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BEC Battery Charging
Toprivetguns - 12/8/12 at 05:23 PM

Evening all,

Now my engine is up and running properly I've been troubleshooting all my little snags. Because I have an electric reverse, im using a car battery setup. Only problem is my rectifier is getting hot and the wires leading to are very HOT to the point of melting. So I can only assume the alternator is trying its damn hardest to charge the battery.

So can I only use a bike battery now? How is everyone else with a BEC/electric reverse setup getting round this problem?

Thanks !

40inches - 12/8/12 at 05:45 PM

I have both, bike battery + car battery for the reverse, charged via a smart relay so the circuits are separate, I also
keep the bike battery on a maintenance charge, with a smart charger, when in garage.
The main thing is to keep both batteries fully charged to give the alternator a fighting chance.

mark chandler - 12/8/12 at 05:48 PM

A car battery will provide a load greater than the bike engines alternator can support, expect it to fry!

You need to keep it at maximum charge to protect things.

wylliezx9r - 12/8/12 at 06:11 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
A car battery will provide a load greater than the bike engines alternator can support, expect it to fry!

You need to keep it at maximum charge to protect things.


You sure about that ? Been running a car battery ony zx9r (no mods) for 2 years, no problems at all.

To the op, is the battery definately ok ?

britishtrident - 12/8/12 at 09:22 PM

The size of the battery isn't the heart of problem it is electric reverse drawing a huge ammount of current flattening the battery.

I suspect a goosed battery, first thing to do is get a a test done that measures the batteries volt drop under load.

[Edited on 12/8/12 by britishtrident]

Toprivetguns - 13/8/12 at 07:48 PM

The battery is fine, almost brand new. Thanks for all the advice so far, back to the drawing board !

wylliezx9r - 13/8/12 at 08:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Toprivetguns
The battery is fine, almost brand new. Thanks for all the advice so far, back to the drawing board !


Still get the battery tested, I bought a new one for a motorbike a few years ago and it was knackered, you.never know how long they have been in storage.

daviep - 13/8/12 at 09:01 PM

Do you have connectors in the rectifier wiring? If so then there's a good chance that this is where the heat in the wiring is being generated.

Make sure the casing of the rectifier has a really good earth.

Upgrade to MOSFET controlled rectifier which will run much cooler.

Cheers
Davie