How to upgrade electric system 78 CB750F?

[Rockwork]

Hey Guys, how can I upgrade my electrical performance? Today my headlights dimmed significantly when idling around 1500, and brightened when I reved. Also, my front side lights and headlight dimmed significantly when I applied my brake lights. I also felt like my turn signals were lethargic.

My battery was new in October, and was on a tender all winter.

I'm preparing for a trip in a few weeks and want to make sure my electrical system is in peak performance.

Thank you for any counsel.

[Re-run]

Best thing to do is go through and pull the connectors all apart and clean them or replace them. You can lose a lot of voltage through those old things. If you don't need a connector, then solder the wire.

A solid state regulator/rectifier will also help. The dimming of the headlight is normal but it shouldn't be too much. With the stock regulator, these bikes dont charge virtually at all till 2000 rpm.

The connectors are huge though for loss.

[Rockwork]

CB750.com has a Universal Solid State Rectifier/Regulator for 3 Phase A Type Field Excited Alternators for this model bike for $114. Does that sound right?

[TOOLS1]

I would check the battery, and battery cables before replacing any other parts. Also it could be a bad ground.
TOOLS

[Rockwork]

Tools, how does one check the battery cables, and also how does one detect a bad ground?

[TOOLS1]

With an Ohm/Volt meter. You can test the voltage of the battery, and test the resistance of the wires, and connections.
TOOLS

[Re-run]

It should work fine. They used to be cheaper but apparently not anymore.

I would still go over the connectors first. You can also adjust the voltage regulator, it may be a bit out of whack. There is a low speed and high speed side.

[sgtslag]

The best way to check for losses on connectors (wire sections, actually), is to measure voltage.  For example, put one lead on the negative battery terminal, and the other lead on the end of the grounding cable, to the chassis.  If the voltage reads more than 0.4 Volts, you have a bad connection/bad wire -- clean both ends, and the chassis point, check/solder the connectors on the ends of the wire.  Most other voltage drops, as they are called, should be 0.2 Volts, or less.  This is measured with the bike running, not off.

The resistance is very low, in the neighborhood of a few Ohms, so measuring resistance is very difficult, unless you have a high-end Ohmmeter (for bad connectors, broken wires will read infinite resistance).  Measuring voltage drops works because the high amps passing through a bad connection will result in a voltage which is easily measured with a $10-$20 Voltmeter.  Use a digital meter, not analog -- digital meters will forgive mistakes, an analog meter will likely be damaged, or destroyed.

To test your Rectifier/Regulator, measure the voltage across your battery, with the bike idling at 2,000-2,500 RPM:  you should see >13.5 Volts if everything is working properly.  A load test on your battery is a good idea, even though you installed it last Fall:  unless the manufacturer's instructions were followed to the letter, the new battery could have been damaged, shortening its life, or worse.  Remove your battery, and take it to any auto supply store, where they will perform a load test for free.

If you connected a 'dumb' trickle charger, it could have boiled off electrolyte, resulting in sulfation of the new plates.  A 'smart' trickle charger is necessary:  they are mircroprocessor-controlled; they have at least four charge modes, which change as needed, to maintain your battery at full charge, without boiling off the electrolyte, or over-charging the battery damaging the plates.

Here is a book which is fantastic at explaining electrical systems on bikes, but it also instructs how to test/troubleshoot systems -- not bike specific, works for all, old and new alike.  The author also discusses tools:  how to make some, how to use all, how to fix your electrical issues.  Book information, ISBN-10: 0760327165, Motorcycle Electrical Systems: Troubleshooting and Repair (Motorbooks Workshop).  Cheers!

[Rockwork]

Re-Run, I've replaced the battery and everything has been normal for the past 1,500 miles. I guess my battery did not survive well over the winter even with a tender.

I'm doing some wiring work this weekend and want to clean the connectors as you recommended. Sanding off the male connectors will be easy. Is there a spray or something to clean the female connectors?