Voltage Regulator and Rear Sprocket

[minieggroll]

Hello,

So I took my GZ in for the first time to the shop and they said I needed a new voltage regulator because it was over volting my battery and a rear sprocket, bearing, drum, seal, cusion because my back wheel was missing a bearing and had a little wiggle in it.

The total cost of the 2 were $425 including labor. Should I get it done and how vital is it that I have these replaced? Will I be able to ride without getting this done?

Thanks!

[JWR]

Hello,

So I took my GZ in for the first time to the shop and they said I needed a new voltage regulator

Buy a 5 dollar meter and see for yourself.


because it was over volting my battery and a rear sprocket, bearing, drum, seal, cusion because my back wheel was missing a bearing and had a little wiggle in it.

At 6600+ miles on the bike, the back tire should have only been changed once.
These bikes have back and forth play. Not side to side.

Get a second opion!!!




The total cost of the 2 were $425 including labor. Should I get it done and how vital is it that I have these replaced? Will I be able to ride without getting this done?

Thanks!

[Water Warrior 2]

Did the shop remove the rear wheel to check for a missing bearing? Doubtful !! I would certainly get a $5 meter as mentioned earlier. Check the voltage yourself to be sure. As for the rear wheel parts you may need new rubber cushions in the hub but I would doubt that too. If there is a bearing missing you will have more than a little wiggle to the rear sprocket. If you road the bike to the shop the 2 axle bearings are in place. If they are refering to the rear carrier bearing the rear sprocket would be very very loose and I can't imagine the bike would even be rideable.
You do need a second opinion before handing over such a large amount of $ for some perceived repairs if there was no teardown inspection performed.
Did the shop give you a price breakdown of parts and labor? Like to see it if possible. I have a suspicion it may be a lot of B.S.
Oh yeah, before I forget. There is no real voltage regulator. The bike has a stator and rectifier. Alantf is our resident electrician and will explain it far better than I can. He will be along shortly. Have patience as he is in a far away time zone.

[alantf]

Hi there.

I've just gone through the schematic, and there does seem to be a regulator of sorts. However.........Going to the troubleshooting section, Suzuki give three possible causes of overcharging. The one that jumps out of the page, and seems most likely, is the faulty battery. Get a cheapo meter and check for yourself what the charging voltage is. If it's too high, then take the battery to a battery depot and get it checked out before you allow the bike shop to do all that work. :)[attachment=0:1zniitoe]img036.jpg[/attachment:1zniitoe]

[alantf]

[attachment=0:lzgnvygu]img042.jpg[/attachment:lzgnvygu]

I've tried to simplify the voltage regulator circuit. The black shows the 3 phase alternator, and how it connects to the battery, via the rectifier set up, which changes it to single phase d.c.

The grey shows the voltage regulator which is connected across the battery. When it detects over voltage/current it sends a signal to the gates of the silicon control rectifiers. This opens (proportionately) the circuits throught these rectifiers to the -ve side of the battery, thus "bleeding off" the excess voltage.

I know this isn't a real technological explanation, but it's the only way I can try to get the basics across. :)

[minieggroll]

They said that my bushing was worn out which is why I need all that work done on the back tire. The bike only has 5706 miles on it and is a 2007. I will scan a copy of the breakdown of prices to see if it's in line with what they should actually cost in a couple hours at work.

[minieggroll]

Here is a copy of the parts/labor for the work order they suggested.

http://i44.tinypic.com/25a7v5f.jpg

[JWR]

I will defer to blaine on this one. :??:


I am not there, but something must have happened when the original tire was replaced.

Do you how long ago that was, and who did the work?

I don't think you will anyone else that has ever had the problems that you are having. :??:

[Water Warrior 2]

Yikes !!. I don't know what to say. I am wondering if the previous owner had the rear wheel off and reassembled things the wrong way. I know it is possible to put in a spacer the wrong way and do bearing damage. BTDT. Once by me and once by the tech who fixed my damage. LOL.
As previously said, get a second opinion or go with the estimate if you are comfy with it. You do need to have a safe reliable bike in any case.

[alantf]

Before spending $200 on the voltage regulator, have you had the battery checked? :??: :)

[minieggroll]

I'm not sure if the rear tire has been replaced or is still original. What tires came on the GZ in 2007?

I just bought the bike. Where should I hook up the multimeter to check (any pics or page reference to the repair manual would be awesome).

Could I take it to Advanced auto parts and have them check the battery out? Iron Pony said the battery was fine when I asked them.

[JWR]

Metzeler should be the brand.

Did you buy the bike for a dealer or from a private party?

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/03482351000

You take off the seat and hook it to the battery.

Yes, you can take it to a Auto store.

[Water Warrior 2]

Meters are a cheap item and worth their weight in gold. They do come in handy and very inexpensive.

[alantf]

Iron Pony said the battery was fine when I asked them.

Do you know for a fact that they definitely tested the battery? Did they give you any actual figures for the overcharging? or were they rather vague? I know I'm very suspicious by nature, but something at the back of my brain is yelling "scam". The voltage regulator is not something that normally goes down. I can't recall anyone mentioning this, before. They might not have a lot of work in, at this time of year, so a newbie with not a lot of knowledge is fair game. I'm not saying that this is the case, just that I'm rather suspicious. I'd certainly test the voltage myself, then, if you're in any doubt, go to a battery depot, not a bike shop, for a further test. :2tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

Have to agree with Alantf's suspicions. That is a very uncommon glitch to show up on a GZ. Electrical problems are mostly bad grounds or tired batteries. Get the battery tested by some one else to varify it is good. Then you can use a cheap simple meter to check the charging system yourself.
To be quite honest and frank about the whole work order I can not for the life of me figure out how the bike could be missing a rear bearing. Bearings do not fall out or off of the rear axle. If any one of the 3 bearings involved happened to go bad you would certainly feel it or hear it.
Another question in my mind is if the brake drum needs replacing why is there no mention of any wear or damage to the brake shoes mentioned.
Do you know anyone local who is fairly savvy about bikes ?? A trusted friend might be able to take a look and a quick ride to confirm anything amiss. Or go to a different dealer......you don't need to find a Suzuki dealer, just a shop with a tech who can say nay or yay. A tech can easily check the voltage from the regulator just by looking at a meter attached to the battery posts when the bike is running.
I wish I could look at your bike myself. Not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but there would be obvious clues about some of the apparent repairs needed. We do realize that you are new to bikes so there is no experience on your part to deal with this issue. We will help you learn. We have all been there over the years. Never fear..........GZ250Bike.Com is here to help.