Hi. Got a kick only shovel superglide. Tons of work over the past couple of years. Runs great but it wont keep an electrical charge. Any thoughts? Its got a new battery (might be bad.) The voltage regulator doest give bad smells but I don't know. Any help would be appreciated.

 

When you place a meter across the battery when it's running what is it charging at? The battery should be 12.8 if it's good and should charge at aroung 13.8 to 14. Do a search for checking charging systems, I know someone spelled it out before. If you got the original 70 to 75 charging system they weren't the best.

 

2 prong stator (76 and up) are alot easier to check for AC output If you do have the 4 prong system (70 to 75) I would change the system out

 

what do you mean, by " not keeping an electrical charge" if the battery goes dead when riding. You will need to check the charging system. start with charging the battery, and checking the battery voltage with the engine running at a fast idle. should be around 14 volts. (get back to us)
if the battery looses its charge overnight, you have a problem with the battery or a draw in the system. this can be checked using a test light. remove the negative cable from the battery and install your test light in circuit (between the negative post on the battery and the negative cable) if the test light illuminates you have a draw in the system. the most common cause is the voltage regulator. to find the draw remove circuits until the test light goes out. if that checks out, the battery is bad.
If you have the old 4 prong system, it would be best to update anyway.

 

Yes, the battery loses power while the bike is running. After fully charging the battery the headlight and taillight started to dim after about 8-10 miles. I can't be sure about the age or period of the charging system/ regulator. This bike has spent more time in a box than it has on the road so I would assume its old and original. Thanks for your help.

 

find out what charging system you have. pull the stator plug, is there two or four prongs?

 

I had the same problem on my shovel. I changed the voltage regulator and solved my problem. However, I went to the shop to get it checked with there tester

 

sprgld71,

1) make sure you have a good battery fully charged AND get it load tested to be sure.
2) What is your battery voltage ready at 2000 rpm. should be ~13.8 + as previous poster said
3) Multimeter on ohms. Engine off. Check each stator pin to ground. Should be no continuity. If conitnuity, stator is grounded-no good.
3) Check ohms pin to pin. Should be around some resistance .4-.6 ohms. If infinity, then stator is shorted-no good.
4) Put to DC on multimeter. Check regular pin to ground. Should not get voltage as high as battery. If so, bad regulator.
5) Be careful on this one. Put multimeter in AC. Engine running and regulator unplug. Put one probe in each stator pin. Every 1000rpm, you should be getting a voltage reading of 19-26 volts.

Hope this helps. dave