Motorcycle Repair: Battery not charging, dc voltage output, ground lead


Question
2006 Yamaha YFM350 Raptor. The battery wouldn't hold a charge any more. Being six years old, I mistakenly assumed it was bad. Turned out a brand new battery doesn't get charged from the engine running, either. The voltage level stays the same at the battery with the engine running or not. So I obtained a copy of the OEM wire diagram and broke out the Fluke 77 meter. Here  are my findings:

1. While the engine is running at fast idle, the output of each combination of pairs from the stator to the rectifier/regulator measured at the input connector to the rectifier/regulator is approximately 32 VAC each.

2. When you rev it up to several thousand RPM it fluctuates between 100 - 115 VAC on each combination of pairs measured at the same place. (I can't find any info saying what the voltage level should be)

3. With the engine off I checked the resistance on the stator outputs. Each combination of pairs reads 0.6 ohms measured at the same place. Individually, each of the three outputs reads completely open to chassis ground.

4. With the engine off the resistance between the white/red and white/green wires from the stator to the CDI measured at the first disconnect downstream from the stator is 510 ohms.

5. The resistance between the red and white/blue wires from the stator to the CDI measured at the first disconnect downstream from the stator is 0.1 ohms. I don't think my meter will show lower than the first decimal.

6. While disconnected from the wire harness, the diodes in the rectifier/regulator read good when tested per the instructions I found at http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/diagnosis/pdf/diode-test

7. With the meter's ground lead on a chassis ground while the engine is running, the DC voltage output on the red wire coming right out of the rectifier/regulator is less than 1 VDC.

 Thoughts?

Answer
Dave, Also take a voltage reading at the battery posts with it off then on at idle and then bring the RPM's up and see if the voltage increases. Even if it does it may drain back off through the voltage regulator. Belive it or not the early raptors had a charging problem and Yamaha's solution was to run with the lights on to challenge the charging system to keep the battery up. Check with a local Yamaha dealer and see if this campain is still viable for you on this model.