Just bought a Kat 750, needhelp figuring out if the battery is being charged.

[BitKill3r]

I don't know much about mechanics, but I do have a thing for it, and I also pick on things pretty fast, so please bare with me.

I bought a 01 Kat 750 yesterday, rode it home last night, today I tried to start it, and the battery seemed dead, so I took the battery to get checked, and it turned out that it was really bad and that I needed a replacement. So i did get a replacement battery. My only concern now is that something else is wrong and that the battery is not getting charged

I did read that the stator and Im not sure about this one but the regenerator???

I also read that I could use a DC meter to test whether it's charging the battery or not... But I really have no clue... can you guys guide me in theright direction?


thanks in advance!
Happy riding!

[shpielers]

If the bike sat around without getting ridden much before you bought it, the batteries on them tend to die - they just don't hold up as well as car batteries do. I'd just replace the battery and not really worry about it.

So i did get a replacement battery. My only concern now is that something else is wrong and that the battery is not getting charged

I just realized I might have read this wrong - were you trying to say 1) you did get a replacement battery, and now that new battery isn't charging? Or 2) that you're worried about the new one maybe not charging and haven't installed and tested it out yet and want a heads up on other possibilities just in case?

[xredjokerx]

If it dies and doesnt charge then it could point to a faulty alternator. But like shpielers said, get a new battery and don't worry much about it. If more things go wrong, feel free to post! Welcome to KR by the way

[BitKill3r]

I bought a replacement, replaced it. I just want to make sure that it is actually charging the new one, and that there's nothing else wrong with the stator, etc.

If it dies and doesnt charge then it could point to a faulty alternator. But like shpielers said, get a new battery and don't worry much about it. If more things go wrong, feel free to post! Welcome to KR by the way

Thanks bud!

[edromero]

chances are, it was just the battery. but stay near your house for the first few rides with the new battery just in case. if there is some other problem with the stator, you'll find out soon enough

[92Katana914]

While the bike is running you can take a DMM and measure the battery and you should get something like 13.8 volts or something.. I dont remember exactly im sure someone can help more

[Kreylyn]

Okay, here is the basic low down for your bike...

Tools you need to have:

Volt meter (walmart carries digital ones for $10-$15)
Contact Cleaner
Dielectric grease

Use the volt meter to test voltage output.

Check your battery with key off. (should read over 12v.)
Check your battery with the bike running, around idle (should show higher over 13v)
Check your battery again with the bike running and at around 4k rpms.

If you get readings when the bike is running that are higher than 14.6v, or lower than the battery test when the key was off (under 12) you have issues.

If it's higher than 14.6v when the engine is at high rpms... then you need to check your alternator return voltage lead.

To do that, pull off the left side fairing. You will see an orange wire that plugs into the alternator. You want to do the running test again keeping that wire plugged in, but testing the voltage at that plug to see what it is reading. If it is more than 0.1v difference than the testing at the battery you probably need to do some connector cleaning. If the running higher rpms at that lead exceeds 14.6v, then your probably looking at an issue with the voltage regulator that is inside the alternator. If you see the voltage is alot lower than the running test you did earlier and it does not exceed 14.6v... then you have a voltage drop in your wiring harness that is causing the alternator to push out more power than is needed, and overcharging the battery. Overcharging batteries will toast them. As mentioned... cleaning connectors and using the grease on the connections can help resolve that issue.

[BitKill3r]

Okay, here is the basic low down for your bike...

Tools you need to have:

Volt meter (walmart carries digital ones for $10-$15)
Contact Cleaner
Dielectric grease

Use the volt meter to test voltage output.

Check your battery with key off. (should read over 12v.)
Check your battery with the bike running, around idle (should show higher over 13v)
Check your battery again with the bike running and at around 4k rpms.

If you get readings when the bike is running that are higher than 14.6v, or lower than the battery test when the key was off (under 12) you have issues.

If it's higher than 14.6v when the engine is at high rpms... then you need to check your alternator return voltage lead.

To do that, pull off the left side fairing. You will see an orange wire that plugs into the alternator. You want to do the running test again keeping that wire plugged in, but testing the voltage at that plug to see what it is reading. If it is more than 0.1v difference than the testing at the battery you probably need to do some connector cleaning. If the running higher rpms at that lead exceeds 14.6v, then your probably looking at an issue with the voltage regulator that is inside the alternator. If you see the voltage is alot lower than the running test you did earlier and it does not exceed 14.6v... then you have a voltage drop in your wiring harness that is causing the alternator to push out more power than is needed, and overcharging the battery. Overcharging batteries will toast them. As mentioned... cleaning connectors and using the grease on the connections can help resolve that issue.

Thank You!!! This was exactly what I was looking for.

I'll give it a try tomorrow.

[BitKill3r]

Okay, here is the basic low down for your bike...

Tools you need to have:

Volt meter (walmart carries digital ones for $10-$15)
Contact Cleaner
Dielectric grease

Use the volt meter to test voltage output.

Check your battery with key off. (should read over 12v.)
Check your battery with the bike running, around idle (should show higher over 13v)
Check your battery again with the bike running and at around 4k rpms.

If you get readings when the bike is running that are higher than 14.6v, or lower than the battery test when the key was off (under 12) you have issues.

If it's higher than 14.6v when the engine is at high rpms... then you need to check your alternator return voltage lead.

To do that, pull off the left side fairing. You will see an orange wire that plugs into the alternator. You want to do the running test again keeping that wire plugged in, but testing the voltage at that plug to see what it is reading. If it is more than 0.1v difference than the testing at the battery you probably need to do some connector cleaning. If the running higher rpms at that lead exceeds 14.6v, then your probably looking at an issue with the voltage regulator that is inside the alternator. If you see the voltage is alot lower than the running test you did earlier and it does not exceed 14.6v... then you have a voltage drop in your wiring harness that is causing the alternator to push out more power than is needed, and overcharging the battery. Overcharging batteries will toast them. As mentioned... cleaning connectors and using the grease on the connections can help resolve that issue.

Hey Kreylyn,
So I used a volt meter like you suggested, these were the results;

Bike off: 12.94v
Iddle: ~14.4v
4K: 14.6v

This seems good then, right?

[Kreylyn]

Hey Kreylyn,
So I used a volt meter like you suggested, these were the results;

Bike off: 12.94v
Iddle: ~14.4v
4K: 14.6v

This seems good then, right?

Yep... just one last suggestion.

Go for a nice long ride... then test at 4k again.

Krey

[Frozt]

My $.02, get the service manual. It has all the tests laid out in a good format that most understand(even has pictures to boot). I've run most of the tests in there to ensure my parts were working correctly after I bought the bike.

Sent from my phone