Potential electrical issue that I think everyone should check for

[IG.]

I'll spare my story unless someone is interested, but simply wanted to point out an easy periodic check for a potentially nasty problem.

The bike's generator produces pretty good amount of electrical power. At around 14V, a few Amps of current go to fuel pump, probably a couple of Amps for all electronics and ignition, good 5 Amps (or more if you have an aftermarket) for low beam headlights, and probably good 5 Amps go to the fan when it's on (more if you have a two fan setup). All that at idle. As RPM goes higher, the extra power the generator produces needs to be wasted which creates an extra current believe it or not. If you add all of this up, the total current coming from the generator can be somewhere between 8 - 20 Amps.

The point is that the three yellow wires going from the generator to the black square connector under the tank carry all this current. With such strong electrical current, even slightly poor connection will start heating up which in turn and over time worsens, and as a result heats up even more creating a visious cycle - until the weak spot gets so hot that it desroys any insulation/connector nearby with quite unpleasant results. It also doesn't help that the entire design of the electrical system provisions some heat generation even with ideally good connections/wiring - that's the trade-off the designers come to.

The practical aspect of all of this is simple. Once a year, or once every few months, lift the tank, start the bike, wait until the fan kicks in, switch to fast idle to up the RPM a bit, and turn your high beams on - all of that is needed to generate a good amount of electrical current. Then keep touching the black connector under the tank and all wires on either side of the connector, and feel if any of them are hot. Just being warm to the touch is OK, but if it's so hot you cannot hold your finger there or can barely hold your finger, then there is a problem and it's just a matter of time before it gets worse.

Another subtle sign - if you ever come to a stop, and for a few moments smell burning electrical insulation - you have to check ASAP.

 

[KvHotDog4]

Good to know, thanks! Can you post a picture of the connector your talking about

 

[kromdom]

good info, thanks for sharing.

 

[IG.]

Good to know, thanks! Can you post a picture of the connector your talking about

Don't have the picture handy, but it's the only one - black, rectangular shaped, under the tank, with 3 yellow wires coming to one end, and another set of 3 wires on the other side. It's pretty close to the fuel pump connector when the tank is down - can't miss it.

 

[sanket_420]

good info.. thanks for sharing.. someone might wanna sticky this...

 

[Boosted Cycle Perf]

Our bikes dont have generators, they have alternators. The 3 yellow wires comming off the alternator are 3 phase A/C. The A/C goes in to the rectifier, or some may also call it a regulator, and there is where the A/C is passed through a bank of diodes, which turns it into 12volt D/C. The other 2 wires coming off the rectifier go to the battery, and that's how it gets charged.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Sorry your bike burned up?


Was that the long story you kept short and spared us from?

 

[Rothman]

Gen1? Gen2? Both?

 

[Lamb busa]

Sounds like gen 1 cause you gen 2 boys dont have a fast idle.

 

[IG.]

Our bikes dont have generators, they have alternators. The 3 yellow wires comming off the alternator are 3 phase A/C. The A/C goes in to the rectifier, or some may also call it a regulator, and there is where the A/C is passed through a bank of diodes, which turns it into 12volt D/C. The other 2 wires coming off the rectifier go to the battery, and that's how it gets charged.

You are right. What I meant was "electrical generator" - the device which generates electricity.

 

[IG.]

Sorry your bike burned up?


Was that the long story you kept short and spared us from?

LOL, not that extreme. After I bought the bike in '03, shortly thereafter I discovered some oily residue inside the connector - still have no idea what it was and how it could get in there. I cleaned the best I could, and thought nothing about it. And all was good for a number of years. Since I installed a V-meter on the bike I always kept an eye on the voltage. It's usually 13.5V or above. One day about a year ago I noticed that the voltage started dropping close to 13.0V. I checked and discovered the entire connector crumbled inside from extreme heat. Then I recalled that on occasion when I stopped I smelled something like a burning wire insulation, but could never figure out what it was because it smelled only for a few seconds, and otherwise visual inspection of all wiring didn't reveal anything suspicious.

