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V7 Charging issues / Dead battery -- PLEASE READ

hi all...i still haven t changed mine...last tuesday i did 400kms in sicily ..still no problems..
 
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hi all...i still haven t changed mine...last tuesday i did 400kms in sicily ..still no problems...maybe i ll change it...did someone of you dveloped problems by keeping the stock one?
As stated in first post if yours is faulty pay a little now or a lot later.
Copied from the 1st post...

What this does, is spike the electrical system with those voltages that the system was never designed towithstand. It is impressive that some of the bikes last as long as they do without a major meltdown. If youdon't resolve this issue, first thing it does is kill the battery. If you've replaced your battery in a short timesince new, or more then once, this is likely the problem. Second item thatgoes is the cam sensor. This usuallyappears by strange running at RPM, until the bike literally dies withoutwarning and *will not restart* untilreplaced. On some bikes I'vereplaced the battery, voltageregulator (this is the culprit - don'treplace with a stock version fromthese years), cam sensor, and mostrecently one bike took replacementof the entire ECU/Throttle Body toresolve poor running.

I have documented this on nearly every V7 I've gotten near since 2013 here in Los Angeles, including my own from my RentAGuzzi Fleet.
 
hi all...i still haven t changed mine...last tuesday i did 400kms in sicily ..still no problems...maybe i ll change it...did someone of you dveloped problems by keeping the stock one?
If your VR (Voltage Regulator) over charging the battery it should be replaced. Failure to replace a faulty VR can result in other electronic components failing. If your VR does not over charge the battery you are fine.
 
The problem of course is defining the thresholds of "overcharging" as the OEM, battery manufacturers, and arguably Guzzitech are all not at agreement on this.

Personally I'm glad that I replaced the voltage regulator and see no higher then about 14.3V now, but certainly I've seen evidence that up to 14.8 should be OK. And Piaggio seems to claim that 15.0 is ok.

Certainly 10k miles at 15+ didn't seem to harm anything in 3 years except possibly start to weaken my battery.

Then again, when I started riding in the 90's I never expected to see more than 2 years out of a battery....

<shrugs>
 
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fitted the new vr today...now its charging 14.3v max... :)
 

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Per the post below that started this thread, I STRONGLY advise that you check the charging system of your '13-15 V7 (ALL models) with a digital voltmeter at the battery (best) or Diagnostic software to see where the bike is charging both at idle, and ~3000RPM or so. Acceptable range is 13.4~13.8v at idle, and up to 14.4v MAX at RPM. Most I've seen hover ~15.X volts at idle and soar up into the 16-17's @3k RPM - Do not rely on your dealer to correct it if so under warranty.

What this does, is spike the electrical system with those voltages that the system was never designed to withstand. It is impressive that some of the bikes last as long as they do without a major meltdown. If you don't resolve this issue, first thing it does is kill the battery. If you've replaced your battery in a short time since new, or more then once, this is likely the problem. Second item that goes is the cam sensor. This usually appears by strange running at RPM, until the bike literally dies without warning and *will not restart* until replaced. On some bikes I've replaced the battery, voltage regulator (this is the culprit - don't replace with a stock version from these years), cam sensor, and most recently one bike took replacement of the entire ECU/Throttle Body to resolve poor running.

I have documented this on nearly every V7 I've gotten near since 2013 here in Los Angeles, including my own from my RentAGuzzi Fleet.

If your bike is still under warranty, and you verify this charging issue to be true on your V7, be sure to have your dealer replace the voltage regulator and battery, then ask them to show/prove to you that there are no cam sensor errors (P0336 - SEE THIS THREAD) on the ECU (or any others for that matter) - 0611 is an ECU error. Do this when you first take it in and wait/watch as it is easy to clear the codes once connected. It is good to check this yourself with a Diagnostic tool such as Alaris or similar.
If there are error codes, demand they replace all items shown as an error, or you will be out of pocket for all of them sooner or later.

