Bike Isn’t Charging - Let’s Fix That - Kawasaki ZZR600

Chewie was about to spend money on parts. I've never been a guy who likes the shotgun approach when it comes to fixing things. Mostly because it wastes unnecessary money, and in some cases it doesn't fix the cause of the problem.
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[@Wind.Road.Therapy]

Oh cool, this is the flip side to Chewie's video! Very cool of you to go and help him out. Well done. Bikers Supporting Bikers

[@whatsstefon]

That’s it. Help each other out.

[@KrakensGarageandAdventures]

Very kind of you to help chewie out and super happy it was a minor fix. Well done! Eric

[@whatsstefon]

I couldn’t sit there and let him spend money unnecessarily while my expertise of diagnosing faults lay idle. It’s the least I could do.

[@KrakensGarageandAdventures]

@Bikes Burgers Beers Agreed, but do you realize how few would do this. So this video is a shot of adrenaline to humanity. Eric

[@whatsstefon]

@@KrakensGarageandAdventures true. I was brought up in a very poor household. If a toy broke, it was not so easy to play with another one when you only had one toy to begin with. So you learn to fix it. When I was a mechanic, I was fortunate to have a master technician who was not only old school with the mindset of “fix it before you chuck it out” but he was also qualified as a bike mechanic, in addition to an auto elechicken. His methods both appealed to me and rubbed off on me even more.

[@RidingHumboldtCounty]

Ahh nice to see it from your perspective. So nice to have good friends and I’m sure chewy really appreciates you. Congratulations on 1000 Stef!

[@whatsstefon]

I’ve always grown up believing if you can’t help your clan, you are of no use. And if you think you are no use, think again. Everyone here has a strength, a strong point, and a weakness. I can’t do my accounting, but I can fix bikes.

[@RidingHumboldtCounty]

@@whatsstefon amen brother

[@whatsstefon]

@@RidingHumboldtCounty 🙏

[@RoadsOfOz]

Great work. It is always a great feeling to find the issue and get it sorted without having to buy extra stuff unnecessarily.

[@hachewie]

I’m so happy

[@whatsstefon]

That’s it man. I couldn’t sit idle and watch Chewie spend unnecessary money and the cause of it was a plug he scored for free.

[@Moz42]

Happy Days!, Good work, Stef, you're a real gentleman helping out fellow bikers. Now I've learnt something. Cheers

[@whatsstefon]

Thank you. In the past my repair videos were made originally to help those who suffered from common faults on guitar amps. I’ve always enjoyed finding the real reason why something doesn’t work and passing that knowledge on.

[@602North]

So kind of you to help Chewie and great news for him. Great camera work, you must of had professional cameraman :-)

[@hachewie]

Such a great man. I’m very fortunate to have such great friends.

[@whatsstefon]

Not a worry at all. I’m sure if I was stuck, Chewie would do the same for me.

[@AnxietyWizard]

Awesome video mate, what a champion you are helping Chewie out. You're a clever bloke, thanks for showing us!

[@whatsstefon]

Ah. Thanks man. Just doing my thing.

[@AnxietyWizard]

@@whatsstefon and it's awesome that thing you do my friend. Heart of gold.

[@TheDailyCommuteAU]

Thats such an awesome outcome! And this video is going straight into my mechanic know how playlist. !

[@whatsstefon]

Ohhh baby. Straight to the pool room!

[@HarleyThrottleJuice]

Great video, very helpful advice and extremely well articulated! Also, well done for not stepping back onto Chewster’s bmx bike! ✌️😂

[@whatsstefon]

Little known fact, I have cat like reflexes and super aware of my surroundings. hahahhhhahahaha.

[@HarleyThrottleJuice]

@@whatsstefon 😂😂

[@hachewie]

Hahahahaha. That intro got me. Hahahahahahaha

[@whatsstefon]

I thought you’d like that! 😂

[@Egon-j5b]

Same issue, sprayed contact cleaner in the rectifier connector and moved it around, now perfect voltage.

[@whatsstefon]

Brilliant! Sadly, this video wasn’t an easy fix. But I have fixed many charging issues with some contact cleaner and lucked out. Yay!

