2000 Katana wont charge?

[frobotz]

I am a pretty good mecahinc. but a terribel electrician. I dont have the manual . How and where do I check for power to tell where the chargin system has went south?

[OldandReallySlow]

First thing is to get the schematic. Lots of people on here have one in pdf format. I'll see if I cant extract one from my softcopy of the manual.

[scottynoface]

Have you checked the battery to make sure that it will actually accept a charge? That might be the problem if not...

[frobotz]

I get the bike home tomorrow. Havent had a chance to check anything yet. Just looking for idea. I have a battery tester so i will be charging it then chaecking it, Will clean and inspect the copnnections, What I was wondering, Is if there is a check i can do to see voltage when it running. i will obviously run a Volt meter on the battery while the bike is running, If its not charginsm, Then what next?

[md86]

Well , then you can (like you already plan) charge/check battery , clean wiring , test alternator , and after THAT ...... . I never had to go "after that" .

[squiggy]

What I was wondering, Is if there is a check i can do to see voltage when it running. i will obviously run a Volt meter on the battery while the bike is running

Did you just answer your own question?

Well , then you can (like you already plan) charge/check battery , clean wiring , test alternator , and after THAT ...... . I never had to go "after that" .

A mechanic is "after that" eh?

[frobotz]

No I didnt answer my question. There are several checks like checking continuity of the wiring, Checking the altenator or the voltage regulator (Speaking about cars here) that you can do on motorcycles, Just not sure where to go with this yet. I WILL NEVER take my bike to a mechanic. I will fix it eventually. I have a few spare parts from my 2004 bandit 1200 that might cross over (cdi and such) Anyhow I was looking for the specific checks for the electrical system AFTER the normal checks failed to show the problem.

[yngveny]

Good luck with the bike.
Here is the wiring diagram, hope it can be of some help.

[squiggy]

No I didnt answer my question.

OK, you reiterated the same question.

You can buy something like the Auto Meter's volt meter to check the volts while riding the bike.

[OldandReallySlow]

Just put the meter on DC and higher than 20vdc setting. Positive lead on the positve battery terminal, negative on the negative. Should charge anywhere between 13.5 and 14.6 vdc at idle. Suzuki charging systems don't use the regulator until higher rpms than idle so thats a good way to check the charging system. When the motors off, should see above 12vdc on the battery and it shouldnt drop over time. If it does, either look for a current draw or maybe a cell shorting out.

[frobotz]

I found what I was looking for on another forum, Bayond all the obvoius checks stated above, There is a way to check the components themselves. Thansk anyhow

And again I did not answer or reinerate my question, Just no one answered it.

Happy riding all. Thanks for the wiring diagram, That will help alot in the future.

[Black_peter]

CP has a good description here:

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_electrical.html

The book should have checks on the other parts. Like the resistance of the coils on the alternator etc..