Motorcycle electricity: its working principle and the malfunctions that affect it

Motorcycle electricity: its working principle and the malfunctions that affect it

    Motorcycles are used as an easier way to move around in cities and villages being smaller than cars, and bicycles consist of mechanical and electrical parts that cooperate together to operate and control them and may be exposed to malfunctions overtime on their use. Electrical parts, as well as a method to ensure their safety.

Working principle of electric motorcycle parts

    The work of bicycles depends on the flow of electric current from the battery to its electrical parts, such as the starter motor, operating system, fuel injection system, and electric additives, which consume its energy. While the motorcycle is driving, the current from the alternator will reach the regulator and rectifier, which will convert alternating current into DC current in one direction, to pass through electronic pulses/diodes that allow current to flow in one direction One to bring the positive voltage to the battery.

Alternator working principle

The generator is the cornerstone of the charging system. It controls the flow of current from it by relying on the controlled rectifier (Thyristor), which turns it off and on through the readings it receives from the voltage sensing circuit. When the readings from this circuit reach a certain limit, the controlled rectifier operates the generator and connects it. With the stator windings to ground and eliminate the overcurrent, when the current in the circuit drops, the rectifier starts the generator again.

Electrical parts malfunctions and ways to deal with them

Motorcycle electrical faults vary according to the malfunctioning part, and the method of maintenance varies according to the faulty part, as the repair of a battery malfunction differs from the malfunction of the electric valve or grounding wires, and the same applies to other parts of the bike, and the following is a mention of the problems that affect each part of it And how to deal with it:

Electric bikes

1. Battery

The battery is the main power source in the bike and suffers from many malfunctions, and it can be ensured that it is safe and free of malfunctions by paying attention to the following things:

• Ensure that the battery is fully charged before operating the bike, as it must be charged to 12 volts when the bike is turned off, and that the reading of the voltage in the battery does not rise above 10.5 volts, indicating that one of the battery cells is damaged.
• Ensure that the battery charge does not drop quickly from its full charge when it is starting to operate, as its capacity is less than 10.8 volts, indicating that the battery is damaged and the need to change it or there are problems in the engine that lead to the consumption of its energy quickly, and the battery wires are overheated.
• Ensure that the voltage in the battery does not exceed 14.8 volts after charging it so as not to be damaged.

2. The main electric valve

    Damage to the main valve causes the electric bike parts to stop working or to work intermittently and randomly, and the problem of its damage can be dealt with by following the following things:

• Keeping a spare electric valve in the bike, to replace it if it is damaged, as it wears out with the passage of time and constant exposure to vibration.
• Check the other electrical parts of the bike to make sure they are not producing too much current to burn the valve.

3. Grounding wire

    The ground wires have some problems, and it is one of the problems of electric bikes that are easy to fix, and the following things indicate their failure:

• The bike has completely stopped working.
• Electrical parts stop working or work intermittently.

4. Stator file

    The presence of a problem in charging the battery indicates a malfunction in the stator, as it is part of the system that supplies the battery with the current necessary to charge it as well, which leads to its rapid depletion, and it can be confirmed that it is safe and free of problems by following the following steps:

• Disconnect the stator wire from the battery.
• Bring a digital multimeter (Multimeter) and set it to the ohm setting.
• Connect the terminals of the scale to the terminals of the stator wire, starting with the first terminal with the second, the second with the third, and the first with the third. Each of these times must read 1 ohm and not exceed 1.5 ohms for the stator to be intact.
• Connect the red terminal of the scale to the stator wire, and the black terminal to the negative electrode in the battery provided that no reading appears on the scale to indicate that the stator is free of earth faults.
• Adjust the meter set to AC Voltage.
• Run the bike to reach an engine speed of 2000 rpm.
• Measure the voltage between the stator terminals again as in the third step using a multimeter, provided that the numbers appear close in the three attempts to indicate its safety.

5. Regulator/Rectifier

    The rectifier works to convert the alternating current coming from the regulator into a constant current to charge the battery well. It can be checked that they are free of malfunctions by following these steps:

• Rectifier: Follow the following steps to ensure the safety of the rectifier:

1. Disconnect the wires from the rectifier.
2. Put the digital multimeter into the diode mode.
3. Connect the positive scale terminal to the positive rectifier diode, and the negative scale terminal to both terminals of the stator separately, and neither reading should appear for it to be correct.
4. Connect the negative scale terminal to the positive rectifier diode, and connect the positive scale terminal to the stator terminals separately, and any readings appearing both times will indicate the integrity of the rectifier.
5. Repeat the previous two steps for the negative rectifier diode, provided that the readings appear in the reversed position, that is, when the positive terminal of the scale is connected to the negative diode only, to indicate its integrity.

• Voltage regulator: Follow these steps to ensure the safety of the voltage regulator:

1. Put the multimeter to potentiometric mode
2. Connect the gauge tip to the battery after the engine is running, and the reading should be no more than 14.5V and not less than 13.5V.

6. Ignition Coil/Plug Wires & Caps

    The wires connect the generator ignition system with covers, and they must be inspected to ensure their safety, as the wear of the insulating materials around them leads to wires warping, or the covers may break, which rusts the wires and opens the electrical circuit and thus obstructs the flow of current.