Battery died

[Charles S Otwell]

I'm not a Wal-Mart advocate, but they do have an excellent return service, and over the years I have had as good a luck with Wal-Mart batteries as I have Interstate or Sears Die hard or Yuasa. All are subject to failure, have it checked if it's bad replace it, if it shows to be good then check out your charging system. Maybe it'll be a simple fix, good luck.

[HardDriveUSA]

Just the topic I needed.  The battery I got 4 months ago is giving me problems, the one before that lasted a year.  What is the "normal" life of a battery?

new years eve was a great day for some riding, so I went out hour+  worked on some slow speed stuff.  Got back home and the bike died right outside the garage.  Instead of pushing it in, I went down my driveway hill to start it, no good.  went down the next hill no start there either.  had to jumpstart with the truck to get the bike back up the hills into the garage.  When I hooked it up to a cheap walmart battery charger it told me the battery was bad.

the place I got the battery from hooked it up to a good charger and got some life back into the battery, and two possible issues.  Either my charging system is going out, or I have a "leak" in my power system.  I can check the first one with a volt meter easy.  Are there any known issues with the Magna?  A new mechanic at the place made a comment about crashes bike having that problem not knowing that I had a Magna as well.

on a side note while jumpstarting a bike from a cage, should the cage be running or not?  I don't see how it would hurt a bike either way, but something I have heard.

[hootmon]

Sorry to hear about your battery problems, I've had my share and then some..
I would dismiss a "leak", as you just rode the bike for an hour, which should have been charging the battery.
Depending on the year of your bike, (2000 or earlier) most likely your regulator has go south on you - common issue on earlier year bikes... (You can use the search feature if you want LOTS of info on this subject!)
Test it with a volt meter.. You should have about 14.7 V above Idle, check about 3K RPM..

Some regulators run 0 = battery drains and bike dies
Some regulators run high = boil your battery dry

My last regulator (yes I've had a few) - must have been only partially working for a while and was putting out some voltage, but not enough.. I have an Aux. Light and if I ran both my headlight and Aux light, it would kill my battery as I rode the bike.. The Regulator finally went to zero, and now I can run both no problem...

You should connect the bike battery with the car NOT running..

[guywheatley]

Charles, His wife, My wife and I all went on a little ride yesterday. As we got back in town  and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant, Maggie died a couple of times. I'll spare al the diagnostics. The battery was dieing. I hauled it home. A couple of cells were a little low, and there was some corrosion on the positive post. I put the charger on it for a few hours, then left it over night. Next morning I started her up. I've got a steady 8 volts across the posts. So, the battery took and held a charge. I think it's OK.
I suspect the used regulator I put on last summer, but wonder if I might have damaged my stator during the 4 months or so that I ran with a bad regulator. Anybody know where can I check the output of the stator, independent of the regulator?

[hootmon]

There is a test for the stator in the manual..
I can tell you I have had a Regulator that ran too high, one that died and I have had shorts on both sides of the regulator (Stator side - yellow wires and regulator output side).. My stator is still good..

[lragan]

You should have a steady 12.6 volts across the battery when the bike is off.  8 volts probably means one of your cells is shorted.  In any case, the battery is not OK.  Running the bike with this battery may put a strain on the regulator/rectifier and the stator.

[guywheatley]

Yeah. this battery is the same one that blew up on me in June. I probably should have replaced it then. any way, I needed to change the air filter so I pulled the gas tank and and checked the 3P connector from the alternator. I read a dead short between both yellows and the yellows and ground. CRAP! Looks like I'll be putting in a new alternator.

[guywheatley]

Oh well, it doesn't look all that hard. I just need a stator assembly.
And I still haven't ruled out damage to the reg/rect. I'll need to get a battery and the alternator working to check it. RATS!!!

[guywheatley]

Ouch!  Man! They don't give those things away. About $250 from Ron Ayers, or Honda direct. I found another site listing it for about $140. Any of you guys ever had dealings with them?
http://www.electrosport.com/street/street-model-products-listing-street_44700.php

[TLRam1]

Guy, it's easy to replace the stator. Watch your fingers when you pull the cover off if it slips back on it does with authority as the magnets pull it hard, back in tight. You will have a couple of dowels which line the cover properly.

I used a little lock-tite on the threads for the stator. The metal plate holds the wires in place. Don't forget to order a new gasket.

I few guys with vintage bikes have used Electro, I haven't heard of issues but have not paid much attention to it either. You will need to check the output of their stator.   

[TLRam1]

These people on ebay have parted out 3rd Gen Magnas. You may look them up and give them a call or email.

PinWall Cycle Parts

Here is one of there ads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Magna-VF750-750-ENGINE-STATOR-COVER_W0QQitemZ370101115181QQihZ024QQcategoryZ10066QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

[TLRam1]

As a matter of fact......here ya go

about 65.00 delivered

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Magna-VF750-750-STATOR-ALTERNATOR-GENERATOR_W0QQitemZ370106953321QQihZ024QQcategoryZ10066QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

[dgc67]

I will have to do a search to find it, but I ran across a website/company who makes "upgraded" stators.  They put out a little more juice than stock to accomodate the extra goodies we all want to run.  I will try and find it today and post the link here.

[hootmon]

Here is another choice
http://www.rmstator.com/en/index.php/Motorcycles/Honda/VF_750_C_V45_Magna/VF_750_c_Generator_Stator/1497

Here is a higher output version
http://www.regulatorrectifier.com/catalog/1994-2003-honda-vf750c-v45-magna-stator.html

[guywheatley]

Hey guys. Thanks for the feed back. Especial the links. I'm going to see if I can get Charles to come over a take a peek before I actually order a stator. I'd like to get someone smarter than me about motorcycles to look at it before I blow money on parts. I'll keep you posted.