generator light gets brighter

[Amurica]

I have a 1977 R100/7 - I have replaced the entire charging system with enduro last upgrade - regulator - starter relay - battery - Dyna III electronic ignition...many of the wires - cleaned all the grounds (even put on my old diode board just to see) but the generator light stays on and get brighter when I rev. Please put me out of my misery

[Kurt in S.A.]

Welcome to the forum! Is this a new in the box installation? Can you contact the seller of the charging system? Sounds like a wiring connection issue and the seller (EuroMotoElectrics?) should be able to clear it up.

Kurt in S.A.

[Amurica]

I have been doing that but they basically send me to their troubleshooting guide and that hasn't helped me yet - I have been through YouTube, a few friends...etc. it seems a simple system but I have no idea what to try next. Is there a way to test power coming from alternator while its running? If the Gen. light gets brighter does that mean the alternator is working?

Jamie - Memphis

[Kurt in S.A.]

The way I understand things, the light tells you the difference in voltage on one side or the other...one side being the alternator and the other side being the battery. If both sides have the same voltage, no light. I can certainly see that if the alternator is not being limited, it could be putting out 14-15-16v which is far different than the battery.

Start by putting a voltmeter across the battery terminals. Start the bike and take readings at idle and as the RPM increases. It should not go above 14v or so. If higher, likely the voltage regulator is not working.

Snowbum has a page on testing the voltage regulator:

https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/testingv ... lators.htm

He has other pages for troubleshooting the stock charging system...might help with your setup:

https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/trbleshootALT.htm
https://bmwmotorcycletech.info/AftrMrktAlt.htm

Kurt in S.A.

[Amurica]

Just wanna say thanks for the dialogue - I have tested the battery at idle and hight rpm - it stays the same. How do I check reading coming from the alt. while its running?

j

[Kurt in S.A.]

Well, basically you did...you're getting nothing from the alternator at the battery!! So, the problem is upstream from there. Check Snowbum's article on troubleshooting the alternator although that is for the stock alternator. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Enduralast alternator, but the info you got from the seller should give you places to measure voltages on the alternator. Or at least, tell them that you measured the battery with engine running and you're getting no increase in voltage. They should be able to tell you to measure at x or y or z.

Kurt in S.A.

[Rob Frankham]

I haven't had any dealings with the Enduralast system but looking at the images and wiring diagrams on their site, it appears to be simply an upgraded version of the original Bosche setup.

From first principles... if the lamp is on that's a pretty good indicator that the alternator is not charging. If you've checked the voltage at the battery with the engine running at various revs and it remains steady (probably falling slowly). Then that is a very clear indication that the alternator isn't charging.

The issue could be in a number of places but the first thing to do, since this is a new installation, is to check all of the wiring and connections. Check them off one at a time against the installation instructions It's quite easy to check things off in your mind as being done right, then at a later stage, to realise it wasn't right at all... DAMHIK! Also check the integrity of all of the wires involved.

OK so now you're very happy that everything is connected right so you need to start looking at specific components. The order you check will depend on you but this is the way I would go...

1) Loop out the regulator... disconnect the wires fron the rgulator and connect the blue wire (D+) to the black wire (Df). Start the bike and increase revs... If the lamp goes out and the voltage shoots up to around 16 volts or more, you have a dead regulator. A word of warning... don't ride the bike like this or run it for any length of time... you'll fry the battery.

2) Diode Board test... You've pretty much ruled out the diode board with your substitution but it's still a good idea to check it out. There is a testing prodcdure here https://robfrankham.com/diode-board-test. This is based round the stock diode board but I'm pretty sure it's applicable to the Enduralast unit as well apart from the fact that the physical connections will probably look different. Should be simple to identify them from the documentation.

3) Brushes... Are the brushes making good contact with the slip rings? Are they connected correctly. The left brush connector should go direct to ground through the alternator cover, the right one should be insulated from ground and connect only to the regulator (Df).

4) Rotor.... I don't know the specifed resistance for the Enduralast rotor (measured with a multimeter between the two slip rings(with the brushes not making contact)) but it definitely should not be zero and I would be very surprised if it was as high as 10 ohms. Any more than that and the rotor is suspect

5) Stator... Again I don't have the resistance spec for the coils on the rotor but the resistance between any two of the main output terminals (U. V and W) will be somewhere less than 1 ohm (stock is 0.62 ohms) and it definitely shouldn't be zero. There should be no continuity between any of the terminals and ground and there should also be a resistance reading between each of the three main terminals and the 'Y' terminal.

To recap. With the charge light shining constantly, your charge circuit is not producing any electricity at all. If it is fitted and wired correctly and all of the wires are in tact, then there's a fault with one of the components. Don't assume that, because a component is new, it's going to be good. With anything, especially anything electrical, failure is most common during the first few hours of operation. Check each item and you will find the problem.

Rob

[Amurica]

Thanks so much for all the help - Finally figured it all out... I have to say the Enduralast system is great and everything fit perfect the problem was a two parter for me. The Dyna III ignition I put on was faulty and would only fire on one side ( crazy and frustrating) - Enduralast system I purchased new had one diode bad so it was putting out power but not enough. Good news is that I emailed the company and even though I bought it from a third party they are sending me a new board and were very helpful over the phone on how to test the board properly. Problem solved.

Best
Jamie - memphis - 1978 R100/7

[Kurt in S.A.]

Nice! Glad things have turned around. I guess with anything electric, something can go wrong. What is your plan with the ignition...are you doing to get something other than the Dyna III or buy a new one?

Kurt in S.A.