Manky's XS650 Yamaha

[fifer]

Hit it with a stick -that's my limit. I don't need to understand it, I just need it to work.

Never hit a Yamaha with a stick .
A Yamaha should only be hit with a Yam .
.
.

[hydro]

I am not familiar with the XS charging system but it will go something like this :-

AC voltage generated by the alternator which then goes in to a rectifier which changes the
AC to DC, the DC voltage then goes in to a regulator which then goes to the battery.
(some rectifier and regulators are combined units)

1) Start at the alternator and check for AC (not DC) voltage
you should/might have 3 wires the same color coming out from the side panel
usually white or yellow, set the DVM (digital volt meter) to AC volts and check
the voltage coming out of those 3 wires, put the two probes on any of them 3
wires in any order and you should have AC voltage, I dont know how high but
at a guess maybe 20-50V.

2) Check DC voltage 20-50 is coming out of the rectifier

3) Check DC voltage is coming out of the regulator about 13-14 you should see

Do the above tests with the engine running lights off and on a high tickover.
After the above tests it will give you an idea where the fault is.

[minimutly]

Er, doesn't Mr Manky have a generato aka dynamo? So its Dc?

[hydro]

On February 23, 2017, 03:39:11 PM
He said it had an alternator ?

[Manky Monkey]

.

[hydro]

Going by that diagram what I said above was right

So start off and check the 3 white/yellow wires coming out of the alternator
for AC voltage, you should have anywhere from 20 and up on any combination
of them

What multimeter are you using ?
make and model if you can

[Sid_Vicious]

If you are gonna test the white/yellow leads before the rectifier you have to switch to the 200 mark down in the left corner on your (Olds) meter then it's on for up to 200volts ac. Hydro there is a pic of the meter at page 123..So you can see the make of it On some bikes it can be between 40 and 60 volts ac so the 200 is much safer than the 20mark next to it

[Manky Monkey]

I have no idea what either of you are talking about!
I'm waiting for some parts to come back from the powder coaters at the moment, so have closed the garage door & walked away for a few days till they're ready. I just want this thing finished now. 

[Manky Monkey]

Collected the powder-coated parts this afternoon, so will try & fit them tomorrow -indicators, rear mudguard strut, sidestand & kickstart.
Thanks for the several offers of electrical advice I've had. Much appreciated, but as I said, I don't need to know how it works, just need it fixed so I can ride the damn thing before I set fire to it. May end up finding a local auto electrician & paying them to sort it out.

[BikerGran]

May end up finding a local auto electrician & paying them to sort it out.

Sounds like a damn good idea to me!

[kapri]

That's what your pensions for Andy !!

[terry t]

Collected the powder-coated parts this afternoon, so will try & fit them tomorrow -indicators, rear mudguard strut, sidestand & kickstart.
Thanks for the several offers of electrical advice I've had. Much appreciated, but as I said, I don't need to know how it works, just need it fixed so I can ride the damn thing before I set fire to it. May end up finding a local auto electrician & paying them to sort it out.

Make sure they no about bike electrics. my mate got one in to sort he's 1500 out £400.00 in parts still not running!

[kapri]

A decent sparky should be able to figure it out especially if he has a wiring diagram . I worked on a friends Vulcan and it came back to a fault that said it was ' back feeding' . Sure enough found diodes in the fuse box that had blown.

[Manky Monkey]

Struggling with enthusiasm for this at the moment, but had a boost yesterday from Mr Hornet6, who's made me a rather splendid new battery box.
I made the original from mild steel, but realised afterwards that I couldn't remove the battery cos the box fitted from underneath the bike & there wasn't enough clearance above the box to lift the battery out, or clearance under the frame to drop the box out.
So I needed a removable front panel. Hornet, (Jon), got in touch & hey presto, one stainless steel box with removable front section. Lovely work Jon & super fast service. Very much appreciated. Thank you.
Although it's stainless, I'll powder-coat it black, the same as the last one.

[Manky Monkey]

Put the powder-coated, modified kickstart pedal together & on the bike. So this has a large, flat Harley style rubber, rather than the original Yam' round bar. Much more comfortable to use. The rubber pedal revolves on the shaft, so it stays flat under your foot as you kick.