| Author | Message | ||
     Lt_adderall |
Hey Gang; We'll given what we've learned about the voltage regulator / rectifier - stator "challenge / failures" .....I am installing a LED Battery Gauge up on the console; so I can pro-actively monitor the battery charge. I have my 2006 Service Manual, I'm pretty good with wire splicing , soldering guns, shrink tube insulation and I'm ready to install. The instructions for LED Gauge state: " Find a power lead. After confirming with a test light that the lead is only ON when the ignition key is on; attach red wire to the power lead." "Find a good circuit ground wire and attached the black wire from the gauge to the ground wire. Experience in "altering things" has taught me to make the MINIMUM INTRUSION...."Keep It Simple Stupid".....Don't Go Digging and Splicing Into Complex Harnesses unless you want TROUBLE. Running the LED wiring behind the windscreen cowl seems to make sense as there is HEADLAMP wiring there! But I was thinking there is high / low beam and toggling between the two might cause the gauge to "blank out" as power went from one headlight to another. If anybody else has installed an LED battery gauge; where is the simplest and cleanest point to hook in my hot wire....and hook in my ground wire? I want to keep things simple clean and neat as my next "project" is going to be HID Ballast on the Low Beam and HID Auxilliary Lights for those long, dark, nights on the I-10 between Los Angeles and Phoenix. P.S. I am putting in new "77 Voltage Regulator Connectors" as well. My ECM has the extended bolt cover and after careful inspection it appears that my seat is NOT impacting the ECM that possibly could have contributed to the 'cracked ECM trace syndrome' I learned about from you guys. So I don't think there is too much else I can do as far as "thinking ahead and pro-actively fixing the charging system on this bike" other than to actively monitor the battery and put a fresh charge on the battery after the bike has been ridden a while. I am also going to bring along my batter tender to "recharge" the battery when I am out on a long road trip. I'm even seriously considering keeping a Stator/Rectifier and Voltage Regulator in one of my panniers as a "ready spare" given the past performance reputation of this part. Heck....to prevent failure; I was wondering if I need to change out the Stator/Rectifier - Voltage Regulator at "X" miles as a form of preventative maintenance. | ||
| Od_cleaver |
I tapped into the cigar lighter wires. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I used the wires to the power outlet on the dash (which is what I think OD meant). | ||
| Ratbuell |
I tapped into the gauge lighting - orange and black wires. Red to orange, black to black. Ignition switched, not a "major" circuit so if something in your wiring goes awry you don't have a dead bike but the dark gauges will clue you in that there's a problem. I have the Buell Quest GPS mount on the RH bar; mounted my gauge on that bracket. I know some folks mount it to the master cylinder, too...or the top tree. Personal preference  | ||
| Teeps |
I did this one: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/335986.html?1202653245 | ||
| Ronmold |
I don't understand the need for a battery tender after a long road trip, unless it's being parked for a few weeks, as you're battery should be as charged as it would ever need, if your charging system is working properly that is, and it seems that the steps are being taken to insure that. I didn't hear you mention cleaning & re-torqueing the under seat grounds, those, the 77 con & snug battery terminals are the main stator protectors. | ||
| Rwcfrank |
I found that the six mile trip to work would get the bike just hot enough to spin the fan on shutdown but not enough to charge the battery fully. So about every ten trips, if there is no long ride in between I run the tender on the battery and it take a short charge. | ||
| Lt_adderall |
Od_Cleaver: Thanks for the advice; tapped into the 12V power outlet on the console ...nice clean splice. Ratbuell: I went over the harness carefully and could not find orange / black, the wires were packed in tight and my better judgement told me to leave well enough alone so I tapped in at the 12V accessory outlet. Ronmold: Your are correct; I ran from Phoenix to Santa Monica and back; full charge...so said the VOM; no issues. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Lt - the only problem with using the accessory plug is, if you drop into the range where you really NEED the gauge....the ECM shuts off the circuit and your gauge goes blank. I'll look thru the wiring book and verify colors. Upon reflection, I was thinking tuber...where there are actual *lights* as opposed to a big plug into the whole cluster. OK - according to the FSM for an '06 Ulysses, you want pin 12 (gray/orange) for ignition switched power, and pin 13 for ground (black). | ||
