Signs of Failing Charging System?

[CourtLechter]

I have a 2001 GZ, and having had a ton of trouble with my battery going flat, I'm wondering if the underlying cause isn't in my charging system. What signs would I look for for a failing stator/regulator/&c?

My commute is only 5-7 miles each way and about 20 minutes, but I do spend about 10 minutes doing about 50mph, so I would think (hope?) that would be enough re-charge the discharge from starting the bike. I also take much longer (30-60min) weekend rides to go climbing.

I'm on my third battery this year, but beyond the fact that the battery needs to be replaced or recharged too often for my tastes, I've noticed that when I rev the engine the headlamp shines significantly brighter.

The final straw came this weekend when I was installing an LED-lit license plate frame. I needed to turn the bike on to test the lights (of course) several times, so I had the headlamp on without the bike running for maybe 10 minutes in total. When I put everything back together and tried to fire her up to ride back to my parking space...nothing...

So...is this normal, or should I start looking at the charging system?

[Water Warrior 2]

Where are you getting your replacement batteries? Do you take the time to personally fully charge them before using them? If the shop or supplier is telling you it is already charged enough right out of the box they are wrong. You must charge up the battery to it's full capacity first and then put it into service. Anything else will usually lead to early failure of the battery. One 2 amp charger is a lot cheaper than a new battery 3 times a year.
I have had good success with a Battery Tender charging a new battery overnight. It will automatically shut off at full charge.

[alantf]

First thing....You need to test the charging system. To do this, the first thing is to remove the right hand panel to get to the battery. Start the bike & put your meter (set to DC voltage) on the battery terminals. Get someone to rev the bike up to around 4000 to 5000 revs. If you see the voltage jump up to around 13 volts or more, then you know that the charging system is ok. If this is ok, then don't forget that you MUST charge the new battery fully before fitting it. Suzuki recommend 0.75 amps for at least 5 hours, but anything up to 2 amps should be fine.

Let us know the results of this test so that we can help you further, if required. :)

[Gonzaha]

I have a 2003 GZ250 which suffered the same problem from he day I bought it.
Took it to the dealership 5 times, they never found anything wrong blamed it on poor battery maintenence and charged me for a new battery every time. Then last year wanting to get the bike running again for my kids I visited a battery shop and in talking to the salesman about my problem he said. "Oh yeah, Suzuki 250, you have a short in the headlight wiring"... Went home, took headlight apart and rewired and insulated all connectors. Since then, no problems and have had same battery for going on 17 months. Good luck.

[Rookie Rider]

Unbelievable, suzuki should be ashamed of themselves.

[Water Warrior 2]

Unbelievable, suzuki should be ashamed of themselves.
Not really. Many bikes have extra wiring and connectors in the headlight bucket. The problem arises when vibration causes insulation wearing away or connectors coming loose.
The folks at the dealer should be ashamed of themselves for being too lazy to track down the problem. They put profits before service to their customer.

[Road_Clam]

"shorts" in the headlight housing are NOT limited to the GZ250, virtually every metric bike out there has a moderate amount of complex wire junctions stuffed up into the headlight housing. (PS is you want to see a true rat's nest wiring nightmare, pull the headlight on any early 80's Suzuki GS ) . The headlight housing is also a prime location for moisture to fester corrossion. I always make it a point to remove the headlight and use die electric grease on all the connectors. It's common for many electrical gremlins to originate from inside the H/L housing.

[leechew]

For me, by mounting a motorbike VOM fixed on my GZ ( just 150cc :) ) I can manage the status of my battery as well as the charger ( similar to the way mentioned by alantf, it's more than 14V- may up to 15V- in a second at start the engine ). For your issue, charger maybe the problem.