ZG1300 DFI Idle Charging Voltage

G'Day Guys,

Just looking for suggestions regarding this issue I am having.

Bought a new battery for the DFI Bike old one was knackered. All was good in the world.

I then decided to check the charging voltage with the bike idling and found that it was barley 12.6 volts and even raising the rpm to 4000 only moved it up to about 13v barley. Well dam that no good.
So I checked Alternator Voltage at idle I am getting about 15V AC on all 3 terminals at 4000rpm about 50v on all terminals, which is what it should be from reading the manual. I then checked the R/R and was gonna swap it with my other KZ but the R/R connectors and model No are different.

So I figured lets buy a new Shindengen FH020AA, 200$ and 2 wks later it arrives, nice!. Installing it was a pain as the connector for it is just massive, if would fit perfectly in the stock location otherwise. It ended up in the stock location after some modification....:whistle: after looking around there was no other suitable place to stick it without hacking something else up.

Currently it is hooked into the stock harness, I checked all the wiring and the resistance to the + & - is 0.03 ohm's which sounds good enough.

Anyway I was feeling quite good about it all until I fired up the bike to find the voltage was the same as when I have the stock regulator if not just a tiny bit better :ohmy:

So My question is whats left to check and what would you suggest doing next?

Options I can think of:

• Move the new regulator to the other bike and test if 14V is produced?
• Skip OEM harness and go direct to the batt + & - and see the results?
• Swap Alternator around(Would prefer not doing this)

Being the Devil's advocate, have you considered trying a different voltage meter?
12 volt batteries should read about 12.6 volts fully charged.
I don't like seeing anymore than 14.2-14.4 volts when charging. I know the manual says approximately 15 volts, but that's too high for a 12 volt system. Normally you strive for +2 volts above battery voltage for charging purposes.
The other question is where are you measuring the voltage at? The white wire with the red stripe or right at the battery? If both regulators are putting out the same voltage it begs the question of where you are measuring compared to the source coming from the regulator /rectifier. The R/R gets a signal voltage from the system and any resistance in that signal voltage will cause an overcharge situation so that's not your problem. You've eliminated the alternator by way of your testing. So my thinking is that the output is there, just not getting to the point that you;re measuring at and as a consequence, is not charging the battery to its maximum potential. (Thinking out loud here)

I really like those Shindengen MOSFET regulators. motoelectrix.com/products/shindengen-mos...ulator-rectifier-kit I've used several of them over the years. They are rock solid. Be aware though, there are knockoffs out in the market that look the same but are crap. Lots of info on the web to show how to tell the difference. I used these on my Kawasaki triples and they always held at 14.2 volts. Really impressed. And being MOSFET type. Never had a failed diode which would normally cause a dead battery if left overnight. Best of the best.

Kawboy wrote: ...I really like those Shindengen MOSFET regulators. motoelectrix.com/products/shindengen-mos...ulator-rectifier-kit I've used several of them over the years. They are rock solid. Be aware though, there are knockoffs out in the market that look the same but are crap. Lots of info on the web to show how to tell the difference. I used these on my Kawasaki triples and they always held at 14.2 volts. Really impressed. And being MOSFET type. Never had a failed diode which would normally cause a dead battery if left overnight. Best of the best.

Thanks for posting Kawboy - I'll file this away for future reference.

I haven't tried a different voltage meter kawaboy, so that is to try.

The Voltage I am reading is from from the positive and negative terminals of the battery.

Do you think it would be ideal to measure whats coming out of the regulator? and that maybe there is voltage drop or resistance on the way to the battery? I'll try measuring from the regulator next time I am working on the bike.

In regard to the regulator I am mostly confident I have a genuine unit .. Fingers Crossed .... It has the Metal Backing plate, and model number on it, I think the backing plate is the main tell tail for a fake.

KawaBoy! you nailed it! :woohoo:

Tested the Voltage straight from the regulator and I am getting around 13v at cold idle which is 500rpm, 14.1 at 2000rpm.

Question is what is causing my 1 and some V drop to the battery ....

razmo99 wrote: KawaBoy! you nailed it! :woohoo:

Tested the Voltage straight from the regulator and I am getting around 13v at cold idle which is 500rpm, 14.1 at 2000rpm.

Question is what is causing my 1 and some V drop to the battery ....

Well, there you go. You're on the right track. A little more investigating and you'll have it. Good work !! One volt is significant. Without voltage potential there is no flow. You can have all the amps in the world (which is pressure) but without flow (voltage difference) nothing will pour into the battery.