| Author | Message | ||
     Trevd |
I've hardly ridden this year, and the times I have the bike has been hard to start - slow cranking, and while riding, the engine light came on a few times, then went off. A couple of weeks ago, the engine light stayed on, so I pulled the codes, and got 16 - Battery Voltage. Checked it out, at idle or at 3000 rpm, voltage at the battery was about 11.69 or so. Battery was about 7 years old, and I've mistreated it lately, so I bought a new one. Put it in, check the voltage, 13.57 at idle. Figured I was good to go. Today take it out for a spin, starts great, check engine light comes on before I leave my street. Turn around and go home,pulled the codes again, again 16 - battery voltage. Check the battery - reading around 11.57 again, at any RPM. Do a little research on badweb, go back out to move the bike closer to the garage to start taking stuff off, started it up, check voltage on the battery - 13.67 or so... which is good I think. WTF? Is this my voltage regulator going? Or could this be the stator? My next step is to start smelling around the stator for a burning smell, but I'm now thinking it's the VR because of the intermittent nature of this. Could it be the stator? Or would the stator either work or not work.. none of this sometimes crap? I know very little about electrical stuff, so I'm kind of blind with this...I read that if the VR is bad, it will show high readings, not low... Also, my headlight burnt out last fall on one of my last rides of the year. Replaced it this spring. Not sure if that could be related... | ||
| Trevd |
Just removed the primary inspection cover, took a few good sniffs, no burning smell that I could detect, and I have a pretty good sniffer. VR then? BTW, battery voltage appears normal now again... 13.57 or so at about 3,000rpm. | ||
| Twisteduly |
Remove the air scoop , there's 2 connector from the vr right above the cover you just pulled | ||
| Twisteduly |
I cleaned them up and dielectric greased them and the problem went away. There are a couple threads in the last 2 months re: vr's | ||
| Twisteduly |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/761837.html?1435333247 | ||
| Twisteduly |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/758938.html?1434507587 | ||
| Trevd |
Thanks twisted... I've checked those threads. I also took the connectors apart, cleaned them up and threw some dialectic grease in there and will monitor things. Might still order a VR to have in case this one is indeed failing. | ||
| Phelan |
Your VR connectors were behind the air scoop? Mine were routed along the oil cooler line and under the pulley cover. | ||
| 1313 |
Your VR connectors were behind the air scoop? Mine were routed along the oil cooler line and under the pulley cover. Difference between an '08-up and an '06-'07...  The more things change, the more things (DON'T) stay the same... 1313 | ||
| Phelan |
Ah, gotcha. | ||
| Twisteduly |
I'm with you, I'm seriously considering having a vr on standby. | ||
| Trevd |
Rode today for a few hours, mostly 2 lane roads. Check engine light never came on, and the bike ran like a champ. Stopped a few times, and it always started right up, no problem. When I got home I checked the voltage on the battery - 13.60-13.90 at 3,000rpm. All seems good now. But now I'm worried that the VR is on the way out, and that it will leave me stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere one day. I have a weekend trip planned for the end of July and don't want to have to bus back home. My bike is a 2008, with about 16,000 miles. Should I be getting a spare VR and carry it with me just in case? I'm thinking of at least getting a voltage meter to keep a close eye on things. I've never had a voltage regulator fail on me before - can it happen suddenly, or will I get more warnings? | ||
| Motorfish |
You should install a voltage monitor, like the Signal Dynamics, or the Kuryakyn so you can check voltage while riding. | ||
| Trevd |
OK, this is what I did this morning: I tested the stator by taking my multimeter, setting it to AC, and putting one probe into each plug of the wire coming from the stator. Started the bike, and checked the voltage coming from the stator. As per what I've read, it was about 20-24 per 1,000rpms. So that tells me that the stator is probably good - I think. Then I tried testing the voltage regulator using a few youtube videos like this: https://youtu.be/F8EjV0IjW9Q and this: https://youtu.be/0n6oNFfcCOA I only found videos for regulators with a 3 wire hookup from the stator, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference. I also found it tough to determine which wire for the battery cable was the + and which was the -, so I just made one positive and the other negative for the purposes of the test. I don't think it matters for this test. I set my multimeter to measure resistance. This is what I found: Battery side..................Stator Plug red probe on + ............... 0 0 red probe on - ............... 0 0 black probe on + ............. 0 0 black probe on - ............. 424 425 My understanding, knowing very, very little about motorcycle electrics, is that I should have numbers other than zeros for one of the ones where I currently have zeros. Is this correct? With the videos I watched, they indicated that if the numbers aren't the same across, then there is a problem. Mine are the same, but I have 3 rows of zeros instead of 2 rows of zeros and 2 rows of numbers. For those of you that know more than me, would this indicate that my regulator is shot? (Message edited by trevd on June 28, 2015) (Message edited by trevd on June 28, 2015) | ||
| Griffmeister |
Well, this test is not in the electrical service manual, by the way the stator output is 24-28vac per 1000rpm (not much different but probably shouldn't be to the low side). I'm guessing you checked for short to ground too. The only VR test in the manual is for static load and output to the battery. I still have my old VR somewhere, now that you've mentioned this I may have to try this test out. If I get similar results I'll compare them to yours. | ||
