dead battery or bad rectifier?

[sleepysmurf]

got out in the middle of the river yesterday and the machine went dead on me. Low 12v warning, was able to limp back to shore and walk it back to the dock (it only took about 1 hour )... got home, hooked up a charger and sure enough battery was showing dead, no charge. Charged her up 2 days ago, unplugged, went to lake today, got out there, revved up, boggs out, starts up fine, as soon as we throttle all the way she boggs out and cuts out. Each time it dies I can turn it over and limp back to shore atleast this time without needing to walk 1 hour through marsh and quicksand. Get home, hook back up to charger again, battery shows dead again. Wondering if this new battery bought last year has something wrong with it that it wont hold charge? or if the system is not charging the battery, and if so what are the options? thoughts?

 

[artr]

Have battery load tested after fully charged at an auto supply store.

 

[SabotageR1]

Also test the charging system with a multimeter. When the ski is running, it should be charging the battery, if not ther an issue.

 

[sleepysmurf]

Also test the charging system with a multimeter. When the ski is running, it should be charging the battery, if not ther an issue.

was going to ask next, how to test with the multimeter whether its actually charging the bat or not? this is on a 98 GSX LTD (2 smoke).

 

[DaddyLoafin]

was going to ask next, how to test with the multimeter whether its actually charging the bat or not? this is on a 98 GSX LTD (2 smoke).

check voltage of battery before you start it, than start it and see if it climbs. if the rectifier is bad it can still charge but cause a ton of wierd issues

 

[sleepysmurf]

check voltage of battery before you start it, than start it and see if it climbs. if the rectifier is bad it can still charge but cause a ton of wierd issues

I will give it a shot and report back. Thanks for the tips.

 

[sleepysmurf]

alright reporting back, my working machine outputs exactly 12.5 v on the meter, the machine giving me issues output initially 12.4 and after a few cranks she only output 12.2 v. Hooked up the charger to both batteries again this morning, working machine lit up "fully charged" rather quickly, problem machine sat at "charging 10%" for awhile. I think I have a defective battery. Going to buy a new one tomorrow and test out that theory. Hope I don't get stuck out there again

 

[sleepysmurf]

oh I should add that while cranking the machine the voltage dipped a bit, but when accelerating heavy (on the trailer) the voltage never went over 12.4 leading me to believe the rectifier is fine.. and with all hope a new battery will fix it up.

 

[SabotageR1]

oh I should add that while cranking the machine the voltage dipped a bit, but when accelerating heavy (on the trailer) the voltage never went over 12.4 leading me to believe the rectifier is fine.. and with all hope a new battery will fix it up.

lol, bro if you're only getting 12.4V while revving, you're battery's not getting charged. 12.4-6 at idle fine, when revved should be above 12.8 or your battery not getting charged. ideally over 13v good

 

[DaddyLoafin]

I just checked this on mine over the weekend. Before starting my battery was at 12.6 volts. Once running and idling around 3000 rpm’s it was 13.5 ish. To check the rectifier you have to rev it to I think 4500 rpm’s and you shouldn’t see more the 14.5volts. Do t quote me on that but it’s somthing along those lines.

Could also be a bad stator, even with a bad battery once it’s running the voltage should come up.

 

[SabotageR1]

I just checked this on mine over the weekend. Before starting my battery was at 12.6 volts. Once running and idling around 3000 rpm’s it was 13.5 ish. To check the rectifier you have to rev it to I think 4500 rpm’s and you shouldn’t see more the 14.5volts. Do t quote me on that but it’s somthing along those lines.

Could also be a bad stator, even with a bad battery once it’s running the voltage should come up.

FYI @sleepysmurf These are ideal numbers above, what I stated are like bottom line numbers. Some old vehicle, due to corrosion in the wiring start having resistance in the circuit and struggle to get those ideal numbers, so if you cant get ideal number, from what I recall, around 12.8/9 is the lowest that may still charge your battery. What you claimed you're getting, your battery definitely not getting charged. But the numbers Daddyloafin posted are what you should be seeing on a good system.

 

[sleepysmurf]

FYI @sleepysmurf These are ideal numbers above, what I stated are like bottom line numbers. Some old vehicle, due to corrosion in the wiring start having resistance in the circuit and struggle to get those ideal numbers, so if you cant get ideal number, from what I recall, around 12.8/9 is the lowest that may still charge your battery. What you claimed you're getting, your battery definitely not getting charged. But the numbers Daddyloafin posted are what you should be seeing on a good system.

thanks , my battery seems to not be holding a charge, even shortly after being on the charger. I am going to start with the new battery and if that does not fix it then we are going to try all the above. I appreciate everyone's advice and help around here. I will report back after the battery swap.

 

[SabotageR1]

thanks , my battery seems to not be holding a charge, even shortly after being on the charger. I am going to start with the new battery and if that does not fix it then we are going to try all the above. I appreciate everyone's advice and help around here. I will report back after the battery swap.

Copy, just remember lithium batteries can be drained to almost dead and be brought back. If you're draining your lead acid battery they go bad. I forget how low you can drain them for before they go bad, so if the ski's not charging your battery, don't let it drain it dead.

