2013 - 2015 V7 over voltage problem & poll

[HardAspie]

So, in essence and in theory, the VR could go FUBAR and kill the ECU thus stopping the EFI, leaving you SOL in BFE wondering WTF. OMG!

[rocker59]

I understand that all 13-15 V7 have bad voltage regulators and will fry the battery, cam sensor and even the ECU
 

To what source to you owe this understanding?

[rocker59]

pretty simple internet math.  you assume only a small percentage of complainants actually complain.  it would seem highly unlikely that every owner of a guzzi v7 belongs to the wild goose website and posts if they are having issues.

Yeah.  Internet math:  some = all.

LOL!

[rocker59]

Who is claiming they are "all" bad?

If they are "all" bad, how did I get 10k miles and 3 years out of it and the battery so far?

drlapo

http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=81838.0

(now merged)

[rocker59]

lmfao.  and every guzzi owner is on this forum.  it cuts both ways.

No one here has claimed "every guzzi owner is on this forum".  Nor do we believe it.  That would be silly.

drlapo hisself used the "ALL" word.  All I did was ask him for more detail on that claim.

Some of us here have not experienced this phenomenon.  That means "ALL" is inaccurate at best.

Though I am interested to follow the discussion and learn more about the bikes that do experience the over charge.

[rocker59]

what year V7 do you own?

2014 V7 Special.  Bought new as a leftover August 2015. 

[canuguzzi]

No one here has claimed "every guzzi owner is on this forum".  Nor do we believe it.  That would be silly.

drlapo hisself used the "ALL" word.  All I did was ask him for more detail on that claim.

Some of us here have not experienced this phenomenon.  That means "ALL" is inaccurate at best.

Though I am interested to follow the discussion and learn more about the bikes that do experience the over charge.

Same thing with startus interruptus. Not everyone experiences the problem but everyone is advised to install the fix. The common statements are something like "its not if its when" or similar. The general meaning is all will have the problem, just a matter of time.

Maybe that is the premise for the "ALL" point, who knows?

[rocker59]

Maybe that is the premise for the "ALL" point, who knows?

Maybe.  That's why I was asking.  Didn't intend to be argumentative.  It's news to me, and was interested to know his source for the "all" statement.

[canuguzzi]

Stop freeking the hell out, no need to panick here.  Mine has been fine on my '14 Special.   As far as the 8V tappet recall, just because ONE customer has had EVERYTHING covered doesn't mean that's across the board.  If you assume that, you don't know Guzzi.

No one is freaking out.

More than one customer got theirs fixed by MG but then, do not, want not. Those that got their bikes fixed figured out that "can't" rarely gets results. Two types, those that do and others that watch and complain someone else did.

[guzzitime]

Don't have a V7. Strictly  a V11 man.

[drlapo]

Just a simple question to the owners of the "good" regulators: what is your charging voltage?
I'm trying to find out if this is a widespread problem

[sib]

pretty simple internet math.  you assume only a small percentage of complainants actually complain.  it would seem highly unlikely that every owner of a guzzi v7 belongs to the wild goose website and posts if they are having issues.

I would do the math just the opposite way.  Most folks who DON'T have the problem will be more likely to remain silent, while those who do have the problem will be more likely to complain.

[swordds]

Just wondering what has happened to the poor soul who started this argument (I mean thread) by having heated gloves that wouldn't work?

[slowmover]

Mine's wrapped up again until the weather's better.

[Vagrant]

I sure hope people don't vote until they actually put a meter on the bike and run it. just because you haven't had a problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
as for the winter storage excuse 90% of those bikes could be started for the ten seconds required for the test. then take a pic of the reading at 3000 and get the dealer involved. maybe this won't turn into a seven year fix like the cams on 8 valves if every one with a problem jumps on it now.

[Kev m]

as for the winter storage excuse 90% of those bikes could be started for the ten seconds required for the test. then take a pic of the reading at 3000 and get the dealer involved.

Sure it could. But for gawd's sake, if I ran out and dug into one of my vehicles every time someone on the internet said the sky was falling I'd never get anything else done.

It DOES look like there's a potential for a pattern problem here.

But like I've said, I've run the damn thing for 3 years and 10k miles without anything breaking so I'll check in a few weeks when I'm ready to run it for more than 30 seconds.

