Battery boosting

[snerchie]

I was just wondering if anyone has ever boosted their bike from a car before? I had to boost mine to get it running and now my alternator wires are getting screaming hot!!!! I think I may have blown my rectifier... I have boosted bikes before from larger 12volt batteries and never had any problems, I wouldn't think it would matter but apparently my smoking alternator wires would disagree.....any thoughts?

[GRUNT_Jarksbro]

I used to boost my ninja with a car battery all the time without problems.
I do not know if it is recommended or not

[Hornet]

Hi,

Its no problem as long as you make sure your car is NOT running. If your car is running it will produce to much power which can do damage to your bike.

[Crunchmeister]

I boosted my batter from the car last weekend to get the bike started, and it worked fine.

[Shaman]

The snerchster has a British bike (gasps of horror over British electrical wiring).

[snerchie]

yeah sorry to say I have tried a lot of these suggestions already...it is kind of embarrassing because I specialize in troubleshooting electrical systems, In this case I am working without any circuit diagrams of any kind....I have narrowed it down to the alternator , or rectifier....it's kind of a strange setup there is three ac wires running from the alternator to the rectifier in the back of the bike-there are either two hots with a neutral reference or it is some kind of funky three phase system.....but that is where the problem lays. I checked the entire electrical system for shorts and found none, no major current flow from the distribution box.... the only thing I can think of is, it may have damaged something in the alternator when I layed it down last year...because I didn't run it after that (except the shamefull ride home after)
I am thinking the impact (which cracked clean through the crankcase/alternator cover) may have shorted out one of the windings or connections....
I got fed up with it and took it to tony's today.....
at least they have wiring schematics....

thanks for the input though. I could use all the help I can get on this one.

Kind of a bummer there is no longer a Triumph dealer in town(especially since I just got it last season)GRRRRRRR!!!!!

[Jimbo 197]

Just because you took it IN to Tonys doesn't mean you have to bring it BACK from Tonys  .......you could bring home something else if you're really fed up with it....

[snerchie]

heh...heh... sure!!!!! but why stop at just one? they do have a nice selection- I could get a sport AND a hog!!!!....... of course the cbr's at motosport plus are also looking rather tasty!!!!
Hrmmm....if only I had a spare ten or twenty g's stashed in my piggy bank....

[larryt]

There is a company offering aftermarket RRs for Jap bikes.  I don't remember the URL
Googling might find it.   They have some decent troubleshooting tips on how to check them
and identify what has failed.

That would be Electrex. The GS Resources people (and who knows more about RR grief than owners of early-80s Suzukis?) swear by them.

[snerchie]

Good news!!!! turned out to be a bad connection between the alternator and rectifier ,it is three phase from the stator to the rectifier...One phase open made the other two go high-increasing the current on the other wires, hrmm....(good to know for all you triumph riders)
So it  turns out the wiring problem had nothing to do with the boosting....I think it may have been the little bit of a shake the wiring got before I put it away.           
And even better I downloaded a triumph repair manual !!!-So that should make future repairs (..knock..knock) a lot less stressful!!!!
Thanks for all the feedback though guys!!!!
Be on the road soon!!!!!! heh...

[wes-ninja250]

> yeah sorry to say I have tried a lot of these suggestions already...
> it is kind of embarrassing because I specialize in troubleshooting
> electrical systems

Motorcycle electrical systems are very simple. But having schematics helps. A LOT.

In general, the "main" circuit runs at either 12 or 13.8VDC (depending on whether the battery is discharging  or being charged).

The three yellow wires from the stator are a three-phase AC system. These will normally run to the regulator/rectifier, which is -- you guessed it -- a three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier (six diodes) and a voltage regulator. The voltage regulator is for 13.8V, which is the charging voltage for a 12V lead-acid battery. Incidentally, the battery will also use function as the smoothing caps, as it is  wired into parallel with everything.

After the battery, you'll normally have an ignition switch, which may be an actual power switch or  just a relay trigger. The power will get to the junction box (which is just a fuse box), and on to other systems. The bike will normally run ground wires, but the frame will also be grounded.

Wes