Is my alternator/reg rectifier dying?

Slipperyeel

Slipperyeel

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Made a flying visit to Cornwall this weekend. Thankfully i had my heated jacket to fend off the rather cold weather! The Warm & Safe jacket has been one of the best pieces of kit I have ever bought. I can't recommend it enough.

But enter my problem. On returning to London, somewhere along the A40, in traffic, I could smell burning...somehow I realised the smell was fabric burning. I pulled over, opened my jacket to discover a melted hole in the heated jacket working its way into my layers of clothing! :eek:. Needless to say I disconnected it immediately.

Earlier in the journey, on the way back, i now remember the satnav froze, so I stopped and rebooted it. All was fine. Other than that, all was well until i discovered this burning smell... Are they connected?

The jacket is plugged into the Aux socket under the seat - I thought this only allowed 5amps through? But if the alternator or Regulator/Rectifier is dying, could more get through? Could this be what happened?

Can I test the alternator? Would a GS911 show anything? The bike is due for a service so maybe this should be added to the list pronto. But I have had experience with screwed RRs melting important things!

Grateful for any tips on how I might check the alternator.

Cheers
 
Here are a couple of images.

20190506_173944.jpg20190506_173940.jpg

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Stick a volt meter in the battery while running. 14.2 volts should be about as high as it gets.

Personally I think your jacket failed, if the voltage got high enough to fry it you would have other issues like fried battery and possibly other electronics on the bike. You would also have noticed the jacket getting really hot in general.

A voltmeter will reveal all though.
 
Marki_GSA said:
Stick a volt meter in the battery while running. 14.2 volts should be about as high as it gets.

Personally I think your jacket failed, if the voltage got high enough to fry it you would have other issues like fried battery and possibly other electronics on the bike. You would also have noticed the jacket getting really hot in general.

A voltmeter will reveal all though.
Click to expand...
I'll get onto this later today, so I'll report back. And yes, your 14.2 volts kinda matches what I thought it should max out at.

Will report back.


I never mentioned, it's a 2011 Adventure. Not that it helps so much - but missed it on the opening post



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Steptoe said:
The problem is with your jacket.
Click to expand...
To be honest, that's where my thoughts are too... I called Terry at Riderz.xo.uk this morning but he suggested my bike is the problem

Ref the service, I'm planning to get it over to you. I'll give you a buzz before the week is out to sort a date

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Shame its not a car,

they normally have a regulator on the back of the alternator, cheap fix compared to an alternator failing

With yours though i'd say it's a localised short that has caused the issue
 
Looking at the jacket it looks like the element has shorted out in that section as to over voltage from the bike I personally think its unlikely to make the fault occur unless the insulation was very thin in that section.
 
It seems most of you agree with my original thinking... that's it's a fault in the jacket. I'm hoping it turns out to be as I think they'll honor a replacement (I vaguely remember W&S offering a lifetime guarantee, but I could be wrong - I at least want them to see it... this could have been a different story if I wasn't wearing so many layers...).

I'm going to get the DVM into it, see what I get, then send the jacket over to Riderz.


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I would assume a thermal breakdown of the insulation on the jackets heating element rather than a power supply issue. If your voltage regulator provided excess volts the current draw would correspondingly reduce as the overall power draw of the jacket should be constant.
 
My jacket did the same a couple of years ago. Gerbing did a good will repair on it and it’s been fine since.
 
Some feedback...

Firstly, I was wrong about the connection route for power to the jacket. I thought the cable was wired into the under- seat Aux socket. It's not! The cable runs directly to the battery... This may alter the thinking for some of you?

I just got the DVM into the bike. Results below:

1. Battery check with ignition off = 13.39V
2. Battery check with ignition on, not running = 13.22V
3. Battery check with bike running @ 3000 revs = 14.78V but I did see 15.2v briefly!

While running at revs, it settled quite quickly at 14.78V. Seems a tad higher than I expected but there was almost no load in the system at all, no accessories running and it sat at this without wavering.

Does that 15.2V I saw briefly mean the RR is in fact playing up, or is a little fluctuation like this normal?

And crucially, would a 15.2-15.5V spike really cause the jacket to burn?!! Surely there is a tolerance?

Feedback and thoughts welcome!



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Slipperyeel said:
Some feedback...

Firstly, I was wrong about the connection route for power to the jacket. I thought the cable was wired into the under- seat Aux socket. It's not! The cable runs directly to the battery... This may alter the thinking for some of you?

I just got the DVM into the bike. Results below:

1. Battery check with ignition off = 13.39V
2. Battery check with ignition on, not running = 13.22V
3. Battery check with bike running @ 3000k revs = 14.78V but I did see 15.2v briefly!

While running at revs, it settled quite quickly at 14.78V. Seems a tad higher than I expected but there was almost no load in the system at all, no accessories running.

Does that 15.2V I saw briefly mean the RR is in fact playing up, or is a little fluctuation like this normal?

And crucially, would a 15.2-15.5V spike really cause the jacket to burn?!! Surely there is a tolerance?

Feedback and thoughts welcome!



Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'd say it just confirms the jacket is at fault ;)

you saw .72v peak on a multimeter which is

Probably uncalibrated, & has an error margin of at least +- 1% could be even more
 
Thanks gents. I still agree with you.

Did some searching on alternator output and it seems 13-15V is typical. Additionally after starting, it's likely the output could be a little higher as the battery demands a refill after starting.

While my little test was perhaps not 'full' and just gives an indication, the fact volts settled and were unwavering for a significant period after the motor warmed a little suggests to me the RR is ok...

So. My finger remains pointed at the jacket for now! I will return it to Riderz. I think Terry will just relay the info to Warm & Safe. But I think they should see these things. It's useful feedback for them. But maybe they will also help me out with a replacement. They're bloody good, but not cheap...


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I think that you are confusing current with voltage. It was high current probably caused by an internal short in your jacket that caused the problem, not voltage. You would have to have one hell of a huge voltage spike for some considerable time for that much damage to happen. If that huge spike had really happened all your bulbs would have blown and probably a lot of other electrical items. The canbus would certainly have shut down.

Sorry about your jacket though. I know how good heated kit is on a cold long distance ride.

Rich
 
Thanks for that Rich. I think you're right... on both fronts. The bike is running fine and there's zero evidence of electrical misbehaviour or wires that have been overheated. Additionally, as you say, the Can Bus would have done something or another.

Jacket will go back tomorrow... I'm just glad the weather had improved in time!

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Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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