[ADO]

Hello, I recently bought a new battery for my 83 Honda nighthawk 550 (cb12A-A) and was riding it around and noticing some issues. Starting from cold my bike wouldnt start unless the battery was connected to my charger. After getting it going (still cold) it stopped running when I disconnected the charger from the battery. Again I needed the charger to start it back up again. I noticed that the dash lights were really dull until I connected the charger back up. I got it running and hot now and went to drive it around. I noticed while idling(no choke) , the idle was wavering from high to low. Also the bike was hesitating a lot when I accelerated which was weird because the bike wasnt doing that when I first drove it around a couple days prior. It also seemed to want to stall when going for full throttle. I drove around 2 blocks while being easy on the throttle and the bike suddenly died and would not start back up. The bike is new to me so it might have been sitting for a while. I talked to a few of my friends about these issues and they said I might have a problem with my stator or regulator rectifier. I am thinking my carbs also need to be cleaned. Any advice on what you may think to be my problem here as well as my next steps would be much appreciated.




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[DannoXYZ]

Yes, problem is not battery, it's just victim of charging system. If you don't fix charging system, this battery will be destroyed and you'll need to buy yet another one. One guy posted recently that he's killed 7 batteries!!!

Follow The Drill procedure here for testing charging system. Will determine if stator or RR or both is bad.

 

[Traveller11]

Do what @DannoXYZ said. Also put 3-4 ounces of SeaFoam or Berrymans B12 in the tank for the next 3 tanks to get the carbs cleaned out since it has been sitting.

Make sure to check that the terminals going to the battery are clean and tight then check to make sure the negative cable is clean and tight where it grounds to the frame or block.

 

[ADO]

Yes, problem is not battery, it's just victim of charging system. If you don't fix charging system, this battery will be destroyed and you'll need to buy yet another one. One guy posted recently that he's killed 7 batteries!!!

Follow The Drill procedure here for testing charging system. Will determine if stator or RR or both is bad.

Thanks for your response. I tested the voltage of my battery while running and it was continously losing voltage. I then tested the resistance in all the 3 phases of the stator (yellow wires) and they "passed" (specs on manual said 0.4 to 0.6 and it was a low 7). All 3 phases to ground were open line. But testing the resistance of the black and white wire going to stator (i think this is rotor coil resistance) it failed with a resistance of 2.6 ohm when the specs on manual say .4 to .6. Looking at the stator it looks new and it is obviously aftermarket. I am worried that the stator isnt the problem then if it is reletively new. I also cant find the specs for resistance for the aftermarket stator so I sent them an email. What do you think?

 

[DannoXYZ]

Although aftermarket stator may be worse or better than OEM. Depends upon particular one. Don't worry too much about impedance of stator coils. Measure VAC output at idle and 3000rpm. If output is sufficient, then RR is at fault.