not charging?

[maddmatt02]

alright, I got a 300 ex that was charging for a while, and now its not. cant find my book so I dont really know what to go about checking? or what equipment Id need to test different parts.

any common parts to check/replace first to see? I looked over the harness and no ground seems to be loose and no wire seems to be disconnected anywhere?

I need to start riding again and this thing has been sitting for MONTHS!

[maddmatt02]

can excessively dirty oil make it stop charging? what about if theres lots of metal in it?

I only rode it a bit here and there once I got it running the first time, and since i hadnt rode much, never changed the oil for the first time (new rings as well as misc parts from other engines that might have to wear-in to each other), didnt look like lots of metal in there or anything, but just an idea.

anyways I took the left side cover off and took the stator out and all the windings look fine, nothing burnt or anything, all wires seemed to be fine, I also checked the connection at the 3 yellow wires, I tried to crimp the space connectors a little tighter but the they seemed fine. so I put it al back together.

anyways I had the battery on the charger just long enough for me to do that and then change the oil/filter. I started it and rode it for a second, and usually if it dies it might crank over half a turn or so and Id have to push it back, because riding it had just been killing off any charge Id given it to get it started. this time I killed it and then started it. I did that a few times and it kept starting, so then I turned the run switch to off and just let it crank a few times, and did it again, and it seemed like it was charging that last ride maybe. possible I just had enough of a charge to start it, ride it, and there was still plenty to keep starting it. ran out of gas though so I gotta go get some.

just wondering if its at all possible its the oil, or should I be looking for a loose wire or something? that is of course if its charging, which ill know later on.

[maddmatt02]

well, pretty sure its charging, used to die after the ignition killed the battery, now this time i rode it for a while and it still starts right up.

[ElderGeek]

A quick way to check if it's actually charging is to take a voltage reading at the battery terminals when it is off, key off, lights off, everything off.

It should read between 11.0 to 13VDC. Most likely closer to 12 or less.

Then start it up, let it idle, check to voltage again.

Then rev up the motor and check it again.

At idle ou should see the SAME or very close to the same reading, as it was when it was not running. Maybe a touch more depending on make and model.

When you rev it up you should see the voltage go higher as the motor RPM goes up. And it should stay fairly steady if you hold the RPMs steady.

If you see no voltage higher, (or worse, lower),than what it is when it is not running & everything off, I would suspect a charging circuit issue. Could be Stator or Regulator.

A down and dirty way to see if the battery is bad or going bad. Monitor the voltage of the battery. When you hit the start button watch the voltage drop while it's turning over. It should not drop below 11 or 10.5VDC. If it does then the battery is going bad.

can excessively dirty oil make it stop charging? what about if theres lots of metal in it?

Only if you have enough shavings floating around that they start to collect on the stator and are able to trail off and creata a short between the fields, then yea maybe.

But if you have that much metal floating around in your oil, you will be worring about other things other than if it's charging or not.

[maddmatt02]

Thats how i figured that it wasnt charging but my multi meter broke and since this is the only thing i need it for i havent bought one yet.

[maddmatt02]

ok, I didnt read the whole reply because I was on my phone at the time and when not in a city it just doesnt go as fast.

anyways, I didnt see a bunch of metal at all, just figured that while the rings were breaking in, and the cam was wearing in, etc... that there was bound to be some trace of something metallic in there.