| Author | Message | ||
     Sneth |
Battery died on me during a run. I charged it back up overnite. My Multimeter on the battery does not flinch when I rev the engine.  | ||
| Rocketsprink |
probably the stator. | ||
| Damnut |
Do an Ohm test on the Stator & VR. That will tell ya. I had the same problem and it was the VR. The problem I was having was the charging was intermittent. I have a Voltage Meter on the bike and sometimes it would charge and sometimes it wouldn't, put a new VR in it and problem solved. Folks told me that the VR is either dead or working but I saw first hand that that isn't really true. | ||
| The_new_guy |
I had the same problem as Damnut. Definitely get it diagnosed correctly. I replaced my VR without really knowing if it was bad. I just replaced it because it was the easiest and cheapest route(I know, I'm a dumba$$). Anyway, I put the new VR on and it was still not charging so I assumed it was something else. It sat for 8 months before I took it to a tech who replaced the faulty "new" VR and I've been fine since. G | ||
| Beachbuell |
Good idea to change em both at the same time (stator and voltage reg.). One usually takes out the other. If it hasn't yet, it will. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Sounds like the VR. I had the same problem. One thing to keep in mind is that once a battery has been run flat and otherwise abused, it may take a charge, but not pass a load test. So, after dancing the electrical boogie, with the stator, VR, loose connections, burnt out relays, and intermittent shorts in the wiring harness, sometimes it is a good idea to replace the battery, which is a part of the charging system in its own right. | ||
| Froggy |
I recently had my stator and VR replaced under warranty. My voltage meter was going nuts, thats how I knew it was happening. | ||
| Jos51700 |
A no-charge condition can be one, the other, or both. Throwing parts at it is great! Keep guessing, you're making my HD stock go up. To properly test a charging system: Step 1: CHARGE the battery. Don't do this by revving the bike, do this by charging the battery. Step 2: Set multimeter to DC volts, and connect directly to battery posts. It should read 12.8-ish to 13.2-ish. If it's lower, see step 1, or replace battery. if your battery is more than two years old, it might not hurt to throw a new one in there, unless you like riding in tow trucks more than riding on motorcycles. Step 3: Start bike. Battery should NOT drop below (ideally) 9 volts while cranking. Typically, if it'll crank the bike over at a consistant speed, for a few seconds, it's fine. This is not a true load test, but it's close enough for the homeboy mechanic. If you own a true load tester, you shouldn't be getting your electrical advice from the internet, anyways. step 4: at idle, Multimeter should read 13.5+ volts. Just off idle, to redline, should read 14.4 volts. Less than 14 is serious cause for concern, as is much OVER 14.4. If it's 14.7 or higher, go buy a regulator right now, and avoid running the bike until it's charging at 14.4 or less. Battery explosions suck. OK, less than 14 volts? Check: Battery cable tightness, regulator ground, stator connections, etc. Re-test. THEN with bike OFF, unplug stator. Connect multimeter leads to stator side of the connector. DON'T jam your multimeter leads directly into connector, unless you LOVE intermittant electrical issues. Note: now is the time to pray some previous owner didn't JAM his multimeter leads into the connector. If you've ever met one of your wife's ex-boyfriends, you know what I'm talking about. Once making contact with your multimeter, set it OHM's. It doesn't matter which stator wired you connect to, as you'll try them all. Pick one pair, measure, then swap ONE lead to the other wire. Measure, then swap the lead you DIDN'T move the first time. 3 ohms or less, you're golden. if the meter reads "open" or similar, you're buying a stator. If it reads significantly higher than 3 ohms, you're buying a stator (what's "significant"? 