Kawi2strokes.com Forum

The regulator isn't the problem, it tests like a new one in every way.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Got the regulator back, thank you Jim. Will ride it with the old battery for now, and buy a new one next spring.

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1974 Kawasaki H2B 750, 1981 Yamaha XV750 Cafe, 1986 Kawasaki KDX200, 2003 Honda XR100, 2004 SDG140. 2006 Ninja 500R Turbo intercooled fuel injected.

If you're not riding at night you could just run without a battery. I don't like to suggest that for night riding because if you stall the engine, you lose your lights.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

When I had a failure, the bike ran fine with discharged battery, but the lights, horn etc., would not work even at high RPM.

The system needs the battery as a buffer.

Jim, do you add the diode we used to do via FDM, when you build your regulators?

The regulators I build have a large capacitor in them so they can be run without a battery if desired. The design of the circuit isn't the same as a stock regulator, (plus I don't know what FDM means) so I don't know how to answer the question about the diode. It has lots of diodes in it.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

On the resources site, an "FDM" is simply a 'Factory Directed Modification' to a model, part, assembly. There is an FDM for the charging on a STOCK H2 system that adds a diode to the charging so back feed doesn't drain the battery. I just thought you had added one in your redo.

I will never run a stock magneto charging setup without a battery in place. But, then, I have never had a sock charging system fail, nor cause trouble, either.

Like the later Kawasaki regulators, the one I make does not need an external reverse current diode.


It's not the charging system that risks a problem when running without a battery, using a stock regulator. It's the stock CDI units that can see a higher voltage than they were designed for, and can fail. This is in the Kawasaki shop manual on page 116.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Yes, that is true, but, the ignition system is completely separate from the charging system on an H2.

I still won't run an H2 without a battery in place, and as I said, I've.never had a stock H2 charging system fail. I have, over 4 plus decades, seen more than a few of them fail from people trying to run them without a battery. That is hands-on proof enough for me.

Completely separate except for the magnetic coupling in the alternator that causes this overvoltage of the magneto output when the four charging coils are allowed to float. That magnetic coupling also accounts for high speed misfire with a bad 12v regulator, in some cases.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.