Bought brand new 2012 Ultra Limited. My second Harley. I asked salesman to check they had changed the voltage regulator. He said they did. I just put my first 30 miles on the bike and noticed at idle the voltage on the gage drops to as low as 12.5 V but as soon as you rev the bike it goes up to 14 V. I think a voltage regulator is supposed to give you constant voltage independent of the RPM. That is what I remember from my 08 Ultra. Do you think I have a bad regulator?

 

Let me explain more. So when I am cruising it stays at 14V but when I go to idles it drops down to as low as 12.5 or so volts.

 

That's normal.

 

The voltage regulator issues, at least how they were explained to me, had to do with the housing overheating, or something to that effect. There is also a range of dates that you can check on your unit to see if it was among the bad batch.

Mine went at 2200 miles. The only sign, again, at least for me, was the check engine and battery light going on simultaneously.

 

My 09 streetglide is the same maybe a little lower than 12.5 at idle but all is working well.

 

Here's a link that explains how to check the regulator for the affected dates...

http://www.cyclefish.com/BikerNews/blog/2225/

 

They all do that.

 

thanks so much guys

 

My 09 has done that since I bought it new, normal nothing to worry about, the voltage drop also depends on what accessories you have on also, since there are several more lights on a Limited it will cause it to pull the voltage down like that. Next time you are stopped, turn off the passing lamps and radio, bet your voltage comes up!

 

I have an 08 Ultra, and it acts exactly the same as your new bike.

JL