QuestionHi Mark,
I was riding my XJ600 (1991) - I think this was the FJ600 in the states - home from work the other day when it developed a rather lumpy idle about half a mile from home. I got a further quarter mile and was about to turn into my street when it died and would barely turn the starter, never mind the engine, over.
On inspection with a multimeter the battery was only giving out 11.7V so I charged it and it has held a charge. I haven't yet got around to putting the battery back in the bike and checking the charging rate.
My main question to you is, is this a common fault/occurence with this model of bike? Does it kill alternator's or rectifier/regulators? Is it possibly just bad wiring or connectors?
Thanks for your help.
AnswerHi Garfield,
Q: Is this a common fault/occurence with this model of bike?
A: No. The XJ/FJ600 is a reliable MC.
Q: Does it kill alternator's or rectifier/regulators?
A: Not known for this.
Q: Is it possibly just bad wiring or connectors?
A: Maybe. Check for corrosion or other contamination on multi-connectors. Apply a bit of dielectric grease to every connector. This displaces water (causes shorts) and prevents corrosion.
Keep the battery maintained. Check eletrolyte (battery acid) levels bi-weekly in summer months. Add distilled water and top off to upper printed line on battery. The water part of electrolyte evaporates, leaving incorrect specific gravity or not fully charged battery.
I suspect the battery terminals were not tightly fastened and caused the battery not to charge properly. However, motorcycle batteries have a useful life of about three years on average. It may be nearing the end of it's usefulness.
Any well working charging system on a modern bike will produce a voltage over the battery terminals in between 13.5 VDC and 14.5 VDC, over the entire rev range. When you suspect a fault in the system, this is the first thing to check.
When you find that there is a problem, keep in mind that the no.1 fault in any charging system is bad connections.
Suspect any connection in the whole system. It's advisable to take off all fairing parts, the fuel tank and seat, and just disconnect all connectors you can find. Do this one at a time, and spray them with a contact cleaner. Before fitting the connector again, apply a small amount of dielectric grease to each connector. On the widely used bullet connectors, the ones used on many Japanese bikes for connecting single wires to each other, you should see if the male bullet connector needs a firm push when it slides into the female one. If not, use a pair of pliers to make the fit tighter in the female connector.
When you disconnect them one at a time, nothing can go wrong. You will see that the wires are color coded, so mistakes when refitting the connectors are almost impossible
Keep me posted: mshively1@woh.rr.com
Respectfully,
Mark Shively
