I am having a spot of trouble with my 98 honda fireblade car. The battery is a fireblade standard unit and it keeps going flat. Does any one use a blade battery or is a car one necessary? Even when driving down the motorway with no lights on etc the battery is still going flat.

If it is down to the alternator, how easy is it to change it?

Cheers

Jim

Jim........ the only thing i have had problems with is chargin.......check out your voltage recty thing, (the little black box) get a volt meter in on job, a fully charged battery should be 12.6 volts, when running you should get 13.4 (ish), if your not then chances are its the regulator,

1) is it gettin warm, infact hot.
2) have you mounted it onto a metalic surface ? it needs it for the heat sink.
3) if it is that, don't buy Honda there around £120, i got a pattern one for £55, still a lot but half price.
4) do you know anyone with a Blade ? if so will they let you plug there box in, your welcome to try mine, you are Sheffield are you not ?

Regards Jon.

ok i lied, i blew a clutch too........

Cheers Jon,

I'll try the rectifier. IT is mounted on a metal plate on the chasis. The engine runs at any thing from 80 to 95 while cruising down the motorway and also while blasting down country roads. In traffic it gets to 100+ pretty quickly.

If not I might have to take you up on the offer. I live just north of sheffield. IT you know junction M1 35a then I live in Harley two minutes from their

Cheers

Jim

J29 here M8, you realy need a voltmeter to do the job proper, its the reg i meant regards heat, if its workin you shouldn't be able to touch it, they get VERY hot.....

Jon,

Got all the necessary tools at home. Only trouble is I am at work for a 12 hour night shift, Do'h. Still some kind soul will give me a charge

Jim

ok, gis a shout if you need to try mine, it will tell you instantly if yours is shot........

Looks like Jim lives next door to me!

Well Jim,do ya?

I live in Chapeltown.

Cheers

Chris

I certainly do.

How far have you got with your build or how many miles have you done. If you want to look at an MK indy your more than welcome to come and have a look

Give us a ring first 07949 613740

Cheers

Jim

I think chris is probably as fed up as I am at looking at MK indys. We drove all the way to France and back in the company of tony skeldings blue tub of shit!(no offence like!)
Chris PTM
for the benefit of all you newbies, all our cars are 'tubs of shit'

The Dude is not wrong on this occasion - I have seen the odd Indy, I'm getting my car ready for it's second MOT, but I'm housebound at the moment with a non-functioning spine. I'll give you a ring when I'm mobile again.

Cheers

Chris

hi guys, this sounds like the place to come if you have a problem, i hope someone can help!

ive got a 94' blade engine in my seven and the battery keeps going flat. the battery is a genuine part and is brand new. One of the terminals on the multiplug that is connected to the regulator/rectifier was completely black and fried so i bought a new rectifier from honda for £120 and repaired the wiring. hurray i thought, i was getting a charge of around 13volts. one day later, the bloody thing blows again! £120 down the drain. could it be a dodgy alternator giving a stupidly high charge, blowing the rectifier?

your help would be greatly appreciated on this, im going mad! also is there a god breakers yard where you can get second hand rectifiers?

cheers

Is there a drain off the battery when the engine is off? To check, disconnect one of the battery terminals and put a multimeter in line to measure the current (again ONLY WHEN IT IS TURNED OFF!! ). You can get "pattern" blade rectifiers for about £60, I'll try and find out details as it weasnt me personally who bought one.

Chris

the reason that i guess something to be wrong with the rectifier again is that it got red hot and started losing brown acid type stuff accompanied by a burning smell. also the battery gets flat even after long journeys.

if so, what may be draining it, i mean there arnt any luxuried on the car e.g. stereo etc. has anyone replaced an alternator before? also the oil pressure gauge did stop working as did the fuel gauge.

cheers again

sounds like a short in the alternator or its wiring,disconect alternator and see if the short dissapears,if so its alternator

Are you cooling the rectifier at all? It should sit on a nice big heatsink, on a bit of thick ally or steel, not just on a panel or open to free air. I've actually used a computer heatsink and fan on mine with some proper heatsink paste to ensure a good heat transfer. This is lighter than a lump of ally/steel, and seems to work fine and keep it reasonnably cool.
Try looking for shorts, see if there is any drain when the engine is not running. If there isnt a drain, then it looks like the battery isnt charging, in which case yeh it oculd be the alternator. I think the Haynes manual has resistance values for a healthy alternator doesnt it?

Chris

thanks for the help chaps! im away from the car at the moment, but i should get a chance to have a look at it again over the next few days.

is it important to use a heat sink? the rectifier is bolted onto the chassis, but i guess it still gets fairly hot. also the voltmeter only gives a reading in the 11's, si i know the rectifier is knackered, but surely there must be something causing it to blow? i mean i only had it a day befoer it blew up again. il check the circuit for a drain and go frm there.

thanks again guys

Hi blade900, check your U2U, I've sent u a couple of links.
Yeh it does need to be properly heat sinked, on the bike its bolted to a big plate or one of the big ally chassis rails I think. A single Locost chassis tube isnt really enough to dissipate the heat, especially if its painted etc.

cheers
Chris

cheers chris!

mmm perhaps it could be a heat-sink related problem? my only worry is that supposing i fit an accpetable heat sink, buy ANOTHER new rectifier and the darn thing blows again, i may get a l'il peeved to say the least. is there any way of checking the alternator? ive checked the wiring and there's no sign of any chafed wires or the like. also, the new rectifier has been modified by honda (incorporated cooling fins) to prevent it from overheating.

why did the old rectifier last so long but the new one only a single day?

ta

I think the cooling fins on the new rectifiers are on the top of it though arent they, there's still the bare silvery coloured underside? This is the bit that is usually bolted to a hefty chunk of metal, and this is the side I've put my heatsink on.
I know what you mean though, its a bit risky just throwing another rectifier at it, only for it to go pop again. I imagine there is a way of testing it all, measurung resistances to everything etc, but bike electrics isnt really my forte I'm afraid, is there anything in the Haynes manual about it? If all else fails, maybe pop to your local Honda dealer and have a chat with a friendly mechanic, I wouldnt ind betting they'd be able to tell you the cause and fix off the top of their head

Chris

yeah, the fins are on top of the rectifier like you say. perhaps i should stop in at abingdon motorcycles (my local honda dealer) and chat with the mechanics, like you say, im sure its somthing they'l have an answer to ....... i hope!

oh and the other thing, that perhaps i should have mentioned, maybe related i dunno, the engine was obtained second hand with approx 2000 miles on the clock. when put into the car, there was no spark, the ecu was dead, one new ecu later and the car ran. i wonder if maybe it could be related?

any ideas?

Might be the best course of action, have a word with the Honda dealer, I've found my one quite helpful and willing to give advice.
I suppose the blown ECU could be related, maybe your alternator is spiking the loom with too much voltage or something, but I'm only guessing.

cheers
Chris

If you have the blade alarm fitted this may well be the problem - bikers will tell you that the alarm / imobiliser flattens the battery very qucikly

Pete

there is no alarm fitted to my car. in any case, there is no charging output whatsoever, only battery voltage in and around the 11's. fitting the new rectifier did bring the voltage back in to the 14's, but again it has died. i spoke to the honda dealer and he said i should remove the cover plate and check the condition of the windings - he suspects them to be fried black. also there should be no resistance between the three yellow wires, so il give it a go!

cheers guys