I have been under the impression that the r/r is grounded through the wiring harness. However this article from gYpSy`s website indicates that adding a 12 gauge wire ground strap from the r/r mounting bolt to the battery ground cable bolt on the frame cured her bike`s poor starter performance and weak spark.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050317103346/ourworld.cs.com/moonmist115/chargingproblems.html
>>>printed in full below, bold and color emphasis is mine.
"I wanna share what I found out about my 750 this past week because a good many of you have mentioned symptoms similar to what I was battling recently with wierd bike performance.
I was in a group ride 2 weekends ago, and my bike was having "a bad hair day"! She was tough to start and the battery was weak. Embarassingly, it got so bad that I had to be push-started every time we'd stop by the other riders in the group.
I suspected a dying alternator/regulator and the battery wasn't being charged consistently--that would explain the weak battery and missing due to low voltage.. I addressed the weak battery condition by suspecting either a faulty battery or poor charging flow to the battery. In all cases, (running or not) the voltage tested fine as per the Kawa Service Manual—12.5 volts without engine running/13.5-15 volts revving engine to 4000 rpm (at the battery terminals). It wasn't until a friend suggested a similar problem he once had with an old Harley and he ran a "jumper wire" from the metal regulator case (under battery) to a good ground (frame) that his problems went away. I figured what's to loose in doing so, so I tried it and my battery cranking amps suddenly worked like a miracle! Quite noticably, a battery that once only cranked the starter 3 trys with a great deal of effort, now spins the starter into outer space (!) and I can now run all my light accesories without that idling fear of the battery being undercharged. I simply ran a 12 gauge wire with eye connector ends, from the regulator fastener (bolt head and I put a star washer underneath it) up to the frame ground fastener tab for the battery. Difference of night and day....!
Corrosion over time has a way of "insulating" any electrical connection, and the ground side is completely dependent on clean connections. Since the regulator on the Vulcan 750 is dependent on good ground conduction *through the battery box*, it's no wonder with all that tortuous sheetmetal and the fact that Kawasaki uses a smooth surfaced fastener flanged bolt at the regulator mount, it's entirely possible that if your bike has seen some goodly miles, this may help you too!
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So I have a question for our electrical guru`s. What happened here?
Does the r/r need to be grounded even though there is a ground wire in the 6 pin connector?
Or did she just have a poor/dirty/corroded frame ground connection at the battery cable bolt, that was cleaned enough just by removing the bolt and replacing it when attaching the jumper cable?
http://web.archive.org/web/20050317103346/ourworld.cs.com/moonmist115/chargingproblems.html
>>>printed in full below, bold and color emphasis is mine.
"I wanna share what I found out about my 750 this past week because a good many of you have mentioned symptoms similar to what I was battling recently with wierd bike performance.
I was in a group ride 2 weekends ago, and my bike was having "a bad hair day"! She was tough to start and the battery was weak. Embarassingly, it got so bad that I had to be push-started every time we'd stop by the other riders in the group.
I suspected a dying alternator/regulator and the battery wasn't being charged consistently--that would explain the weak battery and missing due to low voltage.. I addressed the weak battery condition by suspecting either a faulty battery or poor charging flow to the battery. In all cases, (running or not) the voltage tested fine as per the Kawa Service Manual—12.5 volts without engine running/13.5-15 volts revving engine to 4000 rpm (at the battery terminals). It wasn't until a friend suggested a similar problem he once had with an old Harley and he ran a "jumper wire" from the metal regulator case (under battery) to a good ground (frame) that his problems went away. I figured what's to loose in doing so, so I tried it and my battery cranking amps suddenly worked like a miracle! Quite noticably, a battery that once only cranked the starter 3 trys with a great deal of effort, now spins the starter into outer space (!) and I can now run all my light accesories without that idling fear of the battery being undercharged. I simply ran a 12 gauge wire with eye connector ends, from the regulator fastener (bolt head and I put a star washer underneath it) up to the frame ground fastener tab for the battery. Difference of night and day....!
Corrosion over time has a way of "insulating" any electrical connection, and the ground side is completely dependent on clean connections. Since the regulator on the Vulcan 750 is dependent on good ground conduction *through the battery box*, it's no wonder with all that tortuous sheetmetal and the fact that Kawasaki uses a smooth surfaced fastener flanged bolt at the regulator mount, it's entirely possible that if your bike has seen some goodly miles, this may help you too!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I have a question for our electrical guru`s. What happened here?
Does the r/r need to be grounded even though there is a ground wire in the 6 pin connector?
Or did she just have a poor/dirty/corroded frame ground connection at the battery cable bolt, that was cleaned enough just by removing the bolt and replacing it when attaching the jumper cable?