Enduralast from Euro Motoelectrics

[Steve G.]

Originally Posted by photomd

If you're looking for a switched lead, jumper off the running light in the back. FWIW, I have a relay under the tank that provides current to my heated grips. This way the grips turn off/on with the key. I soldered a wire to the running light in the back as a source. My R/R is connected to the wire coming from the tail light: works great.

I've had the enduralast system on my airhead since 06 or 07. I thought it was straight forward to install, but did have some "learning experiences". Mine had to do with the connections. I was having a weak charge under load. I found my R/R had a diode out, but as I worked through the system, I found the connectors that came with the system were loose. I pulled all those connectors and soldered everything with shrink wrap. It's been good since. As a result, I don't trust those threaded connectors.

Thanks for that. I don't have alot of experience with the posi-lock connectors, souldering is always better.

[Steve G.]

Mildly disapointed. Havn't had a chance to look at the bike for a few days now, busy at work. Just had a quick 1/2 hr on it tonite, and noticed the kit is incomplete. The 12" black 16 guage wire used to connect the black portion of the now vacant black/blue plugin,,,,,,to, the male blade of the now vacant starter relay,,,,,is not in the kit. I rummaged through my tool box to see if I had some new 16 guage wire hanging around. Nothing. So after work tommorow, I'll stop by the auto parts place to get a chunk of this stuff. I'm going by the recomendations in this kit to use new wire only.
Everything is looking good. Regulator/recitifier bolted on, rotor/stator all torqued on, most wires routed. Still wondering what would be the best, most solid switched 12v source off of this bike? The instructions in this kit 'sort' of say for 1970-1984 BMW's, that the power off the coils is the best switched 12v source. My '91 GS coil looks absolutely nothing like the old school coils in the pics the kit supplied. There is no access to a power terminal on my coil. There is a big warning note in the instructions stating that this source MUST be a solid 12v or this will cause unwanted high voltage from the regulator. Anybody have any thoughts on another really good switched power source that does not require major surgery to the stock harness?

Steve

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Steve G.

There is a big warning note in the instructions stating that this source MUST be a solid 12v or this will cause unwanted high voltage from the regulator. Anybody have any thoughts on another really good switched power source that does not require major surgery to the stock harness?

Steve

You do need to get good connections for all those wires, just not the switched positive. Posi-lock connectors are total craps. I use SAE twin trailer plugs and use both leads for on strand. On the G/S there are a few switched fuses under the tank. I ended up splicing open a wire and soldering the switched positive into there. Sometimes you just need to do that.

[photomd]

The running light in your tailight is a good one. Other than that, you'd have to search for one with a test light. Also make sure you have a good ground. I seem to remember that a weak ground will also cause high voltage to the battery. I ran a seperate wire from the mounting bolt on the R/R to my neg side of the battery.

[SaltyDog]

I've had the enduralast system on my '89 R100GS for many years now. I got it right after it was first introduced. I used the coil power connection at first until one day I noticed my voltmeter was reading high at 16 volts. It had always been a steady 14.5 volts until then. I cleaned up the connection to the coil and decided to make a more reliable low resistance voltage sensing point. I added a automotive relay that is switched by the ignition switch and feeds full battery voltage through the relay's 30 amp rated contacts. This isolated regulator voltage sensing path insures that the enduralast system regulator sees the correct battery voltage and therefore maintains the bikes battery at the 14.5 Volt output throughout all speeds and loads.. This relay setup has lasted many years and is easily tested and has provided many miles of troublefree riding.

[Steve G.]

Finally got the bike together. Fired right up, charging at esentially 800rpm. So, initial output readings of the system seem quite high. At 4000rpm, voltage to the battery is 16.25 volts. With heated grips on high, and high beam on, battery is getting 15.85 volts. This is way too much. It seems to me at this point, that the regulator/rectifier is not doing it's job. It is grounded direct line to the battery. I must admit that I'm not surprised, I've had 3 Denso unit failures on other bikes of mine, and Ducati 'regs', where this unit was sourced, has a notorious reputation for burning up batteries because of too much voltage.

Any thoughts? Improper wire connections surely would result in 0 voltage output, or a complete short, I think.

Steve

[khale]

Couldn't be more pleased with my Enduralast kit. Of course I've only had it installed for a few months. I'll write back on this thread in a few years with a different tune if it craps out on me.

[Zoef zoef]

Originally Posted by Steve G.

Finally got the bike together. Fired right up, charging at esentially 800rpm. So, initial output readings of the system seem quite high. At 4000rpm, voltage to the battery is 16.25 volts. With heated grips on high, and high beam on, battery is getting 15.85 volts. This is way too much. It seems to me at this point, that the regulator/rectifier is not doing it's job. It is grounded direct line to the battery. I must admit that I'm not surprised, I've had 3 Denso unit failures on other bikes of mine, and Ducati 'regs', where this unit was sourced, has a notorious reputation for burning up batteries because of too much voltage.

