Lithium Battery and Voltage Regulator and Hot Wires
Hi,
I bought a Lithium battery (to save weight) and got it in my car. It has been awhile since I started the car so I had to crank the car for awhile until it started. The battery turned the motor over quite well.
Once the car was running I noticed a little smoke by the voltage regulator and it started getting worse, then a small fire started where the plug between the wires from the side cover to the voltage regulator is located which I put out. The wires on the VR side of the plug had melted the covering and were bare. The wires on the engine cover side of the plug were discolored. The plug from the VR to the wires that lead to the battery looked ok.
I did talk to George Dean and he said when I was cranking the motor I probably drained the battery down and that the Lithium batteries demand a lot of energy back to recharge and thus there is a lot of current going thru the wires. He said the plugs have more resistance than the rest of the wire so they get hot and thus the problem. He suggested I just cut out the plugs and solder the wires together (for both sets of plugs). When I change the motor, I'll have to cut those wires which is a bit of a pain but ok.
Was just wondering if anyone has some advice on this situation. I'm going to try what George had suggested and then check to see how the wires feel. I just don't want to get into a situation where I start burning wires again of course!
Any suggestions or experience with this using the Lithium batteries? Thank you.
James
Lithium Battery and Voltage Regulator and Hot Wires
By the way, this is a GSXR 2008 Motor.
Cheers,
James
Gauge of Wire and wires go into VR
Yea I would need to check on the gauge of the wire but the wires go into and out of the Voltage Regulator so I could not change that gauge (at least easily) without modifying the VR. I can get rid of the plugs easily. Thanks.
Lithium Battery and yes it's me Archie!
Thanks for all the info. On the voltage regulator, it seems odd that I did not have this problem before when I was using a standard battery. I ran all last season with this VR and it was fine then as soon as I have the Lithium - well you know.
In any case might be a good idea to replace the VR anyway. The burning started at plug between side cover and VR, not from VR to battery so a lot of energy was there before getting to the VR.
By the way, the 1st battery I got did not work at all. I had to send it back and they sent me a new one which then worked fine (except of course when I started the car and has this issue), but it definitely cranked well. The 1st one didn't even have enough power to light up the dash even after charging for hours on a Lithium charger.
And Archie - yes that's me! I have an F1000 now! Sold the FC (that I converted to an FF) back in 2006. Hope all is well in Seattle - I'll try to give you a ring.
So what happened after that if you don't mind me asking
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Locke
This may shed some light on my experience this past summer. Just before the Sunday race at the June Sprints, my engine builder noticed that the insulation had melted on the wires near my '08 GSXR voltage regulator. He had a larger Hayabusa regulator that I put on, and so far I haven't noticed a problem with its wires. I use a Ballistic LiFePO4 battery, and before the first start each day I crank the engine with the ignition off until I see some oil pressure in the dash. (The engine doesn't require cranking under ignition-on conditions, and I don't use a booster battery since the engine starts easily.)
So what happened after that David - did you get a new regulator or just was more careful with time cranking the motor? Do you think it was the battery or VR or some combination? Thank you.