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It is a long time since I did any electronics so a quick Google might be in order. You need a multimeter. These have an ohm meter and with newer ones a diode tester.
Old multimeters used to flow a small voltage that was enough to make a diode conduct. This would show as a resistance. When the leads are reversed the diode doesn't conduct and shows as high resistance.
New multimeters don't flow the same voltage so they usually have a special setting for a diode test.
Step 1. To check the regulator unplug it from the stator. Take a test light and clip it to the negative terminal of the battery and then touch first one pin and then the other on the plug that goes to the regulator. If you get even the slightest amount of light from the test light the regulator is toast.
To do this with a meter which is more accurate: black lead to battery ground, red lead to each pin on the plug, start with the voltage scale higher than 12vdc and move voltage scale down in steps for each pin. Any voltage is a bad regulator.
You may get battery voltage on all three pins on the newer 3 phase regulators.
The no voltage is for older type regulators with diode indicating the diode is bad and the regulator needs replacing.
Step 2. On the other part of the disconnected regulator plug. Set the multimeter for Ohms x1 scale and measure for resistance across the pins of the stator. You should read something around 0.1 to 0.2 ohms for the TC88 32 amp system.
Step 3. Then check for continuity between each pin on the plug and frame/engine ground. The meter needle should not move (infinite resistance)(digitals will show infinite resistance) if the meter needle does move (indicating continuity)(digitals will show some resistance), recheck very carefully. If the meter still shows continuity to ground the stator is shorted (bad).
Step 4. Set the meter to read A/C volts higher than 30 volts (the scale setting for voltage should always be higher than the highest voltage you expect or you may fry the meter). Start the bike, and measure from one pin to the other on the plug (DO NOT cross the multimeter probes! - touch them to each other). You should read roughly 16-20 vac per 1,000 rpm.
Step 5. If the battery was good under load test, if the stator is NOT shorted to ground, and the stator is putting out A/C voltage, then the regulator is bad (most likely even if if passed step 1).
You need to identify the three pins on the regulator that connect to the three wires from the stator. Also, identify the ground and the connection to the battery plus. Using the multimeter, you should get conduction (good diode test) from each of the three stator terminals to the battery connection when the positive lead of the meter is on the stator connection(s) and the negative is on the battery connection. Reverse the leads (negative to stator and positive to battery) and all three should show no connection (bad diode test). Repeat for each stator connection to the ground connection. You should get conduction when the negative meter lead is on the stator and positive on the regulator's negative terminal and nothing when the probes are reversed.
If any of these tests fails the rectifier portion of the regulator is bad.
This is what the circuit looks like. The arrows are showing electron (negative) flow.
Your picture seems to suggest the stator is 3 phase with 3 wires but looking at the wiring diagrams for a 2008 and 2017 there is only 2 wires so just single phase AC from the stator.
Your picture seems to suggest the stator is 3 phase with 3 wires but looking at the wiring diagrams for a 2008 and 2017 there is only 2 wires so just single phase AC from the stator.
Yep thats 3 phase for dressers. My dyna is single phase.
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