Ellpee Back in Tucson/Roketa Mode By ellpee (Read 722 times)

[ellpee]

Arrived back in Tucson yesterday, fired up the Roketa (2600 miles) this morning after it spent five months in the garage in the worst of the Tucson summer heat. Took a few cranks to get fuel through the system, but did start and appears to be idling correctly; for those pondering longer-term storage, I put enzyme fuel stabilizer in the gas tank but did nothing else special (think maybe I changed engine/gear oil before we left last spring, but not sure of that -- engine oil looks pretty clean). Near term projects include replacing left switch assembly due to turn signal problems, replacing left turn signal assembly due to own stupidity in re: using side stand when should have used center stand. To refresh everybody, last winter/spring I replaced the diode with a relay, and relocated it, the CDI, and the fusebox to a homemade "rack" under the seat; also added a fan to the CDI for extra cooling. Will be posting regularly here as my scooting experiences expand.

[fflintstone]

Glad to see ya back in the hood ,EllPee,---nice to see your ride is able and willing--happy trails,fflintstone

[richardthescooter3]

Hey ellpee, also glad to see you back, keep us updated on your progress

[ellpee]

So, just back from first ride, about two hours. After the expected 5-6 cranks to get gas through all the lines, fired right up and idled nicely. Along the way, ran well, plenty of pep. Only thing that troubled me goes back to my electrical experiences last winter/spring. Have an add-on voltmeter installed, and enroute I'm seeing readings between 11 and 12 volts. When really hauling butt, it might make it to 12.2 or so, but nothing higher. It DOES, say again DOES, go up with additional revs, suggesting there is charging going on, but I'm not seeing any of those numbers in the 13-14v range that many other posts on this forum would suggest I should be seeing.

Bear in mind the above is with a new CDI, and about 2700 miles on the scoot. I did replace the diode with a relay, meaning headlights go on at key turn, which I'm sure is a drain on the electrical system, but all the same ....

Any counsel from electro-gurus is welcome, as always. It didn't leave me cussing at the side of the road during today's roughly two-hour run, several stops along the way, but anything less than 12v on that voltmeter makes me really paranoid.

[richardthescooter3]

Do you keep your scoot on a battery tender? I had a similar problem with my scoot some time ago, the three way plugs right above my R/R was melted, at that time my battery wasn't charging much if any until I replaced those plug. then power was back

[richardthescooter3]

storage.proboards.com/3310800/t/W5cRWMj7JmT8dyF8DghK.jpg

Here is what melted.

Attachments:

[ellpee]

Had it on a tender the whole five months we were gone. Did NOT disconnect it in any way, just hooked up the tender to the appropriate poles.

[richardthescooter3]

ellpee, That's good, I use my battery tender all the time also. I just thought to tell you about my trouble just in case that's the problem.

[fflintstone]

Seems to me your charging system is actually doing a good job if the battery stays up--however if it is not doing more than 12 volts it will eventually have problems like a slow drain--so maybe if it is not showing over 12 volts on that meter ,check the meter with a reliable known voltage source--the first job for a tech is to check his instruments for accuracy--from personal experience while working on CB radios--but I am not a guru on scooter charging systems and I think that CDI or diode is not doing a good job and it really is not charging like it should--at about 1200 RPMS idle it should put out at least 13 volts..so something different is going on and I always am suspicious of any new part when something goes wrong--I would first check the voltage (at the battery )with a good voltage meter with the motor idling,13 volts or more,to see if your other meter is doing a good job---good luck,fflintstone

[ellpee]

I turned it on this morning (key only) and put a hand voltmeter on it and the battery showed 12.3; after my ride as described above, I think the dash voltmetert was around 11.8 or so, in which case it actually recovered a couple points overnight. I guess checking at the battery with the engine running, and therefore ostensibly charging, is the next logical step. Always the possibility the voltmeter I installed in the dash is, shall we say, less than 100% accurate. The thing I absolutely want to avoid is dead-on-road somewhere 50 miles from nowhere, and we have a LOT of 50 miles from nowhere in Arizona.

UPDATE: put external (Radio Shack) meter on battery with key on, 12.3. Cranked 'er up, same give or take a tenth or two. Scoot did start right away. Revved up to maybe 4000, didn't see anything above about 12.7, So I'm getting an increase with RPM, but not NEARLY what posts here would suggest I should be getting. If I never see anything above 13 volts I can live with it, but not if I have to worry about DOR at some point in the future. Bear in mind, this is a relatively new replacement CDI.

[skyrider]

Ellpee, Sky Island Riders have a nice ride this Saturday, are you going. We'll be in the area but I fear the granddaughter's birthday party will keep me from going. I would love to go one this one.

[ellpee]

Yeah, I'm booked too, but plan to check them out a bit more thoroughly in the next few weeks. Still somewhat caught up in chores that accumulated while we were away for the summer.

[skyrider]

Sat. Nov. 2nd is their ride of the month. I plan to make that one.