Hi, thanks for this info. You said somewhere to replace, or get the dealer to replace, with a later V7ii VR. Does this mean that my V7ii (in theory) shouldn't have this problem?
 
is there a diagram or picture that shows how to wire this? the box comes with what you see, no instructions,
Two or three yellow wires? If two, inwards and center position, if three, then of course all;

Image
 
Has anyone seen an increase (or any) replacement for bulbs? I would think if these systems are putting out 15+ volts consistently a lot of headlights, taillights, etc. would also be failing prematurely. I know back in the old days on cars that was an early indicator that your regulator was shot. Just surprised it hasn't been mentioned.
 
Has anyone seen an increase (or any) replacement for bulbs? I would think if these systems are putting out 15+ volts consistently a lot of headlights, taillights, etc. would also be failing prematurely. I know back in the old days on cars that was an early indicator that your regulator was shot. Just surprised it hasn't been mentioned.

Now that you mention it, my bulbs did seem to pop somewhat earlier than expected (compared to a car at least, the V7 was my first bike so I have no comparisons). Close to 3 years owned and a little over 9000 miles ridden I've replaced the plate light 4 times, the front parking light twice, the H4 headlight once before upgrading to an LED bulb, and one of the front turn signals. I've long stopped caring about the plate light and the turn signal light was the only new bulb replacement after the VR change.
Like I said though, this is my first bike and maybe none of this is out of the ordinary?
 
3 years, ~10k+, regulator was charging just north of 15V, not a single bulb, fuse, or other electrical component replaced.

I still say much of this is much ado...
 
I still say much of this is much ado...
And if so, trying to figure out why the three owned the longest from '13 until now that I know, all required cam sensor replacements early on (they quit running), and one of the three required a new TB/ECU to run correctly. All now have new VR's and batteries, some on their third AGM. Just food for thought.
 
My 2013 v7 had no issues charging at over 15 since new. I did cHange the cr after reading all the posts of this issue. Maybe there is inconsistent quality in the manufacturing of the vr or the luck the draw .
 
3 years, ~10k+, regulator was charging just north of 15V, not a single bulb, fuse, or other electrical component replaced.

I still say much of this is much ado...

My view, as someone pretty much ignorant of the ins and outs of battery charging and RR tech, is that replacing the RR with one whose specs 'seem' more in line with most other motorcycles and batteries is cheap insurance. I think of it this way: if I make $50/hr and I waste two hours of my time online on the subject, I'd have been better off spending $100 on a replacement RR. (Yeah, I know, lots of people will say my math is faulty; it's just an example).

Cheap insurance.
 
And if so, trying to figure out why the three owned the longest from '13 until now that I know, all required cam sensor replacements early on (they quit running), and one of the three required a new TB/ECU to run correctly. All now have new VR's and batteries, some on their third AGM. Just food for thought.

Could be another factor fly which we haven't accounted, differences in usage or environment for example.

I can't say, but I'm just noting that I had one of the earliest examples sold on the east coast (December, first one released for sale by FBF after the demo model) and it never caused a problem.

<shrugs>


In the end I changed the regulator because north of 15 was indeed out of spec, but I'm not sure what I would have done if it was only charging in the mid 14's.
 
Acceptable range is 13.4~13.8v at idle, and up to 14.4v MAX at RPM. Most I've seen hover ~15.X volts at idle and soar up into the 16-17's @3k RPM - Do not rely on your dealer to correct it if so under warranty.

I have documented this on nearly every V7 I've gotten near since 2013 here in Los Angeles, including my own from my RentAGuzzi Fleet.

I just checked mine and it is putting out 15.4 V at idle. I'll be changing the VR immediately.

2013 V7 Racer n° 347
 
Hi, thanks for this info. You said somewhere to replace, or get the dealer to replace, with a later V7ii VR. Does this mean that my V7ii (in theory) shouldn't have this problem?
Is that right? Has Guzzi got it sorted on the newer bikes?
 
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