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Idiot Light Electrical Blip
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B10VVRider
Posted 2010-03-06 9:07 AM (#54458)
Subject: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Puddle Jumper

Posts: 12
Other than a couple of short and cold trips around the neighbourhood in late January, I have been patiently waiting for winter to subside since I took delivery of my 2010 Vision Tour Premium ABS in mid January. All this week the temp. has been on the plus side of freezing so I decided to play hooky from work yesterday afternoon and see how my new baby would perform on the highway.

About six blocks from my house on my way to the nearest on ramp, as I rouded a turn, the service engine and battery idiot lights suddenly lit up for a couple of seconds then went out again before I had a chance to glance at the voltage guage. I immediately turned around and headed back to my driveway, watching the voltage guage all the way. It hovered on the plus side of 14 volts all the way back and the idiot lights remained off.

In my driveway, I applied various loads while the bike sat at idle and watched the voltage guage. With the seat heaters and hand grips on high it did begin to drop. When I turned on the HID light it dropped noticably but still remained above 12 volts. A twist of the throttle brought it back up to 14+ again. I also checked the battery connections and both were tight.

Back out to the highway I went and I put on about 65 kilometers with no further sign of trouble.

Has anyone else experienced this with their Vision? Mine was sitting in the garage for about five weeks since the previous ride, plugged into a proper motorcycle trickle charger. Just wondering if the battery developed some sort of charge memory and perhaps had a mini voltage heart attack when it was suddenly subjected to the load of my hand grip heater and the charge of the 50 amp alternator.

I have heard back from another Canuck on another forum with a 2009 Vision that had his battery light come on for about 30 seconds one day shortly after he started the engine. Since then he says he has put about 500 kilometers on the bike with no problems.
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Arkainzeye
Posted 2010-03-06 9:56 AM (#54459 - in reply to #54458)
Subject: Re: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Visionary

Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA
i never had that problem before. all i can say is make sure the battery connection points are Tight and right it and keep an eye out for them lights.
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B10VVRider
Posted 2010-03-07 3:05 PM (#54552 - in reply to #54458)
Subject: Re: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Puddle Jumper

Posts: 12
The electrical blip has devloped into a more serious problem on my new 2010 Vision. I have put a couple of hundred kilometers on the bike since it first happened on Friday afternoon and there were no further problems until I went to go out for a ride today and a few blocks from home the idiot lights reappeared. This time I immediately looked over at my voltage guage and it was topped out at 18 volts. I immediately turned around and headed for home. The voltage guage started to return to a more normal value around 14 volts on the way back and the idiot lights went out again.

Back in my driveway I tried revving the motor a bit in neutral and up went the voltage guage needle to 18 volts again, and on came the idiot lights. I shut the bike down for a while and tried it again about a half hour later and the problem with soaring voltage continued. I am thinking a defective rectifier or a loose connection somewhere on the charging circuit.

I don't feel like taking the bike apart to look for the problem since it is brand new and under warranty. I will have to sit on my butt until the dealer opens Tuesday morning, then make arrangements to get my sick baby transported back to the shop. I thought Visions weren't supposed to break down!
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rdbudd
Posted 2010-03-07 10:59 PM (#54589 - in reply to #54458)
Subject: RE: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Visionary

Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO
You mentioned using a trickle charger. Do you mean an actual trickle charger or a Battery Maintainer? You probably already know the difference, which is that a trickle charger continously applies a small charge and never shuts off. A battery maintainer brings the battery up to full charge, then basically stops charging, going into a "float mode". If the battery drops below a certain voltage, then the maintainer goes into action again. I learned the hard way years ago that a trickle charger will damage a battery.

Your problem sounds like a bad or loose connection somewhere. It could be on the bike, and it could be internal to the battery itself. You're under warranty, so you should have no worries, but let us know what the problem turns out to be.

BTW, my original battery (Yuasa) on my '08 went bad and was replaced under warranty. My voltmeter was going nuts, then the battery wouldn't start the bike. In my case, it was the battery, not the bike.

Ronnnie
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B10VVRider
Posted 2010-03-08 8:24 PM (#54675 - in reply to #54589)
Subject: RE: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Puddle Jumper

Posts: 12
rdbudd - 2010-03-07 11:59 PM

You mentioned using a trickle charger. Do you mean an actual trickle charger or a Battery Maintainer? You probably already know the difference, which is that a trickle charger continously applies a small charge and never shuts off. A battery maintainer brings the battery up to full charge, then basically stops charging, going into a "float mode". If the battery drops below a certain voltage, then the maintainer goes into action again. I learned the hard way years ago that a trickle charger will damage a battery.

Your problem sounds like a bad or loose connection somewhere. It could be on the bike, and it could be internal to the battery itself. You're under warranty, so you should have no worries, but let us know what the problem turns out to be.

BTW, my original battery (Yuasa) on my '08 went bad and was replaced under warranty. My voltmeter was going nuts, then the battery wouldn't start the bike. In my case, it was the battery, not the bike.

It is a proper motorcycle battery maintainer. They are classified as intelligent battery maintainers.

I did some voltage checks today with a reliable digital multimeter. Showed 13 volts first thing in the morning without being plugged in overnight. Had lots of umph to turn the engine over and get her fired up, so I don't think I have a battery problem. As soon as she fired the voltage needle on the bike guage started climbing towards the red zone on the guage. I check the voltage at the battery with the motor running and was reading 16.5 and climbing. It was up to 17 in a matter of seconds and not stopping when I hit the kill switch. I'm 99% certain now it is a bad reulator / rectifier. The service manual diagnostic page indicates if the measured voltage is exceeding 14.8 you should replace the regulator / rectifier. I inspected the unit, which is mounted to the bottom of the engine near the battery. No signs of physical damage and the positive, negative, and stator wires all look good and feel like they are securely attached. Will call the dealer in the morning (they are closed Sundays & Mondays) and see how they want to handle the repair. Its about a ten minute job to replace it. Hardly seems worth a fifty mile round trip on a trailer to do it at their shop.
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B10VVRider
Posted 2010-03-09 7:02 PM (#54741 - in reply to #54458)
Subject: Re: Idiot Light Electrical Blip


Puddle Jumper

Posts: 12
Had my Vision towed to the dealer today, and they have confirmed a bad regulator / rectifier. I know I have chuckled in the past when I have seen a high end brand new car hooked up to a tow truck. Now I know how it feels. I guess one of those twenty-five cent diodes in my solid state regulator / rectifier decided to become a two way street at a very early age. As long as the 17 volts didn't do damage to any of the other electrics and electronics on board I should be fine. The mechanic tells me they should have the part by the end of the week and it is basically a ten minute job to replace it.
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