2011 Street Glide V&H true duals, Big Louies, K&N air filter (stock football), FP3. (A little over 50,000 miles on the odometer)

Ok, went for a ride today and noticed that my volt meter on my dash climbed up and and stayed at 16 volts. Immediately I started thinking voltage regulator. "Great, this will be the second one."

Then I started thinking to the last time this happened and basically the entire charging system had been affected. I spent a couple of days, on the road, waiting on parts and replacing my stator. Got a lot of good help on that one from the guys here on the forum. Thanks again for all the help.

Now, it has been in the upper 90's with heat indexes of 105-110°. So it is possible that my battery is going...
So, here's my plan of attack on this one:
Pull the battery and have it tested
Open my inspection cover and take a whiff (easy stator test)
Grab my book and test the stator and then the voltage regulator.
Handle whatever the problem(s) may be.

My question to the enlightened is this, is there a better voltage regulator than what HD sells? I've shown "love" to the MC once, but if the voltage regulator has gone out again... Hate replacing inferior with inferior.

 

I recommend these http://www.cycleelectricinc.com/

Also, check out their technical section for troubleshooting tips.

 

Before you spend any money diagnose the problem and identify the actual cause of your problem! I'm not sure when canbus came in, but there are instructions for older bikes in the Tech Electrical section for checking the charging system. You will need a multimeter.

 

 

Your battery will not cause a reading of 16 volts. Having it load tested is not a bad idea but won't be your problem.
As was said, do the charging system checks to be sure but I suspect you will find the regulator has failed.
I'm currently on my 2nd HD regulator and if/when it fails I'll replace it with the cycle electric one.

 

*To operate properly, the regulator must be WELL grounded. The diode responsible for regulation is constantly shunting excess to ground.

As mentioned, measure from the positive battery terminal to ground with the bike running. The measured voltage should be around 14VDC regardless of RPM.

 

I second the Cycle Electric. Made in Ohio, cost more than the stock Harley VR but worth it.

 

IF your voltage regulator is bad, I'll third the recommend for Cycle Electric. I have used two over the years and they hold up just fine and are cheaper than the foreign made Harley product. Cycle Electric are made in the USA.

 

I have the CE voltage regulator that hangs above the oil cooler. Keeps any additional heat off of it.

 

BINGO! GRBrown and I are of like minds. You can throw money at it all day, and still not solve the problem. Gotta start with proper diagnostic procedures. Don't count on guesses unless you just like throwing money at it.