There was no way I could fix that with OEM connector. So, I used crimp on connectors, and all seemed good. The connectors were pretty warm when I tested them under electrical load, but I figured it was OK. A few weeks ago as I am getting dressed for the ride and the bike is out idling, all of a sudden it shuts off with the code C43 - which is a fuel pump circuit or relay. Fuel pump is not priming when the key is ON. I discover blown fuel pump fuse, and trying to figure out what happened. Replaced the fuse, and the pump is priming fine. But I know there had to be a short somewhere. Lift the tank and take a close look. Turns out one of the three wires coming from the connector to the rectifier had such poor connection that the heat destroyed the insulation and that wire was touching the frame. That didn't do much except putting some AC voltage on the frame. However, when the tank is closed one of the fuel pump wires - particularly with positive voltage - was sitting right on top of the other wire which was heating up. The fuel pump wire insulation melted through in one tiny spot, but enough to short the positive fuel pump wire to the heated wire which was touching the frame - thus shorting the power to the fuel pump - which blew the fuse. I actually verified with my multitester that the tiny melted spot exposed the wire - otherwise not seen with a naked eye.

In retrospect, the wire ends were damaged from the previous heat, and using crimp style connectors could not provide a good connection. So, I went for a minor surgery cutting the wire harness and exposing more of the three wires going to the rectifier. I ended up taking 6 pieces of new wire and soldering it to all 6 wire ends (3 from the generator, and 3 to the rectifier), and installing crimp-on connectors on other ends of new wire extensions. It took me many hours to solder the 6 wires under the tank - with careful cutting, preparation, not to mention how challenging it was to work in such small space.

All the hassle, and the risk to be stranded in the middle of nowhere - all because of the poor connection in the main power circuit.

I recognize that my circumstances are pretty unique and do not apply to most bikes. However, years of humidity/heat/cold cycles may greatly degrade the quality of connections. While in electronics circuitry it is less critical - so long as you have any connection. In power transmission it becomes a really critical issue.

In another example, anyone knows that the plug of an AC unit gets worm or even hot, but scrape the contacts well with a knife, and the amount of heat will be significantly less.

 

[IG.]

Our bikes dont have generators, they have alternators. The 3 yellow wires comming off the alternator are 3 phase A/C. The A/C goes in to the rectifier, or some may also call it a regulator, and there is where the A/C is passed through a bank of diodes, which turns it into 12volt D/C. The other 2 wires coming off the rectifier go to the battery, and that's how it gets charged.

You know I knew I didn't use the word "generator" by accident. Just checked with the service manual, and Suzuki calls it a "generator". I also think it is a true generator because it does generate electricity all by itself - a magnetic rotor spinning next to the three windings (stator) induces an electrical voltage in the windings.

I think an alter-nator is not capable of generating electricity by itself because it doesn't have a magnetic rotor or a stator. The magnetic field is created by the electricity from the battery - another words, instead of a permanent magnet it has an electric magnet which requires initial and continuous power. There is an advantage to having an alter-nator in that the output is controlled (regulated) more efficiently by adjusting the power to the electric magnet instead of wasting the extra power as it occurs with the generator.

 

[lonner]

the oily residue sounds like the same issue zx12r suffers and was a recall on them.

oil travels up the loom from the gen and gets into the connector and then it gets very hot as more resistance and melts it and bingo no sparks.

the cure was to cut the plug and hard wire the 3 wires so doing away with the cheap connector and its solved (on the 12r anyway)

good post and it wont hurt to hard wire it if its getting a bit hot.

 

[1ibandit]

I am not sure what the oily residue was, but I would think it is a contact protector that got hot. Most new connections on cars and bikes use a contact grease to protect the connection to keep it good and stop corrosion. I am not sure, but by you removing it you hurt the connection Causing more heat and over time failure. I would as you say check ALL connectors before a new riding season. Clean with CRC contact cleaner, then add new contact grease...


