QuestionI'm having charging issues. It won't charge. Battery new and up to full charge. Field coil reads 4.5 ohms, Stator coil reads 1.3 ohms(I have an extra that reads the same), rectifier reads as it is good. regulator checks out as good. Bike starts right up and when I put volt meter across battery, it drops until engine kills.
Running out of ideas to check.
AnswerBrad, Many of the old points type regulators are unreliable and are failing after 35 years of service. There are aftermarket regulator/rectifiers on the market now that replace the old parts with solid-state voltage controls.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RICKS-VOLTAGE-REGULATOR-RECTIFIER-HONDA-CB550K-74-78-/32 for example. Ebay item number is 320913523317
I would certainly go over the whole bike to see if there are any dubious wiring connections and/or bad grounds for the harness. If a hi-wattage headlight has been installed it may draw more current than the system can supply.
If the voltage drops down below coil cutoff voltage within a few minutes from being fully charged, then either the battery has a bad cell or there is some kind of excessive electrical load coming from the bike. A fully charged battery should not die off that quickly.
Make sure that the ignition switch connector to the harness is intact and not coming loose. There are repair kits for the switch base, rather than having to replace the whole switch assembly.
Check the www.sohc4.net site for more tech info on your bike.
Bill Silver
