So I bought my first bike two weeks ago now. A 2011 softail blackline with 16k miles. I've already put 800 miles on it now and am having a charging problem.

My battery light came on Saturday. Hurried home and checked it on a volt meter. 11.5 volts running. Did not seem to be charging with bike running. So I pulled the battery and charged it for a couple hours. Put the battery back in, fired it up and it was reading 14.2 volts. I figured good to go. Rode Saturday night and part of the day Sunday. Battery light came on again. Probably had done 200 miles by this point. Hurried home and same thing. Low voltage, wasn't charging. Charged the battery so I could have it load tested. Battery tested out fine. Put it back in, fired it up, and guess what? 14.2 volts again. Rode it around for a few miles and checked it again. Still charging. At this point I'm really scratching my head. Can a stator or rectifier that's going bad act this way, or do I have a wiring problem somewhere?

 

I have the same problem. I would start with the 2 stickys at the top of this forum and follow one of them.Hopefully it is that simple...unless you have a relay, wire or ignition issue. Then the real fun begins.

I have the SAME issue at this very moment. Created a thread but can't get a moderator to approve it for display. Awesome. Anyway, my stator, reg and battery all check good but still no charge at the battery.

Anyway - do all the tests. This will show you what is working. You can trouble light the regulator per the test but that's about it. If the stator is good and your battery is good - then it may or likely could be the regulator.

 

I hope it's not an ignition issue, however now that you mention it, I have noticed that the dash light sometimes goes out at night, but I wrote that off as the fob losing connection due to a weak fob battery. Not sure if this is normal or not, but I'm guessing with the fob/security system my ingition / accessory switch on the side is rendered useless? Fob or not, turning the switch does nothing.

 

Well now I'm more perplexed. Went for a ride to the gas station to fill up. Checked voltage before leaving. It was charging. Got to gas station and half way home battery light came on. Out of frustration, I got on it mildly hard ~4k rpm shifts and the damn light went out. Got home and put the meter on it again, and sure enough, it's charging. This is frustrating.

 

This information comes from touring manuals but should be the same for softails:
Just remember to do the easy things first.
Testing:

Connectors and cables should be checked and cleaned first. Loose and corroded connectors, terminals and grounds can cause high resistance, impeding current flow. Check cables for broken or rubbed insulation and check continuity to make sure the conductor is not broken inside the insulation.
Coating connectors with dielectric grease will keep moisture out and reduce corrosion.
Use the schematics in the HD Electrical Diagnostic or Service manual to determine the location of additional connectors.


Battery testing:
First check and clean battery terminals, Battery cables and ground connections. To check cables, disconnect one end and Ohm out, wiggle while testing. Cables can and will corrode and the evidence can be concealed under the insulation.
If you are unsure of the battery’s condition charge it fully and take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested.
Voltmeter test:
Connect voltmeter positive to positive terminal on battery and voltmeter negative to battery negative terminal.
12.7 v = 100% charge
12.6 v = 75%
12.3 v = 50%
12.0 v = 25%
11.8 v = 0%
Watch the battery voltage when you start the bike, if a fully charged battery falls below 9.6 volts it’s time to replace it.
If a well charged battery runs down if the bike sits for a short time perform a current draw test. Set your meter to read 10 amps current. Pull your main fuse and insert the meter leads. Here’s a list of components and what current they will draw in milli amps, 1/1000 of an amp) from the 2015 manual:
LHCM 0.5
RHCM 0.5
Speedometer/ IM 0.5
Regulator 1.0
ABS 1.0
BCM 1.0
ECM 1.0
Security Siren 20.0
Radio 0.5
Amplifier 0.5
CB Module 0.5

If the Battery passes all tests check the charging system.
Charging System Testing:
Volt meter set to DCV 20V scale or higher.
With the bike in neutral and voltmeter attached to the battery, start the engine and rev to 3,000 rpm. If the voltage measures 13V – 14.7V the charging system is operating properly. If less than 13V test the Stator first. If Greater than 15.5V test the Voltage Regulator.

Stator testing
Turn the bike off and disconnect the Stator from the Voltage Regulator.
Testing a 3 phase Stator, (A single phase stator is tested in the same manner but the plug will only have 2 sockets).
The end of the connector from the stator has 3 sockets. Set your meter to ohms and connect one lead to the battery negative. With the other lead make contact with the conductors inside each socket. You are checking for a grounded coil winding, each socket should show an open circuit to ground, no continuity.
Now take both meter leads and check resistance between each of the three sockets, 1-2, 2-3 and 1-3. The resistance should be 0.1 – 0.3 ohm.
Next check the Stator’s AC output. Set the meter to ACV 100V scale. With the Stator unplugged from the VR and the bike in neutral, start the bike. Run the bike at 2,000 rpm and check the Stator output between sockets 1-2, 2-3 and 1-3. The voltage should read approximately 32-46 Volts AC, for the 50 amp Stator. Stators with other Amp ratings will be similar.
If the Stator continuity tests to ground and Phase to Phase are good but the output is not the Rotor may be bad.

One other indication that the stator may be bad is if your primary oil smells like a burnt circuit board.

Voltage Regulator Testing

Voltage readings of 15.5V and higher test wire from VR negative to battery negative, if less than 0.5 ohm replace Voltage Regulator.
If the output is less than 13V from the Voltage Regulator to the battery and the Stator output is good, disconnect the output cable from the VR to the Battery. Check continuity between the Voltage Regulator Positive wire and the battery Positive and the negative wire and battery negative. Repair or replace cable if needed. If the cables are good and the Stator tested well replace the Voltage Regulator.

 

I have the three phase system, so not sure on the VR side which is positive and which is negative. I am leaning heavily towards VR problem. The battery light came on again today and stayed on for a bit, then when I hit the throttle hard it went out. Got home and put the fluke meter on it and it was charging. Also checked the stator output and was getting proper voltage. I don't belive a stator can work and then stop and work then stop again? So now I'm on a wiring issue or VR. With the bike running and meter on the battery, I was grabbing wires and moving things around. Never stopped charging.

 

Assuming your wiring is OK, you've got a intermittent voltage regulator. It's a common failure mode. Replace the Voltage Regulator.

 

If you've checked your connections, Battery and grounds and cables are good,(not open) then like nhrider says replace the Voltage Regulator.
Good Luck

 

Just ordered the cycle electric regulator. Will report back after I receive it and install it and ride it for a few days if the problem was solved.

 

Wasn't that about the time Harley had a bad batch of VRs? Seams like I read that on the forum somewhere.


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