| Author | Message | ||
     Sub65chris |
well here goes , i have posted before about the problems my 05 city -x has been having . the dealership 2 times has said that it is a blown voltage regulator . yesterday oct 7th my bike decided to die in a very beautiful valley on highway 178 heading from lake isabella to ridgecrest CA. the problem is that in the last month this is the 4th time the bike has stranded me and today will be the 3rd time i take it to the dealer . i just am going nuts ! what do i do? there are guys on this forum that have had zero problems , and there are guys that have had more problems than me . scince i have owned the bike I have had to find alternate transportation on 5 seperate occasions . all of the sudden one of those cookie cutter japanese bkes that runs is looking pretty good. I LOVE MY BUELL , it is just like getting kicked in the nuts when the bike does something like this . i really just want the bike to run .  | ||
| Glitch |
the dealership 2 times has said that it is a blown voltage regulator . If that is the case, I'd be looking for why the bike is eating VRs. More than likely if it were me I'd be losing faith in my dealership's diagnostic ability. If the same thing happens twice, it's time to see what else is going wrong. If you get a flat tire and change your tire, but not what your riding over, what good is it to change tires? | ||
| Sub65chris |
good point , but i have been throuh the bike with the sugestions of other badwebbers and have found nothing else . Im not trying to badmouth the dealership because i was there when they did most of the work . i am just trying to figure out what to do . the biggest thing is that i can not ride the bike without thinking where is the bike going to leave me today ? like i said i love my buell but if i cant get it fixed ... | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Explain what it's doing or direct us to another post that'll shed some light on this. The information is out there, you just have to find it to get your bike up and running. Anyways, there's only 3 components to these charging systems. VR Stator and Battery. One mistake many 'techs' may make is not checking the connections to all of these components and the wiring between them...especially behing the front sprocket cover. Good luck. | ||
| Sub65chris |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/227299.html?1158213434#POST 740527 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/219970.html?1155848104 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/223228.html?1156960875 basically that is what has been going on . i have done everythig that i can think of and everything fellow buellists have sugested . i even went out and bought a voltage meter to check the bike myself , im am at a loss . | ||
| Glitch |
Okay, Chris, let's see if we can indeed help, I'd love it if we can. So all your problems are charging issues? Do you have a service manual? I've found that sometimes if you are able to diagnose the problem, or at least narrow it down, the dealership has a better chance. It's no secret that some dealerships are at a lose when it comes to Buellers, simply because we tend to ride more than they are used to, I get a kick out of seeing their faces when they check my odometer and see 47,000+ miles. I'll do my best to help, although diagnostics are difficult through a message board. Also more difficult if you are without a service manual. | ||
| Josh_cox |
Ask your dealer to perform an AC voltage output test, stator short to ground test, and amperage output test. These are three tests that should be performed when diagnosing your charging system. It sounds like you have a stator messing up the voltage regulator, or a very poor ground for the regulator itself. I'd say the problem is likely the tech taking the mechanic approach of replacing parts to fix it instead of the technician approach of finding the underlying cause of the problem and fixing that along with the parts that were immediately found bad with a simple dc voltage test. It is the difference of taking an extra 10 minutes to do the other tests to verify that the regulator is or is not your only problem. | ||
| Davo |
They need to check the continuity of all three circuits on the stator and then disconnect the stator and the voltage regulator and then check the wiring harness for shorts and crushed wires. Check where the wires take the bend as they go into the voltage regulator!! The charging system is extremely simple. The problem should not be that hard to find. | ||
| Davo |
If you have a DMOV I/we can walk you through the test procedures. | ||
| Sub65chris |
i am going down to the dealership tommorow with the bike and i will let them know . im to frustrated today to mess with the bike. yesterday i was stranded 40 miles from home my phone didnt work and i ( my own fault) did not have and water. To get to the point im just mad today and need to cool down and not do anything stupid. thanks I'll let you all know tommorow what happens  | ||
| James996 |
Sub65chris I feel your pain. I'm currently on my 3rd set of stators, vr and battery. Been stranded 2 times in the middle of Conn. Roadside asst sucks. First time I waited over 5 hours for a tow. Second time it took them 18 hours to get a truck. I call asst at 10:33pm. I gave up waiting on them at 3:30 am. Got a ride home. I called them back at 8:00am in the morning and it took them till 1:30pm to get a truck. I'm about to give up on Buell. | ||
| Thepup |
Chris,check the connector from the stator to the voltage regulator.I had to take mine apart because the connector had gotten hot and I had to take the prongs out of the connector and clean the melted plastic off of them. | ||
| Khollister |