6 ohms or more). Now check all 3, one at a time, against ground (The engine, frame, chassis, negative battery terminal, etc). It SHOULD read open. If it reads any resistance (Ohms), at all, go buy a stator. OK. So we know the stator is not fubar'd, yet. Notice we're moving on, and we didn't ohm-check the regulator. That's because there is NO such test. Sorry. You can ohm-check it if you want, but it's not a valid test. I've measured several dozen, some new, some used, some old, some new, some bad, some good. The consistancy just isn't there. Because the regulator also rectifies, it can fail in many different ways. Undercharging, no charging, failure to rectify, etc. I've seen regulators with the backs melted off, putting out ZERO volts, smoking from the input voltage, and not having a proper ground, and they've ohm'ed out the same as the brand new unit that fixed the problem. Back to the stator. Bike OFF, switch multimeter to AC voltage. Now, this is the point where the bike can shock you, hurt you, kill you, insult your children, and knock up your wife. You're playing with AC, so no touchie on the wires, okay? Hook up, start the bike, and measure the AC output between any two wires. Got voltage? Good. Does it increase in a relatively linear fashion with RPM? Good. Honestly, at this point, I don't remember the spec, so maybe someone will chime in with it (Assuming they've read this far). If you have a service manual, it's in there. Now check the other combinations of stator wires, like we did for the ohm-check. If you have smooth, linear AC power starting at the mid-teen range, and ending up at 35 Volts or so, and the output is similar for all three legs, the stator is OK. It's the behavior more than the actual number at this point, but the number need to be reasonable enough to provide voltage for a 12 volt system. So if the stator is outputting (and if it doesn't pass the ohm-check, it won't be), and the battery isn't charging 14.4-ish, go buy, and install a regulator, and retest at the battery, looking for 14.4 (DC, you did reset your meter to DC to test the battery, right?) volts. If that doesn't fix it, let me know. Also don't forget to re-connect the stator to the regulator, before continuing on with other tests, or test rides. Don't ask how I know this. | ||
| The_new_guy |
Nice post. | ||
| Jos51700 |
Yes, it is quite big, and we all know that bigger is better. Now if it had some truth to it...  | ||
| Andymnelson |
lol at "If you've ever met one of your wife's ex-boyfriends, you know what I'm talking about." nice post. printing this one and stickin it in the folder for future troubleshooting help. | ||
| Spiderman |
NO this is the Voltage Regulator!  | ||
| Lamo |
Everything Jos51700 said plus check the connector between VR and battery behind the sprocket cover they have been known to melt ,mine did | ||
| Sneth |
is it true they made some changes to the 08 VR? and if so, those should work on the 06 right? | ||
| Jos51700 |
"is it true they made some changes to the 08 VR? and if so, those should work on the 06 right?" I would not make that broad assumption. | ||
| Sneth |
didn't know assumptions could be made with a question mark at the end...... | ||
| Triumph_bonnie |
Hey Jos51700, just because some one owns a load tester it doesn't mean that they are not open to suggestions. Especially when it comes to electrical problems!!! One can go through a lot of cold beer and time to trace what could be a simple little glitch. Trust me. | ||
| Jos51700 |
I would expect a comment like that from a Triumph fan And Sneth, he was asking for someone to back him up on his assumption, right? | ||
| Triumph_bonnie |
Ouch!! Jos that kind of hurt, LOL. Still love my ol' Bonnie over my Sportster for cutting corners. The Sporty is great for getting from one light to the next real quick. But since discovering Buells a few years back I am hooked! They are the perfect blend of those two old time favs and then some. And who said that Buells were unreliable? Obviously they never have had one for long. 5 months and over 5k miles and not a problem with my '04 yet! | ||
| Jos51700 |
Triumphs are neat, I'm just jabbing Lucas, the Prince of Darkness. | ||
| Triumph_bonnie |
Alright, ya got me there Jos. Guess I wasn't thinking enough, LOL. A little aluminum foil is always handy to have with an ol' Triumph! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
great post by Jos. Thanks. I have recently installed a new stator, battery and VR, (twice), but my battery is not getting any charge, or it only works intermittently, and never over 13.5 volts. I am getting good voltage out of my new stator - up to 44 volts. It has been suggested that I check the VR grounds, but I don't know what that means exactly. Can any one help me out here? Thanks! | ||
| Mr2shim |
I'm having the same problems. Great info Jos. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I have recently installed a new stator, battery and VR, (twice), but my battery is not getting any charge, or it only works intermittently, and never over 13.5 volts. Check the 77 connector - see this very helpful webpage: http://docs.google.com/View?revision=_latest&docid =d4rbxwr_20dq5khf&hl=en. |
