2006 zuma not charging

[johnnyk]

Hi!
I keep having to recharge my battery, at first I thought maybe an electrical issue was draining it, but after finally taking the time to diagnose it, it seems it is not charging from the stator. I checked the voltage at 5000+ rpm, and it stays steady at 12.55V.
I installed mvt digital direct a few weeks ago, and the issue still persists, (the battery was draining with the stock ignition) so it was probably not caused the new ignition.

I tested continuity from all wires going into the rectifier, and ground, everything checks out there. I also replaced the rectifier, thinking maybe that was it (bought from aliexpress), still no luck. Battery is also new from this season, and was full charged prior to testing voltage as per zuma service manual.

At this point, I am out of ideas. Is there something further to test? Not sure if its possible to test voltage coming straight from the stator.

Thanks!

[classacted]

I have a tao tao gy6 150 and the red wire with a black stripe delivers over 60v coming out of the stator. I can't speak for zuma.

[johnnyk]

Ya, I guess I could try to see what comes out.
I forgot to mention that headlights do work and get brighter as the revs go up, so that part seems ok.

[pili]

I had a similar problem; I originally thought it was the headlight mod. The fact that the headlamp gets brighter when you rev tells me your stator is ok. I went through cheap batteries; by cheap I mean $40 batteries not OEM, finally bit the bullet and bought a $100 Zero Gravity lithium battery and it’s been perfect for almost a year. I never did figure out what was wrong; I think the charging system is suspect at best and cheap batteries just don’t cut it.

[classacted]

I second that. now it sounds like the battery. when you start it the battery voltage should not drop below a certain threshold. I think that threshold is 9v, but I could be wrong. I would look into that. also, I've bought numerous chinese parts that were DOA. they're ridiculously inexpensive. although unlikely, both of your rectifiers could be defective. I only have 1600 miles on my scoot and the rectifier crapped out. I swapped it out with one that was already tested and was charging properly again. I'm hoping that was just bad luck, but now I am not confident in chinese quality.
my scoot charges at 14.2 volts while running. it takes about two minutes to reach that voltage from startup.

[johnnyk]

Thanks for the replies!

My previous batter was (I think a yuasa), now it is spx brand. I might have several old batteries laying around, worth a try to see if any do charge. There aren't too many battery options to purchase either :/

I couldn't find any way to test the rectifier off scooter.

[johnnyk]

So I tried another battery, no luck. I have a third on the trickle charge, but really don't have high hopes.
I wanted to test the voltage coming from the rectifier, so i unplugged the main fuse by the battery, and to my surprise the scooter doesn't start. I was under the impression the battery was optional when kickstarting...

[classacted]

is there spark when you try to kick start?

[johnnyk]

Actually, I just looked at the wiring diagram, and the on switch passes through the fuse, so I guess that explains it.
I didn't have lots of time, was looking for a short cut that didn't need taking off side panels.

[johnnyk]

Finally got around to testing the voltage from the stator. On either wire, I get about 15v at roughly 5000 rpm.

Also, I think the issue with the kickstart not working without the fuse is a side-effect of the mvt install on the zuma. Since I installed the cdi inverter (invert ground to kill so the kill switch works), it connects to the 12v line. So I guess no batter, no start which kind of isn't great in hindsight...

[classacted]

15v from the stator may be normal for zuma. I would be scouring the web for confirmation bout that.