Does anyone know if the stator is different from the Sportster part? I was under the impression that the primary internals were similar if not identical. I ask because there has not been an significant reports of higher than normal alternator problems on late model Evo XL's on the Sportster forums. James996 - were your failures shorted windings or opens? Shorted windings are often a secondary failure with the primary one being a wiring harness or bad voltage regulator ground causing high current from the alternator. | ||
| Rays |
My Uly let me down with pretty much the same symptoms of the battery discharging and after charging the battery up the dealer "checked everything out" and couldn't fault the charging system. Having pushed it once I didn't trust the vanishing fault theory and took to checking the battery charging voltage every morning before I left for work. Two weeks later the fault appeared again and after some cursing and swearing (how do you get burnt nylon jacket off the headers?) I discovered the voltage regulator output connector was intermittent. After carefully removing the male pins from the voltage regulator connector I discovered they had a lot of evidence of arcing. It turns out that both of the female sockets on the loom side were quite spread and also damaged from arcing. I carefully cleaned and re-formed the female sockets and haven't had an issue since but I do have a new set of pins and sockets on order from Buell. The regulator is able to produce 30+ amps so any dodgy connections will not do you any favours and once things start arcing the connection will get more resistive and produce heat etc etc. Re-seating the connector (or replacing the regulator) may clean the contacts enough to hide the issue for a little while and confuse someone chasing this gremlin. Good luck - I completely understand how your confidence can be stretched wondering if you are going to get stranded with a flat battery again. | ||
| Glitch |
Does anyone know if the stator is different from the Sportster part? I *think* they are same. My stator problems were due to me using Mobil1 gear oil. 20,000 miles the first one died, the second at 47,000 miles. I got more mileage out of the second one because I stopped using Mobil1 as soon as I heard about the problem. | ||
| Khollister |
????? There has been quite a bit of spirited discussion on the XL forums about gear oil in the primary due to friction modifiers screwing with the wet clutch - this is the first I've heard of any issue with the alternator & gear oil. Can you summarize what the issue is? | ||
| Khollister |
I did a little searching and ran across a thread about this. It appears that the jist of the theory is the sulphur present in GL-5 gear oils corrodes brass, copper & bronze, the alternator connection being the copper wiring that is not protected by the encapsulation on the stator windings. I need to read some more tonight, but it appears that a synthetic GL-4 (something like Red Line MTL) might be an alternative. The concern I always have with running motor oil in a transmission (as is common on Japanese unitized powerplants) is the lack of EP additives for the gears. That still leaves the potential contamination of the clutch plates. | ||
| Glitch |
That's why I've changed to Formula+. | ||
| Ftd |
The stator on my ULY failed after 3500 miles (Formula +). I asked service writer if same stator as Sportester and he said no (FWIW). Frank | ||
| Sub65chris |
ok , i dropped the bike off at the stealership and they were very concerned that i am back for the 3rd time. talk of replacing the whole wiring harness was kind of bothering me . I have on both prior occasions that i brought the bike to them told them what i have been told to check for on this site. they say they do the checks but where is the bike now?( the dealership) WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE STATOR \ VOLTAGE REGULATORS IN THE BUELLS? I am going to call the 3 strike rule if this round doesnt result in the repair of the bike. 3 times ive been on the side of the road and three times my only mode of transportation has let me down. I bought american because of the different approach to the bikes and the american attitude, not to get stuck while others are riding. ok now that thats done ! deep breath , 123 ,i really love my buell but when you need a ride and you cant depend on the bike what do i do ? keep the dream alive and get stuck in the middle of nowhere, or can someone finally come up with a fix to the problem so many of us , from lightnings to ulys have encountered ??? i want to trust the bike again but all points to the opposite.  | ||
| James996 |
Sub65chris- I'm rigth there with you. My bike is also at the dealer as i write this. my 3rd time also. I bought for the same reason as you did and wanted this to be my primary mode of transportation. I need a bike a can trust. Sorry for the rant. | ||
| Sub65chris |
what can I do ? someone please help with my delema . i dont want to swith brands but I am getting left in the dark literally. | ||
| Glitch |
Since this is your 3rd time for the same problem, have you tried Buell Customer Support? | ||
| Sub65chris |
i got a phone number and it sents me to some harley thing and they are not very helpfull, but i will try again. thanks | ||
| Glitch |
Buell Customer Service: 1-414-343-8400 | ||
| Spiderman |
If you have blown three stators/VR's than the tech is missing something bigger. There is a underlying problem that they are not seeing. I could see one comming from the factory with a glitch, crap happens and not everything is perfect. But three, the "tech" is missing a serious wiring problem... So call Buell CS, be nice, and keep the board informed of your progress... | ||
| Sub65chris |
calling now thanks. | ||
| Glitch |
A Glitch on a Buell, imagine that!  | ||
| Spiderman |
Yeah I hear "it" can destroy sperm also  | ||
| Sub65chris |
glitch that ip thing on your profile is pretty cool.on the phone right now waiting for the next avaliable operator. |
