[DrPsyc]

ok so after going through some threads it seems even in the hot El Paso weather my battery should be lasting at least 3 years not the 18 months max i seem to get out of them, and it seems the likely cause is my poor battery maintenance or something to do with an output voltage regulator, any suggestions, advice, etc will be appreciated... maybe even one of you with great knowledge in this area can do a full write up in your own thread and link it here...

 

[dan46n2]

Do you use a battery tender or does your bike see regular (daily) usage with trips extending beyond 30 minutes?

 

[RMAN]

You can test your charging system for output. All you need is a meter. As far as maintenance, depends upon what type of battery that you are using. A sealed gel or agm battery only needs to be kept charged. Also depends upon the quality of the battery. Do you use a maintenance charger such as a Battery Tender? My bikes are always hooked up when parked at home and my oem SV Yuasa went 7yrs. It didn't die, I just replaced it. The best thing that you can do is to clean all your cables from oxidation and corrosion. That's the two battery cables, cable to the starter relay and the cable to the starter motor. Then check the connectors from the stator to the R/R and from the R/R. I would definitely check the specs for the R/R and stator. If this is a 1gen SV, I would think about swapping out the oem R/R for a Mosfet type.

 

[DrPsyc]

what is the R/R?

 

[RMAN]

R/R = Regulator/Rectifier. The component that changes the AC voltage from the stator to DC voltage(Rectified) and then regulates the amount of voltage going to the battery to keep the battery charged. Unless the Pepboys' batteries are pure junk or you're not getting the correct battery, something is going on with your charging or electrical system.

 

[DrPsyc]

ok can you link how to do that or tell me where in the haynes manual the walk through is to test all this stuff?

 

[RMAN]

Here's the page out of the Suzuki manual for testing the stator output and the rectifier portion of the R/R. At rest, a fully charged battery should show 12.5-13VDC. While idling in the high 13s. At 5Krpm, the voltage at the battery should be 13-15.5V.

 

[DrPsyc]

will this thing get the job done?

 

[RMAN]

Yes, but you can buy one at the Depot or Lowes or the Shack for less if you don't want to wait or at least something similarly priced with those features.