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V7 Charging issues / Dead battery -- PLEASE READ

Just 1 last thing to finish off: 14.4V is absolutely the maximum a LiFeSO4 battery will tolerate for any extended period. Lithium batteries are far less tolerant to being overcharged than Pb. 14.2V is absolutely ideal for Lithium and/or Lead.
 
I WAS WRONG! my III quit charging most of the time. sometimes a tiny bit. I stuck on a new Guzzi regulator and fired it up. 14.4 off idle up to 4000. Great. made it 2 miles and no charge. starting to suspect the stator. Pissed to say the least. taking it to the dealer to hook it up to pads tomorrow. the III has 7 wires and i was told it's 3 phase. While I was replacing it I sprayed every connection with deoxit.
 
What error codes are you seeing?


Thanks to the intermittent charging issue I am now having I took it to the dealer. Mareita Vespa was kind enough to get me in within 24 hours and he hooked it up to PADS. the code P0150 and P130 were shown meaning both O2 sensors are bad. what a bunch of BS. what kind of cheap junk are they buying over there? In addition, he didn't charge me. Unfortunately or not it showed the charging and battery both good. So why doe's it quit charging sometimes. a new Guzzi regulator didn't help. same thing. I suspect the stator as I know of at least one other 2017 special with the same issue. it showed fine and the owner kept testing on his own until he pulled the stator and found 2 bad coils. His is being warrantied but mine is past that.
 
Drum roll please, first follow up!
First a special thank you to Wayne Orwig for damm near 4 hours of labor and knowledge yesterday. I would have taken a BFH to something. What a pain. You folks with tiny oil mist leaks thinking about changing the gasket. DON'T!!! Go have a drink and a good cigar and call it a day. Besides, I bet your doing this same job soon anyway.
Next Kiwi Roy for all the help, pictures, and pioneering the way.
Also, to Guzzi Steve for the phone help, ideas, etc. It's nice to have Guzzi friends.
Also to whoever turned me on to the Chinese supplier.

vipih.com/products/m550-a429
With the 5% pop up discount $94. to the door. The Guzzi package is $550 + freight and tax. What a crock!

I wacked off (couldn't resist) 150 miles of mountain curves today and so far so good. Charging normally and running great.
Wayne cleared all the codes and rechecked the O2 sensors. Yep, both bad so he shut them off. My yellow check engine light of 6 months is gone and it runs as good as a 750CC small-block could. strangely there used to be some decell popping with the Mistrals and now there is almost none.
I am leaning more towards the stator running so hot it fries the tiny bit of engine oil on it then it shorts it out.
There was no sign of connector failure and the wire from the stator (stock one) is 30" long so as Wayne says it wasn't made just for the V7. Probably made for all their scooters. No sign of any pinch either.
Yes, I am 100% convinced my original regulator was just fine.
Now I really need to find a nice small voltmeter like Zoom Zoom has just with the decimal point moved over a notch. I'm still frugal! The 99 cents cheap digital one can't be seen in the light worth a crap.
I am not the first with this problem and won't be the last.

New and the old at 16000 miles.
Thumbnail IMG 0779 Thumbnail IMG 0780 Thumbnail IMG 0781 Thumbnail IMG 0782 Thumbnail IMG 0783 Thumbnail IMG 0786 Thumbnail IMG 0787
 
so I've read all 19 pages of this thread.

Is there an aftermarket plug and play VR for a North American Spec 2014 V7 that I can order that doesn't require me to cut wires from the original harness or fabricate custom metal mounting plates as I'm not a very handy person. Plug and play is really my only option.

If not, is it worth giving a factory replacement part a shot?
 
Is there an aftermarket plug and play VR for a North American Spec 2014 V7 that I can order that doesn't require me to cut wires from the original harness or fabricate custom metal mounting plates as I'm not a very handy person. Plug and play is really my only option.
Yes, the last step you missed was to click on the links to the STORE tab above. ;)
https://gtmotocycles.com/products/esr-mosfet-voltage-regulator - be sure to read the paragraph there before ordering.
 
Alright so I'm guessing that the V7 III is not as prone to the R/R failure?
Just tried to head out to work.
turned on, starter clicked, and then.... dead. no lights or dash.
 
Alright so I'm guessing that the V7 III is not as prone to the R/R failure?
Just tried to head out to work.
turned on, starter clicked, and then.... dead. no lights or dash.
Stock battery from new? If so, you got a good run with it. Yes, replace it and all will be right again. The V7 III has not typically shown to have any charging issues, outside of a failed stator noted above. I have a new stock one if needed. We check all that V7s that land at my shop.
 
Stock battery from new? If so, you got a good run with it. Yes, replace it and all will be right again. The V7 III has not typically shown to have any charging issues, outside of a failed stator noted above. I have a new stock one if needed. We check all that V7s that land at my shop.
A year and 7 months is a good run? lol
are the oem batteries that bad?
 
OK. So my 2013 Racer is over-charging and I'll buy the MOSFET replacement. But nowhere--including the service manual--can I find any info on how to disconnect and remove the R/R. It looks like the connection is under the tank and the tank has to come off to reach it. Is that correct? Is the connection obvious once the tank is off? Thanks!
 
