125m charging question

[Jim mac]

just picked up a 84 125m that probably been sitting for a eon,
quick question I have is, can I leave the dead battery in the trike and run it? is it going to hurt anything in the charging system? thanks! jim

[ironchop]

just picked up a 84 125m that probably been sitting for a eon,
quick question I have is, can I leave the dead battery in the trike and run it? is it going to hurt anything in the charging system? thanks! jimYeah it will be fine. Nothing will be damaged by running on a dead battery

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[Jim mac]

thanks! if I get some time this weekend I'll try to get it running

[Jim mac]

cleaned the carb, installed new fuel lines and it started right up. 2 tires only hold air for 5 minutes but it shifts fine. I've got old used tires in the shed, trying to decide 33 dollar new knobnies from Wal-Mart mart vs free hard used tires. jim

[Jd110]

I did run our '83 200e w/o a battery and noticed the lights were dim at low rpm. Put a battery in and presto-back to normal.

I think it's ok to run w/o a battery for a short time but wondering if it's bad for the stator and/regulator. Anyone know more?

Edit: Jim-wait! It's not the weekend, yet and you already have it running. Must have contracted the illness. Lol
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[ironchop]

I did run our '83 200e w/o a battery and noticed the lights were dim at low rpm. Put a battery in and presto-back to normal.

I think it's ok to run w/o a battery for a short time but wondering if it's bad for the stator and/regulator. Anyone know more?

Edit: Jim-wait! It's not the weekend, yet and you already have it running. Must have contracted the illness. Lol
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkWithout a battery, your lighting is running off the AC light coil portion of the stator. They flicker from low rpm AC current resulting in low output. When you add a battery, the voltage is a more even flow of electricity and it's DC so the lights stay consistent in brightness.

The regulator rectifier is designed to take (rectify) the AC current output from the stator and convert it to DC current and to regulate the voltage levels to prevent spikes in order to charge the battery and power DC devices like lights and starter.

Your Honda ATCs with the CDIs are all AC ignition systems so they will run with AC current directly from the stator without requiring it to be rectified to DC or regulated to 13V or whatever.

I'm certain this is designed this way on purpose so that should your battery die in the middle of the woods and you can't Estart but you can grab that trusty pull cord your trike has as a backup and rip it and ride away laughing with your headlight still working too since your trike can light up in AC or DC. If they designed it that way, it's surely safe to run it that way too

Not having a battery won't kill a stator. Shorting the stator out will kill it but that's about it.

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[Jd110]

Thanks chop. That's a great explanation to begin with, it's the last part I'm on the fence about.
I don't have near the years or experience that some of you guys have. I only have basic knowledge here. From the way I personally understand it, you need a good working battery in order to keep the other electrical components from 'overheating'. How long this takes, I don't know.

But I will say, I ran the Honda 200e w/o a battery for a year or so-usually just short run times, like no more than 20min & usually 5-10(yard work). Appears to be no damage at all. I was wondering about it one day so read this link and quickly bought a battery. I hope it helps.
https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/how-it-works-charging-system-fundamentals




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[Jim mac]

well, decided to let the 125m go. threw it on cl and it sold on a few hours. jim