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Thread: ZX10R died when riding

  1. #1
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    Default ZX10R died when riding

    So I was riding my 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R the other day, parked somewhere and then when I went to start it again it didn't start. So I got a jump from someone and it started right up. No problem I thought, I'll ride home and then replace the battery. But I only rode about 5 mins and then when I stopped at a stop sign the bike died on me and wouldn't restart. I had someone I knew come and give me another jump, this time leaving the leads connected for about 20mins before I tried starting the bike to charge the battery. Then I was able to ride all the way home (about 10mins) without the bike dieing on me.

    Do I need a new battery or is this something else? Stator?

    Thanks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtremeSi View Post
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    So I was riding my 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R the other day, parked somewhere and then when I went to start it again it didn't start. So I got a jump from someone and it started right up. No problem I thought, I'll ride home and then replace the battery. But I only rode about 5 mins and then when I stopped at a stop sign the bike died on me and wouldn't restart. I had someone I knew come and give me another jump, this time leaving the leads connected for about 20mins before I tried starting the bike to charge the battery. Then I was able to ride all the way home (about 10mins) without the bike dieing on me.

    Do I need a new battery or is this something else? Stator?

    Thanks.
    Get the bike running and check the voltage at the battery around 2,000rpm or so.. Could be stator or reg/rec acting up.

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    Ok I'll try that this evening. What reading should I see?

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    My money is on your Stator, quite common on the liter Kawi's

    from a 2009 MY, not sure if they changed this
    "There should be 4 wires coming out of the stator, 3 white and 1 black, there should be about 7-7.5 volts AC coming out of each of the three of the white wires, if there is not then the stator is bad. "

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    Using some google fu use this are a baseline

    bike off - 12v+
    bike at idle - 13v+
    bike at 3k+ - 14.5v+

    You basically want to see an increase in voltage when your RPMs go up as that is when the battery actually gets charged when riding. If this doesn't happen your battery constantly drains and goes dead.
    Last edited by firebane; 06-27-2019 at 11:41 AM.

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    You also DONT want to see >15v as the batteries will die that way too - seen this on a few bikes.

    Also if your battery is completely dead - the electrical system on bikes will have a tough time keeping up with both charging the dead battery and running the bike when you are idling.

    Had you kept part throttle on that stop sign you would have likely made it home OK.

    Just a little quirk.

    I would personally replace the battery first before getting into the electrical system - how old is the battery and how is it stored in the winter?
    Last edited by revelations; 06-27-2019 at 11:54 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skrilla View Post
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    My money is on your Stator, quite common on the liter Kawi's

    from a 2009 MY, not sure if they changed this
    "There should be 4 wires coming out of the stator, 3 white and 1 black, there should be about 7-7.5 volts AC coming out of each of the three of the white wires, if there is not then the stator is bad. "
    I'll check this. Just have to find the stator. I know the previous owner told me he replaced the stator 2 or 3 years ago.

    Quote Originally Posted by firebane View Post
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    Using some google fu use this are a baseline

    bike off - 12v+
    bike at idle - 13v+
    bike at 3k+ - 14.5v+

    You basically want to see an increase in voltage when your RPMs go up as that is when the battery actually gets charged when riding. If this doesn't happen your battery constantly drains and goes dead.
    Ah ok, so if the battery voltage goes up with rpm then the stator is doing it's job? I'm new to bike electronics. Stator = alternator basically?

    Quote Originally Posted by revelations View Post
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    You also DONT want to see >15v as the batteries will die that way too - seen this on a few bikes.

    Also if your battery is completely dead - the electrical system on bikes will have a tough time keeping up with both charging the dead battery and running the bike when you are idling.

    Had you kept part throttle on that stop sign you would have likely made it home OK.

    Just a little quirk.

