In a normally functioning charging system the voltage should be 13.6-14.4V at pretty much all engine speeds from tick-over all the way to the top (theoretical peak should be at 5000rpm). The charging voltage should be pretty much constant whatever the engine speed is, but only if the voltage regulator is doing its job. You should not notice any significant variation in voltage (if the load is constant) with engine speed assuming everything is working as it should.

A normally charged battery should give about 12.8Vin an open circuit.

OEM reg/rect would probably be fine, it's just that a second hand FZ600 one is going to be a whole lot cheaper and it has flying leads so the loom doesn't connect directly to it. It could therefore be mounted elsewhere if you wanted?

Thanks for this, been a great help.

Tested the bike again this morning. Battery now at 11.86v....let it idle for a few minutes taking random readings and it just stays at 11.86, even when reving it.

Can the Fazer one be mounted in the same place, like a direct swap? i take it you have to take out the wires from the orginal plug to make them connect to the fazer one? (ive seen a pic of a fazer one and the leads look like each one has a connector?)

i ask this as i'm ****e with elecs so think i may have to buy a Yam one due to it being a direct swap.

im also going to Zip tie the plug down, so it cant vibrate out. also use elec grease and make another boot cover for it! AND.....in theory...to be extra safe (especially when travelling abroad) carry a spare unit???

Yes, you'll need to cut the plug off the loom on your bike and connect to the leads attached to the fazer unit, either spades, solder or if you're flash then new multiplugs of the waterproof variety!

Have you read this yet... http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=17054

brill, thanks for that. think of going to buy a patterned one off ebay, direct swap that way.

May treat my self to a new battery too, flatted this one a few times now. Any battery recommendations? place to buy (UK) e.t.c

Thanks

My bike's 4 years old now and the battery has been noticeably dropping off on cold start cranking, it may last a while longer, 4 years isn't a bad innings for a battery, but I don't won't to get caught out. I bought a new one last week. The cheapest I could find for a "reputable" brand was on eBay for a Yuasa YT9-BS...

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/25114...bar&adtype=pla

Intriguing though. Khaki bike means that, as far as I know, it's still only 2008 bikes that have had the failure. Strange that it's taken so long to happen though, most of the others went fairly early on as far as I remember.

can i just double check that the battery in the link is the one for my 09 Ten?

My current battery says " GS GT9B-4"

Yep, it's the correct one Yuasa YT9B-BS as you can see at AJ Sutton Yamaha dealers by clicking here (but they want �95!) :chairfall:

well......my new rec /reg arrived. Its a slightly different shape, fits o.k though. Had a small scare when plugging it in.......man alive its a tight fit!!

Fired the bike up, meter on battery.....14.1v :) let it idle, kept checking, rev'd her for a bit...still 14.1v :)

So im going to ride her round the block loads and keep checking. I dont want to go too far because i dont want to break down far away from home.

As for the connection (the actual pins) i will put some ACF50 on. i read somewhere that electrical grease can cause problems when put directly onto connections?? (good for putting around connection to stop water and so on)

Cheers for your help.

Now that's more like it, nice, high and constant.:yahoo:

Nothing wrong with a good quality dielectric grease, lubing and protecting terminal is what it was designed for. Good ones are designed to insulate when in a thick film, to stop terminal bridging, but in thin micro-films, such as on the terminal blades themselves they are highly conductive, and can in fact reduce resistance. The best types are pH neutral and also act as corrosion inhibitors too. You may have problems with dielectric lubricants if the terminals are worn, poorly fitting (loose) or already have a high resistance though. In the old days people used to use vasoline to protect terminals, which isn't so good (and neither is WD-40). I use Electrolube CG52b, which is also a good switch or moving contact lubricant.