1ibandit
88 ZL1000, 07 KaBusa
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Boosted Cycle Perf]

You know I knew I didn't use the word "generator" by accident. Just checked with the service manual, and Suzuki calls it a "generator". I also think it is a true generator because it does generate electricity all by itself - a magnetic rotor spinning next to the three windings (stator) induces an electrical voltage in the windings.

Yes they do, but they are also wrong. Bottom line is this, the output from the said "generator" is A/C, and three phase at that. Alternators are called alternators because they put out alternating current, or a/c. And the dead give away to that is that the power is passed through a bank of diodes....wich if you know electricity, anytime a/c current is passed through a diode, it turns in to d/c. And the 3 windings you made mention of, are actually called a "Y" winding. Each leg of the "Y" is one phase of a/c current. Generators do not use "Y" windings, because they do not produce a/c.

 

[IG.]

Yes they do, but they are also wrong. Bottom line is this, the output from the said "generator" is A/C, and three phase at that. Alternators are called alternators because they put out alternating current, or a/c. And the dead give away to that is that the power is passed through a bank of diodes....wich if you know electricity, anytime a/c current is passed through a diode, it turns in to d/c. And the 3 windings you made mention of, are actually called a "Y" winding. Each leg of the "Y" is one phase of a/c current. Generators do not use "Y" windings, because they do not produce a/c.

It's all terminology, but I think we have the same understanding. So, what I have in my shed is not a generator, but an alternator becuse it produces AC power, right?

 

[IG.]

I am not sure what the oily residue was, but I would think it is a contact protector that got hot. Most new connections on cars and bikes use a contact grease to protect the connection to keep it good and stop corrosion. I am not sure, but by you removing it you hurt the connection Causing more heat and over time failure. I would as you say check ALL connectors before a new riding season. Clean with CRC contact cleaner, then add new contact grease...


1ibandit
88 ZL1000, 07 KaBusa
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I am pretty sure it wasn't a dialectric grease. I did try to clean it out with alcohol, swabs, contact cleaner spray and what not, and then I did stuff a bunch of dialectric grease in there and closed it up. As a matter of fact, I did the same sort of cleaning followed with dialectric grease treatment to ALL connectors on the bike, and I always strongly advocate that every bike should be treated. What prompted this was a sporadic shutting of the engine in the middle of the ride for just a moment - presumably due to poor electrical connection somewhere in the ignition circuitry. I've done it 1-2 years ago, and since then didn't have this nasty problem. I am also pretty sure my '01 didn't come with connectors filled with dialectric grease or something similar whatever the term is.

 

[IG.]

the oily residue sounds like the same issue zx12r suffers and was a recall on them.

oil travels up the loom from the gen and gets into the connector and then it gets very hot as more resistance and melts it and bingo no sparks.

the cure was to cut the plug and hard wire the 3 wires so doing away with the cheap connector and its solved (on the 12r anyway)

good post and it wont hurt to hard wire it if its getting a bit hot.

Holy crap, man! You just might as well solved my mystery! So, what you are saying is that due to a slight oil pressure the oil simply escapes from the generator through the wires and ends up inside the connector? I don't recalls seeing oil inside the wires when I stripped them though, but not 100% positive. Wow!

I was going crazy thinking that maybe a slight amount of gas was leaking from the pump and left oily residue, or that somehow the grease came from the front sprocket. But none of it made sense because the rest of the wires were pretty clean. What you are saying makes a lot of sense.

 

[ResidentEvil]

good info

 

[lonner]

Holy crap, man! You just might as well solved my mystery! So, what you are saying is that due to a slight oil pressure the oil simply escapes from the generator through the wires and ends up inside the connector? I don't recalls seeing oil inside the wires when I stripped them though, but not 100% positive. Wow!

I was going crazy thinking that maybe a slight amount of gas was leaking from the pump and left oily residue, or that somehow the grease came from the front sprocket. But none of it made sense because the rest of the wires were pretty clean. What you are saying makes a lot of sense.

bit more info here IG

voltage regulator and wires getting very hot... @ ZX12R ZONE.com