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REF.20
Fault Finding
14 Electrical problems
Battery dead or weak
0
Battery faulty. Caused by sulphated plates which are shorted
through sedimentation. Also. broken battery terminal making only
occasional contact (Chapter 8).
0
Battery cables making poor contact (Chapter 1).
0
Load excessive. Caused by addition of high wattage lights or
other electrical accessories.
0 Ignition (main) switch defective. Switch either grounds (earths)
internally or fails to shut off system. Replace the switch (Chapter 8).
0 Regulator/rectifier defective (Chapter 8).
0 Alternator stator coil open or shorted (Chapter 8).
Fault Finding Equipment
Checking engine compression
. Low compression will result in exhaust
smoke, heavy 011 consumption, poor starting
and poor performance.
A
compression test
will provide useful information
about an
engine's condition and if performed regularly,
can give warning of trouble before any other
symptoms become apparent.
.
A compression gauge will be required,
along with an adapter to suit the spark plug
hole thread size. Note that the screw-in type
gauge/adapter set up is preferable to the
rubber cone type.
Wiring faulty. Wiring grounded (earthed) or connections loose in
ignition, charging or lighting circuits (Chapter 8).
Battery overcharged
0 Regulator/rectifier defective. Overcharging is noticed when battery
gets excessively warm (Chapter 8).
D Battery defective. Replace battery with a new one (Chapter 8).
D Battery amperage too low, wrong type or size. Install
manufacturer's specified amp-hour battery to handle charging
load (Chapter 8).
. Before carrying out the test, first check the
valve clearances as described in Chapter 1.
1 Run the engine until it reaches normal
operating temperature, then stop it and
remove the spark plug(s), taking care not to
scald your hands on the hot components.
2 Install the gauge adapter and compression
gauge in No; 1 cylinder spark plug hole (...
illustration 1).
3 On kickstart-equipped motorcycles, make
sure the ignition switch is OFF, then open the
throttle fully and kick the engine over a couple
of times until the gauge reading stabilises.
4 On motorcycles with electric start only, the
procedure will differ depending on the nature
of the ignition system. Flick the engine kill
switch (engine stop switch) to OFF and turn
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