| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_grumpy |
My '99 M2 left me stranded yesterday, not charging, I've been through the manual & checked what I can with my multimeter, Stator output seems to be ok, regulator bleeds about 0.9v, regulator ground is good, all connections are tight & Battery is not quite a year old; Do I need a new regulator? If so; Does it have to be a genuine HD part ? What alternatives are there? HELP, thanks. As usual it craps out just when the weather's good & you need the bike, Doh! | ||
| Tramp |
Did you check battery voltage, first? check voltage at both neds of the battery leads, as well. both leads, both ends. check the LT wires going to and from your starter. If it's your VR, you can purchase a great aftermarket model, you're not locked with an HD product. just check everything from your battery and starter, first. don't becaome a 'parts-changer'. i have yet to change any electrical parts on my buell (except the battery) for the past 10 years. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Yeah, I've charged it & checked the continuity back up to the circuit breaker, It should be kicking about 13.5v when running but I'm only getting 12ish on the readout. I'll recheck everything though to make sure. Who does the aftermarket ones? I'm old school mechanic, if I can fix it I will, I don't like buying stuff if I don't have to. | ||
| Ceejay |
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but did you check where all the wiring runs under the motor, between the cam cover and the oil pump? Only going by expereince and it may have been caused by Harley techs doing a recall on the shock but I have the same model as you except a year newer and my wiring was chewed up and shorting out due to vibrations on the oil pump return fitting. Had the same indications. retaped and rerouted and worked fine. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Did you test the stator output with the bike running? Or did you just do the static stator tests (resistance)? | ||
| Tramp |
ceejay's point about that wire is brilliant. i've seen 'em chafe badly.... | ||
| Jackbequick |
Grumpy - Who does the aftermarket ones? A good start is Custom Chrome, here is their web page, the normal drill would be to identify the item and then look for a local dealer that has it or will order it. I'd check out one of our sponsors first as far as ordering it. If you have a local custom bike shop, they'll probably have catalogs from Custom Chrome other aftermarket parts suppliers. Some of the lines (an Accel stator was mentioned here recently) provide a lifetime guarantee and that is hard to beat if you can get a replacement when/if the part fails later. I bought a Buell M2 VR earlier this year (the old was definitely bad) but if I need another major electrical component, I'll probably give the aftermarket equipment a try. Jack | ||
| Tramp |
just please run the full diagnostic flow, first. see the thread where a badwebber saved $$$ due to listening to this advice. blind parts-changers account for a good deal of the morons who get all anti-buell and accuse the marque of maintenance issues.... | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Thanks for the input I'll bypass the feed to the Battery & see if that makes a difference. I don't do blind parts changing, due to availability & pricing issues, A new regulator here is around €140-150, that's about $180 to you. Dave can probably do me one quite a bit cheaper, but then we get into shipping. so I avoid swapping at all costs, plus there's the fact that I'm a tightwad & it goes against my religion to waste good drinking money! | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Rechecked the whole system, twice from both ends, no regulator output. well 0.7v is near enough nothing; looks like the VR is toast. Time to go e-shopping. Anybody got any more suppliers to try? | ||
| Ceejay |
call up harley, get the part number then look on e-bay, I've seen them go brand new for 30 bucks, course you have little recourse if it's bad, but there isn't much if it's bad from harley either, as they don't warranty electric stuff once it's been plugged in. Those usually don't go bad so I would think stock is fine. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Dennis Kirk, Thats where I bought my Stator last summer when it packed it in. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Before buying a Voltage Regulator check the output from the Stator as mine was intermittent. Based on the vibes from the motor the power would get through until a point where it gave out all together. There are pictures floating around somewhere. | ||
| 99x1 |
If you want to prove without a doubt that the regulator is a fault before buying one - buy a full wave rectifier (like Catalog #: 276-1185 from Radio Shack $3.29 50 volt 25 amp), and make temporary connections from the two stator pins to the two terminals on the rectifier marked AC (or ~), connect the negative (marked -) terminal to ground, and the positive (marked +) to the lead to the battery. You will have rectification (AC -> DC), but will not have any regulation - the voltage will go over 15 volts if you rev it up. Similar rated full-wave bridges are available at surplus electronic stores for ~$1. This tests the stator under actual load and heat. Keep the leads off your old regulator, solder them onto the rectifier to keep as a test tool. If you are going to test for an extended time (more then a few minutes) the rectifier will need heat sinking - rip all the putty and stuff out of the back of the old regulator, mount the rectifier for heat sinking, and ride with a voltmeter - BTDT!  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode_bridge for an explanation of diode bridges. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Yikes! If you do that... do NOT accidentally rev it... And I would not do it with the battery disconnected either. Getting that goo out of the voltage regulator is a major PITA by the way... unless I am missing some trick. I gotta chew on this a bit... on how that works with a shunt regulator. I guess this just skips the shunt and regulator part, and just makes it a rectifier... | ||
| Reepicheep |
Yup. That would work allright. It's a shame it is such a royal PITA to get that potting compound out of there, otherwise we could put together a "regulator rebuild kit" very cheaply. Still might be possible though, the SCR's are probably the things that fail most often, and we can probably determine exactly where those sit, and drill down to surgically replace and repot just them without bothering everything else. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I like to repair, rather than replace, as much as the next man (or woman) & probably more than most, but I have my limits, I've seen one for sale on ebay, in Wisconsin, just waiting for the guy to comfirm he'll ship to France. | ||
| Ceejay |
Oops, wasn't thinking about you living across the pond, things may be a little harder to come by over there than over here. Sorry about that, good luck! | ||
| Fullpower |
grumpy: pm me. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
sent | ||
| Tramp |
try J&P...they have kicka*s pricing and they ship overseas cheaply. can't you just get a sporty VR @ a dealership over there? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Yeah! how did you get that potting compound out? It will take an absurd amount of heat without letting go. Did you use a chemical or something? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Acetone will soften it quite a bit, but you still have to do a LOT of digging, carving, and scraping. | ||
| Ftd |
If you try Dennis Kirk, J&P, etc. be sure and compare to Jireh as they have great prices. http://www.jirehcycles.com/ Frank | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Thanks to all for your help, I called DaveS (he is the man, we're not worthy) yesterday & he has an orig in stock at a good price (very little more than on e-bay) & he'll send it how I want, so job done. Thanks again for all your help.  | ||
| Tramp |
the Buck stops at dave, I've found. thank You, dave! | ||
| Blake |
Please post topics like this to the applicable topic in the Knowledge Vault. We'll be moving this one there soon. Thanks for helping to get BadWeB organized.  172689 |