[drlapo]

FYI my 13 V7 Special exhibited no symptoms of over voltage.
I checked the charging voltage on the advice of a Moto Guzzi enthusiast who has witnessed a number of over voltage situations in 13-15 V7s
The purpose of my post was to get the ball rolling not to condemn ALL VR s

[drlapo]

This is not a new problem
Pyoungbl had the same problem in October 2014 and started a thread on this site
He replaced the VR with a mosfet unit

[swordds]

I just checked my 2016 V7II and measured 14.25 at idle and 14.31 at 4000 rpm so potentially replacing the voltage regulator with a V7II unit would solve the problem (if it will fit). For information, on my bike I could reach the positive better terminal and a good ground by lifting the seat without removing the battery cover.

As an aside: You know you are really old when every time you need a voltmeter you need to buy a new one because you can't find any of the several you believe you already own. Also when you start listing your children as emergency contacts and they stop listing you.

[drlapo]

I heard that the V7II VR is a good replacement for the 13-15 units and at $145 the cost the same as a mosfet unit
I'm going to ask my dealer for a swap under my recently expired warranty or a break on the price

[jas67]

Sure it could. But for gawd's sake, if I ran out and dug into one of my vehicles every time someone on the internet said the sky was falling I'd never get anything else done.

 :1:

Plus, running the engine for a few minutes or less and then shutting it off is not good for the engine or the exhaust, as it promotes condensation inside the engine and exhaust.

[sib]

I heard that the V7II VR is a good replacement for the 13-15 units and at $145 the cost the same as a mosfet unit
I'm going to ask my dealer for a swap under my recently expired warranty or a break on the price

I'd be surprised if the V7II VR works with the '13-'14 (USA) models.  Those have a 350W dry alternator whereas the '15 V7 and '16 V7II models have a 270W wet alternator.  I believe the cabling is also different.

[drlapo]

Thanks for the info on the 2016 VR
It looks like a mosfet unit is the way to go
Jack at roadster cycle tells me that the mosfet unit he sells will work fine on our single phase systems Easy install but you do need to cut and splice the leads from the old VR

[pyoungbl]

Just checked...the parts numbers are different.  '13 is 883878; '16 is 2D000043.  Now, does that mean that they are actually different parts?  I don't know.  The '13 is a typical Guzzi part number.  I'm not sure where the '16 part number falls.  Since Piaggio group has multiple brands this is likely to be a part number that is common to a bunch of bikes.  At any rate, putting in a warranty claim is probably going to get you another part that is exactly like the one you had problems with.  Do you feel lucky?

[rbm]

But like I've said, I've run the damn thing for 3 years and 10k miles without anything breaking so I'll check in a few weeks when I'm ready to run it for more than 30 seconds.

:1: Same empirical experience with no battery problems for 3+ years. My V7 is safely asleep in the garage and I'm not waking it up right away; but in a few weeks, I'll be running a test.

[drlapo]

From information gathered from the"other" Guzzi site while few people have experienced battery "problems"  most are finding poor performing VRs when the charging voltage is measured

[Kev m]

From information gathered from the"other" Guzzi site while few people have experienced battery "problems"  most are finding poor performing VRs when the charging voltage is measured

So here's the thing.

Please define "poor performing"?

Does that mean charging on the higher side of acceptable or on the low side of not acceptable?

And how does one judge which it is?

In the 90's it was rare for a motorcycle battery to last more than a season or two.

If I test my V7 and find it's charging at say mid-to-high 14's for voltage, but it's not damaged any other electrical component and it's still got the original battery after 3.5 years, then IS SOMETHING BROKEN?

I'm curious to know the voltage now... We've got some rain coming this week. If the roads look good later in the week I might be tempted to find out.

[oldbike54]

 Uh Kev ol buddy , we realize you are a pup and don't remember the 1990's very well , but they weren't exactly the stone age  I usually got 6 years out of a decent battery , not 1 or 2 .

 Dusty

[Kev m]

Uh Kev ol buddy , we realize you are a pup and don't remember the 1990's very well , but they weren't exactly the stone age  I usually got 6 years out of a decent battery , not 1 or 2 .

 Dusty

That might vary somewhat with environment (desert or frozen tundra being worse than more moderate zones), usage, and uh... brand of cycle. (Solidmount Harleys were HELL on their batteries).

 

[drlapo]

Gee Kev; who pissed in your corn flakes?