| Backroad_hog |
I just finished installing a digital LED volt meter cluster (clock stop watch, dual temp gauge) because for the second time in 20,000 miles the charging system has failed. Both times, I have fixed it by adjusting female side of the 77 connector. Just for my preference I ran the LED power back to the battery itself( a chore running it behind the main wiring harness between the tank and the motor) and mounted one of the dual temp sensors under the seat.(just because I want to know how hot it got underneath there) Any way I took it on a test ride, and I got a surprise. The charging system started out at 13.8 to 14.2V but after about a mile, it started climbing all the way to 20V, I turned around and headed home and by the time I got to the house it was back down to 14.1V. I decided to finish my ride and it never climbed again. Has any one else had this problem? Thanks | ||
| Tootal |
Bad stator for me. The high voltage blew my headlights. I would do all three stator test in the service manual. If one fails the stator is toast. If bad just bite the bullet and replace stator, voltage regulator and 77 connector. You will get a new connector with the new VR. | ||
| Backroad_hog |
Thanks I will test it over Christmas break | ||
| Lt_adderall |
Ratbuell: OK; thanks for the advice. What you say makes sense. When my voltage regulator and/or stator died on me the entire instrument panel cluster ( RPM and Speedometer ) died on me. Anyway....that is what made me notice "uh oh" something is up. So I guess when volage runs low the ECM will "load shed" I have the Service Manual for my 06 Uly; so I guess I can go back and trace the schematic and find the 12V wire closest to the "central nervous" system. I'm not sure if this really helps...as if the ECM load sheds a circuit....I think I got bigger issues. Anyway.....all this comes back to the REASON WHY I installed an LED Voltmeter: Reading this forum and learning that our Ully's are susceptible to failed voltage regulators / stators; causing loss of charge leading to eventual breakdown. 77 Connector is just a "nuisance" something to upgrade....and take care of. But what about the Stator / Voltage Regulator? For any of us running a Ully long range; it is something we need to pay attention to; no? Backroad Hog had charging system failures twice in 20,000 miles. My 2006 Lightning ( my first "real bike" after my Blast ) "educated me" about Stator/Rectifier - VR when it died, jump started, but ran the battery down, and failed to hold charge. So what we have here is a "trend" a "known problem". So we are now adding on LED voltometers to our instrument panels to monitor a vital system - electrical charge. This leads to a question a threw up in the air before: If we all have good grounds, replace / upgrade our 77 connectors and all have "good?" Stator Rectifier / Voltage Regulators; what is a "projected lifespan?" of this part? Nothing mechanical lasts forever. We change Spark Plugs, Tires, and eventually over time even with good PM....a engine will eventually mechanically wear down. If we "know" the Stator/Rectifier and/or Voltage Regulator is the "weak link" does it make sense to change it out and put in a new one every " X " amount of miles if long term reliability is desired? | ||
| Ratbuell |
For what its worth (and of course, your mileage may vary), my Uly's (also '06) voltage dropped this year coming back from ResRide. Fiddlefarted with connectors in a dark hotel parking lot about an hour from home, got the gauge to creep back into the green long enough to get home. Next morning, the 77 would no longer unplug (it did in the lot the night before - still had a warm gooey center I guess). That was around 12k miles. Replaced the 77 with screw terminal connectors from Home Depot. Nearly 20k on the bike now, no issues, no wonkiness out of the gauge at all. I suspect the connector is the weak link. Having it go bad unnoticed causes the VR to get a bad signal..sending a "charge me" signal to the stator...causing the stator to cook itself in a cascade. Monitor it, catch it before it limps for too long...and save hard parts cost. It's like anything - the longer you ride it "broken"...the more stuff you break. | ||
| Gs750t |
Tapped into the 12 volt plug.  |