 

[POPPS]

Load test the battery
Check that the stator is putting voltage
Then you can blame the rectifier

 

[sleepysmurf]

Load test the battery
Check that the stator is putting voltage
Then you can blame the rectifier

ok update on all of this, battery was load tested, tests say the battery is perfectly fine. I find this odd considering it seems like this battery is always in a state of needing to be charged, so next I will swap the battery from the working ski to the one that is not to test it that way. If the battery is fine then yes unfortuently I have bigger issues. Stator was replaced last year due to metal shavings in the case that shorted out the machine, blew the 15amp fuse, and basically made the machine dead until new stator was installed. Could it be that the new stator has an issue already? How can I test that the stator is not the issue?

 

[DaddyLoafin]

ok update on all of this, battery was load tested, tests say the battery is perfectly fine. I find this odd considering it seems like this battery is always in a state of needing to be charged, so next I will swap the battery from the working ski to the one that is not to test it that way. If the battery is fine then yes unfortuently I have bigger issues. Stator was replaced last year due to metal shavings in the case that shorted out the machine, blew the 15amp fuse, and basically made the machine dead until new stator was installed. Could it be that the new stator has an issue already? How can I test that the stator is not the issue?

I’m pretty sure you can test the stator by checking resistance with a multi meter. Just look up the procedure and what wires to touch and what not

 

[docdrs]

There is also a charging relay that can go bad

 

[Jtamaro]

got out in the middle of the river yesterday and the machine went dead on me. Low 12v warning, was able to limp back to shore and walk it back to the dock (it only took about 1 hour )... got home, hooked up a charger and sure enough battery was showing dead, no charge. Charged her up 2 days ago, unplugged, went to lake today, got out there, revved up, boggs out, starts up fine, as soon as we throttle all the way she boggs out and cuts out. Each time it dies I can turn it over and limp back to shore atleast this time without needing to walk 1 hour through marsh and quicksand. Get home, hook back up to charger again, battery shows dead again. Wondering if this new battery bought last year has something wrong with it that it wont hold charge? or if the system is not charging the battery, and if so what are the options? thoughts?

Hi, lots of great suggestions. Also check the earth to the engine maybe? I’m not an electrical guy but I think it would be good to tick that off

 

[sleepysmurf]

alright I am back, and unfortunately the machine is still broken and now in the shop. The shop is telling me the machine has low compression and needs a complete tear down. I find this hard to believe considering the machine was hauling ass for 15 mins before it cut dead on me in the water. I know the compression is lower but it still ran fine. Something is telling me this is not a compression issue but hey.. who am I to say. I will get the numbers from the mechanic and compare with my own and go from there. The machine starts, but when you hammer on the throttle she cuts out. mechanic said the engine was flooded with fuel when he started working on it, apparently he had to drain it to get it started. New fuel lines were put in end of last year, maybe some air getting into the line? thats my best guess now..

 

[2strokeboy]

What is your compression? If its getting flooded then your screws could be adjusted incorrectly, have you ever rebuilt the carbs?

 

[sleepysmurf]

What is your compression? If its getting flooded then your screws could be adjusted incorrectly, have you ever rebuilt the carbs?

they said 70 in one cylinder and 100 in the other. I noted this year some gunky sticky oil (not runny) all around the gasket for the rave valves. Could leaking rave gaskets cause low compression? Carbs and new fuel lines were done end of year 2023.. in prep for this year.. just to have no machine all year now. lol..

 

[DaddyLoafin]

they said 70 in one cylinder and 100 in the other. I noted this year some gunky sticky oil (not runny) all around the gasket for the rave valves. Could leaking rave gaskets cause low compression? Carbs and new fuel lines were done end of year 2023.. in prep for this year.. just to have no machine all year now. lol..

leaking raves will not cause lower compression.

 

[2strokeboy]

Did you check that or was it the shop, thats way to low to run right maybe even run at all

 

[sleepysmurf]

What is your compression? If its getting flooded then your screws could be adjusted incorrectly, have you ever rebuilt the carbs?

they said 70 in one cylinder and 100 in the other. I noted this year some gunky sticky oil (not runny) all around the gasket for the rave valves. Could leaking rave gaskets cause low compression? Carbs and new fuel lines were done end of year 2023.. in prep for this year.. just to have no machine all year now. lol..

Did you check that or was it the shop, thats way to low to run right maybe even run at all

thats at the shop.. I havent checked myself yet. Yea I know, shop says it needs a new engine basically. fml.

 

[sleepysmurf]

What is your compression? If its getting flooded then your screws could be adjusted incorrectly, have you ever rebuilt the carbs?

they said 70 in one cylinder and 100 in the other. I noted this year some gunky sticky oil (not runny) all around the gasket for the rave valves. Could leaking rave gaskets cause low compression? Carbs and new fuel lines were done end of year 2023.. in prep for this year.. just to have no machine all year now. lol..

Did you check that or was it the shop, thats way to low to run right maybe even run at all

thats at the shop.. I havent checked myself yet. Yea I know, shop says it needs a new engine basically. fml.