| Trevd |
I don't have the electrical service manual... could someone describe the VR tests in the manual to me? Also, could you tell me like I'm an idiot, cause I kind of am with this stuff... | ||
| Biffdotorg |
Trevor, I am having the same exact issue with my '08 Uly Xt, and started the first thread listed above. I have a VR on order from American Sportbike and it should be here tomorrow. So once I have mine installed, I will let you know what it does for me. Mine has been the intermittent CEL at startup that would go away as soon as I killed and restarted the engine. My commute to work this morning was the first time that the CEL would not go away without 3 restarts! That is telling me it is very near total failure. Of course, if it does not solve my problem, a stator is next to be ordered from Al. More to come! PS: this morning's CEL was definitely low voltage, as the circuit to my outlet, where my voltage meter is plugged in was shut down by the ECM. Once it lit up, I knew I would not get the CEL. | ||
| Uly_man |
Ok. First thing is to buy a good voltage monitor and wire it across the battery terminals. This is the only/ best way to do it and will be good for the future as well to protect your electrics from a over charge spike. This will show you, as not running a ECM log, the volts going to the battery at any one time. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I don't think you want to hard wire it across your battery terminals, as it will then be a parasitic drain while the bike is off and parked. You should be able to get a good reading (good enough to detect a bad VR or stator) from a switched voltage source. | ||
| Uly_man |
Well you do not have to and I used the Earth at the accessory point but the positive to the battery is the important part of the deal. The parasitic drain on a GOOD voltage monitor IE Digital LED not "coil meter" type is next to nothing with normal bike use, on this battery, and is waaaaaaay LESS than the drain of the bikes system while standing. If you "tap into" the positive away from the battery you may get a false voltage reading due to load from other systems on the bike while it is running. This is also stated on installation instructions for these devices. I know as I have monitored this over a number of years. Leave this bike standing, without a tender, and the battery will go flat. Let it stay flat for any length of time and it will kill the battery and you will need to buy a new one. But, as always, it is up to the owner to decide. | ||
| Trevd |
Biff, I am interested to see what a new VR does for your problem, cause yours does sound a lot like mine. The intermittent nature of it is what bugs me... | ||
| Trevd |
I think I am going to get a voltage monitor to keep an eye on things. The problem is that I don't use the bike much these days, but have a trip planned for the end of July - I hope I figure out what's going on before then. Don't want to be stranded! | ||
| Twisteduly |
It is weird that it's happening to us 3 on 08 XTs all of the sudden. | ||
| Griffmeister |
"First thing is to buy a good voltage monitor" Meaning something that will alert you to an overvoltage situation. I tried a simple digital display on my bike, didn't help much. Voltage spikes can be sudden and brief, if you're watching the road you won't really notice that split second when the numbers jump. Something with flashing lights is better. BTW, found my old VR and tried that test. I got pretty much the same results, all zeros except for one pair. Still don't know if that means anything. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My '08 regulator got weak but didn't fail outright. It manifested itself by losing one of the two green LEDs in my kuryakin thingy. I rode around like that for about a month just limiting my electricity usage like the driving lights and heated stuff. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
The wildfires in California seemed to have delayed my shipment from Al. But I will have it tomorrow. So I will know tomorrow night hopefully. It should not take me long to install the new VR. Let's say I have to replace the stator. Is it wise to replace primary cover gasket and Shift Shaft seal when taking it that far apart? If I remember right, I would need the following: Single Phase Stator New stator screws Primary Cover Gasket Bottle of HD Formula Plus Primary Oil Shift Shaft Seal And that crazy primary locking bar so that I can properly torque that primary after replacing the stator? Does that sound about right? Thanks guys. It doesn't look hard, I just want to minimize my downtime by ordering anything that should be replaced. (Message edited by biffdotorg on June 30, 2015) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
You can usually get away with reusing the primary cover gaskets a couple of times. Not tarpaper or whatever they used to use that would rip off in postage-stamp sized chunks. | ||
| Arry |
Biff- This has probably already been mentioned, but, I believe, if your stator is bad, you might burn out your new VR. If you have a service manual and a volt/ohm meter you can test the stator before installing the new VR | ||
| Uly_man |
"Something with flashing lights is better". Yes that is what I was saying and what my monitor will do IE Go to red and stay there for a fixed time period so you know there is a problem. Sorry I can not remember the exact numbers but it is something like > 15.4V for >2 sec and stay red until a bike re-start. It is a VERY clever gizmo and much better than any other I have seen. Mine is located on the dash so it is easy to see as long as you look at your speedo once in a while. (Message edited by uly_man on July 01, 2015) | ||
| Pagprivat |
I've got this on my 08 Uly: http://www.signaldynamics.com/heads-up-voltage-mon itor/ Hooked up to positive and ground of the power outlet under the flyscreen, works perfect. It has already saved me once, when my VR decided die. Caught it pretty quick, and was able to drive back home and replace the VR (which, of course, I had a spare unit of on the shelf)  |