    I would personally replace the battery first before getting into the electrical system - how old is the battery and how is it stored in the winter?
    Ya I've heard that bike batteries are important while it's running. Not sure how old it is, but I have it hooked up to a trickle charger all winter. It's been fine the past couple months. I don't have a problem replacing the battery I just don't want to waste my money if there's something else that's causing the battery to die.

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    Generally speaking, once your bike battery runs down/dies (which it has) and its of unknown age (ie not 6 months old) - its best to replace it - regardless of the cause.

    The battery date code should be on the top somewhere as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by revelations View Post
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    Generally speaking, once your bike battery runs down/dies (which it has) and its of unknown age (ie not 6 months old) - its best to replace it - regardless of the cause.

    The battery date code should be on the top somewhere as well.
    Only reason I didn't recommend a new battery yet is that if the stator IS bad then it'll possibly damage the battery again.

    @ExtremeSi
    Yes the stator is like an alternator which works with the reg/rec to produce the 12v system you need on a bike.

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    Like others are saying, stator or voltage regulator. There was a recall on my 2009 that I think was for both 6R and 10R's for this exact part. Check if it stretched back to 2006.

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    Quote Originally Posted by firebane View Post
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    Only reason I didn't recommend a new battery yet is that if the stator IS bad then it'll possibly damage the battery again.
    Not that quickly - if for eg. hes getting 17V at the terminals immediately after battery switch, and he didnt do a basic voltage check, it would take a few rides to ruin the battery - not instantly. Same if too low.

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    I've also noticed that sometimes when I would shut my bike off it would make a high-pitched solid wine for a couple minutes. Only happened a few times. It did it more last summer, haven't heard it much this summer. Is that related?

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    Regulator/battery.

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    Alright so I have my bike apart now and have been testing things according to the service manual. The stator checks out with producing around 80V AC at 4000rpm across all 3 leads. And the resistance values are good. I have a new stator from the previous owner in case I need to change it.
    The battery reads 12.4V when bike is off. Around 12.5-12.7 when bike is on and doesn't change when I increase the rpms. Does that mean the rectifier is bad or the stator? My next check will be the rectifier, just have to get to it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtremeSi View Post
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    Alright so I have my bike apart now and have been testing things according to the service manual. The stator checks out with producing around 80V AC at 4000rpm across all 3 leads. And the resistance values are good. I have a new stator from the previous owner in case I need to change it.
    The battery reads 12.4V when bike is off. Around 12.5-12.7 when bike is on and doesn't change when I increase the rpms. Does that mean the rectifier is bad or the stator? My next check will be the rectifier, just have to get to it.
    You should have something like 13.5v at about 4000 on the battery. If it doesn't change, the battery is still not being charged.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtremeSi View Post
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    Alright so I have my bike apart now and have been testing things according to the service manual. The stator checks out with producing around 80V AC at 4000rpm across all 3 leads. And the resistance values are good. I have a new stator from the previous owner in case I need to change it.
    The battery reads 12.4V when bike is off. Around 12.5-12.7 when bike is on and doesn't change when I increase the rpms. Does that mean the rectifier is bad or the stator? My next check will be the rectifier, just have to get to it.
    If you have a bad battery, you can easily throw off your terminal readings vs. a good battery.

    (disclaimer - this carries risk of damage) With the bike running, remove the negative terminal. If it still runs OK and the readings now go up to 13v - you have a bad battery.

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    Rectifier failed some of the resistance tests so I guess that's the culprit. I'll order a new one and hopefully that's all it is.

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    https://www.zxforums.com/forums/zx-6...6r-recall.html

    He's the recall I was talking about. Check if there has been one for your generation.

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    You may want to check out a place called Rick's Stators, I replaced my stator on my vulcan 900 with one of their units, massive improvement.
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    Update: my new rectifier/regulator came in finally so I installed it and the bike is all good now. I also installed a digital voltmeter by the gauges so I can keep an eye on the voltage in case it ever drops again.
    I checked for recalls for my bike, but no luck. The recalls are for the later gen.

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