Chinese headaches By tonygcyprus (Read 1,019 times)

[tonygcyprus]

Hi guys,
Although I've 20 years car mech experience, 2 wheels is new to me, so here goes...
I have a nipponia 50cc scoot, which is giving me headaches. 2010 model, branded 'Dayang onar' 139qmb-1 power unit.
Here's the problem. Recently, on the way to a hospital appointment the thing died Midway, 10 km into a 20km ride. I discovered a blown fuse, replaced it, and it blew almost immediately. End of journey.
I recovered it the next day, and set about checking. I was advised it was probably the reg/rec so I bought one. I was assured by the shop it was ok, although it was a Suzuki part. I fitted it, checked with multimeter, and got 14vdc at the battery, all good. So the following day, I go for my regular hospital appointment, ok all the way there. On the way home I noticed the ammeter was dropping slowly (I should say, all my lights work off battery) and by the time I was home, showed very low. Next day I checked voltage at battery and got only 11v revving. So I'm thinking, wrong reg and it's fried. Back to shop, where after a row, I got my cash back. Off to main dealer for OEM reg/rec. Now, here's the confusion. Meter shows 25+vac from both wires at mag and reg, output of reg 13vdc, but the ammeter on dash goes up to 3rd segment, which I'm thinking must be 18vdc, so, anyone know how the ammeter is wired, from reg before battery or from battery. Could it be faulty, or am I just reading it wrong? It is Chinese after all!

[rks]

I thought ammeters were phased out several decades ago.... are you sure it's not a volt meter? If it registers when ignition is turned on, before starting engine, it's running off the battery (DC side)

[tonygcyprus]

Yeah, sorry throwback to car mech days, just found a diagram for a mirror, which is similar to mine, and it appears the voltage meter is reading battery state. Still doesn't tally with my multimeter reading though, will check it out after work and report back. Thanks

[tonygcyprus]

The gauge on the left is confusing ., I'd assumed that the marks were 0, 6v, 12v, 18v and 'way too much', but I stripped the front off and probed the connections with the multimeter, lo and behold, with the needle on the third line (the one I assumed to be 18v) multimeter read 13.2vdc.
I'd like it to be a bit nearer 14 but hey, at least it's not overcharging!

[cyborg]

Is it 13 at idle or up around 3000 rpm or so?

[tonygcyprus]

Don't have a tacho, so I'm guessing around 2000

[cyborg]

That's just a little off idle test it at 3-4000 see where she is then,,these Chinese scoots are notorious for weak charging systems

[tonygcyprus]

Yeah, on a run at 45kph with no lights the needle moves up half a segment, so I'm guessing around 14- 14½vdc

[cyborg]

That's a decent charge rate,,I'd be happier with a volt or two more,,,,ever consider changing all the lights to LED?,,,especially the headlite and rear lights,,you could save a bunch there,,,power I mean

[tonygcyprus]

Yeah, I am considering that, as my lights are all DC shouldn't be too hard. Couple of other things to do first though, change (or repair) fuel sender and change the drive belt, which seems to be whistling at me as I go along. On a pension, so cash isn't plentiful, so important stuff first.