the off position? The starting relays will draw the voltage down somewhat but your generator is producing enough voltage to over come that as indicated by the 13 volt readings when the engine is running. Are your lights on all the time? How much amperage do the lights draw when on? My guess is the two lights probably draw about 12 amps. The battery- I would not use deep cycle battery for starting an engine, they do not like the heavy currant draw, causes the plates inside the battery to warp. They also require a higher voltage to fully charge them, up to 16 volts near fully charged. I do not know how many amps the generator can produce at full throttle but i would want to check that out to make sure it is ok. Perhaps someone who has a service manual can get you the specs on that. Basically you want the generator to keep the battery voltage above 14 volts even with the lights on. Just make sure the generator is capable of this and not overloaded by the lights or some other fault. (i put led headlights on my G1 to keep the electrical requirements low)

[ky_mike]

The headlights are not wired up yet. They are just sitting there. I'm going to get a new battery today and try to adjust the screw in the voltage regulator.

[ky_mike]

So far so good. It seems to be staying charged.

[caddylac camper]

Good to hear that Mike, what was the final voltage adjustment on your regulator?

[ky_mike]

Originally Posted by caddylac camper

Good to hear that Mike, what was the final voltage adjustment on your regulator?

The voltmeter jumps all over the place but pretty much stays in the 14-15 range.......at least it did until I burnt the voltmeter wire on the muffler

My starting voltage on the new battery was about 12.7v. I drove around the neighborhood for about 20 minutes and let it sit for about 10 more minutes and the voltage read 12.8v.