[@michaelepperly7820]

Great video, thanks from Jackson, Michigan, usa

[@whatsstefon]

Cheers for watching. Hope it helped you out.

[@dessydiazgautier756]

thanks for your great explanation. Tomorrow i will try to do the same

[@whatsstefon]

awesome. keep us posted on how you go.

[@Zulu_117_ST]

Stef you bloody legend!!! Great intro just love the raised eyebrows 😂😂😂😂 Awesome informative vid… If your not Australian suxs to be you 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Glad you got it sorted for Chewster!! Geez imagine if that happened on bylong 😳😳😳

[@whatsstefon]

Aww, I just know what I’m good at and what I’m shit at. Damn, imagine if that did happen on that ride. I would have still fixed it! Bush mechanic style!!!! 😂😂😂

[@Zulu_117_ST]

@@whatsstefon 😂😂😂😂 I believe in you Stef !!!!

[@mattmonster0048]

Thanks for the video followed step by step looks like I need a rectifier

[@whatsstefon]

Bugger. At least it’s easy to replace.

[@mattmonster0048]

@@whatsstefon very true ! Couple bolts haha

[@andybharris]

Great video. Just going to check my zzr now

[@whatsstefon]

Thank you. Glad it helps!

[@stewiebeatle]

Great video! I have the same bike and that really helped.👍

[@whatsstefon]

Brilliant! Thanks for the comment mate!

[@ThrottleDownunder]

Great video fellas

[@whatsstefon]

Thanks matey. It was such a massive help and made a huge difference having someone else on camera. One less thing to do made this incredibly easier.

[@ThrottleDownunder]

@@whatsstefon ot would be nice to have a full time camera following us around haha

[@whatsstefon]

@@ThrottleDownunder Both creepy and nice.

[@metaforagaming1236]

Damn!! I am having identical issue with my -93, Zzr 600. Amazing af! Need to run these tests as shown and see if my bike gives similar voltages ^_^

[@whatsstefon]

Those checks should cover you. Remember, multimeter set to AC for stator voltages. DC for battery charge voltages. And diode test for reg/rec test.

[@crushedoremusic]

Super helpful

[@BoltBucket]

Dude this is awesome

[@whatsstefon]

Thanks man. Chewie captured it all, making it so much easier to do the job and just get on with it rather than stop, set up camera, hope it recorded and all that stuff.

[@BoltBucket]

@@whatsstefon you are brilliant

[@whatsstefon]

@@BoltBucket Nah, just know how to do two things. Fix stuff and play bass. Oh, maybe go around corners on a bike. I enjoy that.

[@BoltBucket]

@@whatsstefon haha thats all there is to life though

[@whatsstefon]

@@BoltBucket and drink beer.

[@MrB590]

Is that's why it spluttered on rides?

[@hachewie]

Yes man.

[@whatsstefon]

Indeed it was. Battery voltage continues to drop while not charging or under charging. Voltage keeps dropping below 9V and will begin to affect the coils and other ignition components. Coils will convert 12V to 30,000V needed for spark plugs. Higher compression engines need even more voltage. But drop 25% of your source of power. Suddenly 30,000V becomes 23,000.

[@mattmonster0048]

Also noticed that my reg/rectifier didn’t have that ground cable running to the top of it, could that be something missing that would cause it

[@whatsstefon]

It could be a possibility as the heat sink body of the unit might not necessarily be grounded.

[@mattmonster0048]

@@whatsstefon should I get a small ground wire from the store and just run it from the top to the battery or does it connect to something else like the frame or what not

[@whatsstefon]

@@mattmonster0048 I can’t say for certain, but what you could do is grab any old spare wire to test with. Clip your multimeter to the battery terminals, start the bike and see what the multimeter reads with the temporary ground wire making contact and not making contact to the chassis and also to the ground of the battery negative terminal. See if the meter changes at all. If it does, go with that set up, then you know if the ground wire makes any difference at all, and if so, does it matter where it grounds to. That would be the way I figure it out. Give it a go and report back.

[@mattmonster0048]

@@whatsstefon thanks man !