I did it on my ‘14 V7R a few years back. I don’t recall the specifics now but I know I didn’t have to fully remove the tank.
 
OK, this is how it went for me. YMMV.

I acquired my 2013 V7 Racer, used, in 2014 with about 2,000 miles on the clock. As far as I know, the battery and R/R were the same ones that the bike left the factory with.

I read this thread when Todd first started it in 2016. I tested my regulator then, and it was, indeed, over charging—15+ volts. But I had put many thousands of miles on the bike already with no problems. So I decided to live with it and see what happens.

Many more miles went by with no troubles. Then, about a year ago, starting became iffy. I bought a new battery—same make and model as the original (Yuasa 14 BS) and put it on the shelf.

Then, a couple of days ago—that's 8 years since the bike was built, 7 years in my ownership, 5 years since I knew of the overcharging problem, and one year after battery illness raised its head—the battery died and would not charge. I'd been expecting this--whether or not the R/R is faulty or to blame; after all, what battery lasts 8 years?

I'm glad I waited. A plug and play MOSFET replacement was not available back then, and I had a feeling R & R of the R/R would be a pain. People making up mounting plates and soldering their own wiring harness impressed, but did not move me to action.

These days, a drop-in fix is available, from Todd on this site, and other places as well, so I decided to go for it.

Before I begin the description of what is involved in the R & R, (there is no other place this where all the info below is available, so, you're welcome) let me point out that MG has been using that particular regulator since time out of mind. In fact, my 2007 CalVin has one and it has always performed just fine. I know hyperlinks are not allowed on the site, but I found a site that listed several dozen applications for that model R/R. Why some of them charge at over 15 v and others seem to charge at 14.4 is beyond me. The stock, non-MOSFET R/Rs are much much cheaper than the MOSFET, so if it is possible that the more recent batch of standard replacements do not over charge, replacing like for like might be viable. I have not data on that, just conjecture.

Anyway, here is what I did on my Racer. Trust me, not all V7's are alike. Videos and images I've seen on the web, show configurations quite different from what I have on my bike. As I said, YMMV. And I apologize for no photos. I get into a project and I just want to get it done.
  1. Drain the tank. Siphon works. But I could not get the tube in until I removed the the leather straps and the trim ring, rubber washers and all the other stuff that surrounds the tank opening.

  2. Again, models may vary but it is IMPOSSIBLE to access the R/R plugs with the the tank slid back alone. It's got to come off.

  3. Tank removal is well-documented; but here goes again:
    1. Remove seat, remove rear fixing bolt, slide tank back off mounting rubbers.
    2. There are four (count 'em and remember to count again on installation!) disconnections that have to be made.
    3. Lift the front of the tank and remove the big hose—no clamps, it just pushes on to a spigot on the tank.
    4. Lift the back end of the tank and remove the smaller hose, similarly attached to a straight spigot at the back end of the tank.
    5. Uncouple the fuel pump wiring and run the engine till it dies. Uncouple the F***ING quick connect. Actually, mine came apart easily. I don't know why, it just did. Sorry if yours does not; but there are six zillion and five posts about the issue. Read 'em all if you have time!
  1. That was the easy part Now comes the fun part. The two electrical connectors for the R/R are buried under the head stock—that's why the tank has to come off—you can't reach the connectors any other way. Every cable and bit of harness is jammed in there, and just getting to them is NOT easy. In fact I even took off the right spark plug lead form its coil to give me a bit more finger room.
  2. If you haven't taken the front tanks straps all the way off do that, too. That leather harness is also in the way. The horns come off with it
  3. Unbolt the R/R and push it up . Tie it up or block it up—anything to get a bit of slack in the wires. You need the room.
  4. The white coupling is a bear: it's jammed in there with little slack to get a grip on either end. Push down on the tab and get a smallish screwdriver in there and twist to start the separation. Use a wider bladed screwdriver when you need to.
  5. Now the black connector it's a bit easier. Mine had a zip tie on it to keep it together. The connection seems secure but someone at the factory thought it needed help, so …
The rest is easy. Pull out the old and thread in the new. I even put a zip tie back on the black connector.

Then, as they say, installation is reversal of removal.

Hope this helps
 
At least I got the less common problem I guess... 2 days ago, arrived from an afternoon ride, and checked if everything was ok, since it was a bit hot, had some pinging... The usual.

Battery at 12.0 V. Hmmm That doesn't sound right... Turned on the engine, 12.1 V. Nope, not right at all. Left it yesterday at the dealer. Called in today to check: Problem in the stator. A new one is going to be ordered from Italy. Bike with 18 months and 13k km.
 
At least I got the less common problem I guess... 2 days ago, arrived from an afternoon ride, and checked if everything was ok, since it was a bit hot, had some pinging... The usual.

Battery at 12.0 V. Hmmm That doesn't sound right... Turned on the engine, 12.1 V. Nope, not right at all. Left it yesterday at the dealer. Called in today to check: Problem in the stator. A new one is going to be ordered from Italy. Bike with 18 months and 13k km.

What year and model Guzzi do you have?

Jason
 
Makes me glad I ride old junk, all I buy is $100 34AH AGM every 12-14yrs. AND they start when it says 12.1 volts but not the EV it has to be 12.5.
 
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