Any thoughts? Improper wire connections surely would result in 0 voltage output, or a complete short, I think.

Steve

Sir,
The post above your post tells about a more or less similar problem. In your case, perhaps the ground wire between the engine and the battery might be the problem (or another wire in the charging system with too uch resistance). The regulator has to see the correct battery voltage to enable proper regulating.

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Steve G.

Finally got the bike together. Fired right up, charging at esentially 800rpm. So, initial output readings of the system seem quite high. At 4000rpm, voltage to the battery is 16.25 volts. With heated grips on high, and high beam on, battery is getting 15.85 volts. This is way too much. It seems to me at this point, that the regulator/rectifier is not doing it's job. It is grounded direct line to the battery. I must admit that I'm not surprised, I've had 3 Denso unit failures on other bikes of mine, and Ducati 'regs', where this unit was sourced, has a notorious reputation for burning up batteries because of too much voltage.

Any thoughts? Improper wire connections surely would result in 0 voltage output, or a complete short, I think.

Steve

It's essential to have the black wire to the rec unit, which feeds from a switched positive, to have a good connection. If it had the supplied plug, clip it off and replace it with something else or, better, solder it directly to a switched positive. It took me weeks to figure out he supplied plugs were bad and I was fighting high readings like you are.

[Steve G.]

Thanks for the heads up on a god ground set up guys. Today, I built a more sustantial ground wire from the reg/rect body to the neg side of the battery. I used 10 guage wire, really paid attention to a good solder at both ends. Fired it up and got the following results:
800rpm - 13.15volts
1500 rpm - 14.55volts
4000rpm - 14.75volts
4500rpm - 15.10volts

Still too high for my comfort. But the reduced resistance wire had a decent effect. I was looking at those giant 4 guage car wires they had, but they're too big for the battery connection. I really don't want any more than 14 volts at ANY rpm. I honestly don't know the spec range of this particular regulator.

[Donkey Hotey]

Are you sure it's not the voltmeter? Without starting the bike and having been sitting for a few minutes, what is the battery voltage reading? 12.4-12.7 is generally considered normal for a strong battery. If your meter reads higher than that, it might just be error in your meter.

Low-buck meters from Harbor Freight, etc, list something like +/- 8.0% or more for voltage readings. That could easily be a volt or more of error in the actual meter.

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Steve G.

Thanks for the heads up on a god ground set up guys. Today, I built a more sustantial ground wire from the reg/rect body to the neg side of the battery. I used 10 guage wire, really paid attention to a good solder at both ends. Fired it up and got the following results:
800rpm - 13.15volts
1500 rpm - 14.55volts
4000rpm - 14.75volts
4500rpm - 15.10volts

Still too high for my comfort. But the reduced resistance wire had a decent effect. I was looking at those giant 4 guage car wires they had, but they're too big for the battery connection. I really don't want any more than 14 volts at ANY rpm. I honestly don't know the spec range of this particular regulator.

14.4 at max output. I get 14.2 max. Those 4 gauge wires are overkill. How is the connector to the black wire? Is your battery a flood or dry battery?

[Steve G.]

Originally Posted by Donkey Hotey

Are you sure it's not the voltmeter? Without starting the bike and having been sitting for a few minutes, what is the battery voltage reading? 12.4-12.7 is generally considered normal for a strong battery. If your meter reads higher than that, it might just be error in your meter.

Low-buck meters from Harbor Freight, etc, list something like +/- 8.0% or more for voltage readings. That could easily be a volt or more of error in the actual meter.

Geez, you may have something there. I just checked the readings after the battery's been sitting for 3 hours, it reads 12.95volts. The meter I've not been using for any of this work shows the battery at 12.66volts. Looks like I'm shopping for a meter tomorrow.
The battery is a sealed wet battery, 25amp, 2 yrs old Interstate.

[Steve G.]

Originally Posted by Malindi

14.4 at max output. I get 14.2 max. Those 4 gauge wires are overkill. How is the connector to the black wire? Is your battery a flood or dry battery?

Are you talking about the black wire that goes to the switched power? I've got that spliced into the coil +, which is a solid green wire on '91 GS's. Seems solid. I'll double check it. Maybe I should go big guage wire on that one as well?

[Malindi]

Originally Posted by Steve G.

Are you talking about the black wire that goes to the switched power? I've got that spliced into the coil +, which is a solid green wire on '91 GS's. Seems solid. I'll double check it. Maybe I should go big guage wire on that one as well?

Yes. Just to test, clip it to the + on the battery directly. Make sure the plug attached to the wire is not the one it came with. Clip it off, strip the end and attach to battery plus. Remove all intermediate steps... just to test.