Electrical Problems- 2011 Heritage Softail Classic
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,971
Likes: 901
From: Omaha
Intermittent electrical problems are the most difficult problems to diagnose so don't slam the dealer too hard.
First off let me say I'm not an expert in motorcycle electronics, but I do stay at a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses.
As for the stator (commonly known as an alternator in a car); I'm not sure what year bike you have.
For older bikes that have a 2 phase stator the output can be checked by putting voltmeter on AC and checking the voltage between the two outputs.
If I recall correctly the output should be around 35-40VAC. (Volts of Alternating Current)
For newer bikes that have a 3 phase stator, on the bike you can only easily check to see if any of outputs are shorted to ground.
If they all show an open then the stator is likely good but could be intermittently bad.
As for the voltage regulator; what it does is take the 35-40VAC from the stator and converts it to DC (direct current) voltage and regulates the voltage to a constant state.
Measuring at the battery with the bike running the voltage should be around 13.9VDC.
Anything less that 13.9VDC is a indicator that the voltage regulator is weakening or failing.
Of course in order to determine if anything's bad, it's got to be broken.
If it ain't broke it can't be fixed.
Recently I had an intermittent voltage issue.
I decided since my Heritage was 7 years old that the regulator was going to fail sooner than later so why not just upgrade it now and hope it fixes my problem.
I installed a Cycle Electric regulator and my voltage is now steady and strong reading 13.96 VDC at the battery while running.
Since my problem was intermittent I never could get it to fail in order for me to check the battery voltage during a failure.
I guess in short; with an intermittent problem you've got 3 choices;
1) wait for it to totally fail then replace the failed part
2) replace the most likely part that could be failing and hope it fixes the problem.
3) replace the cheapest or easiest part that is related to the problem and hope it fixes the problem.
I went with option 3 since a failing regulator could be related to my problem and since all regulators typically fail eventually on motorcycles.
Also an OEM regulator can be had on eBay for less than $100 and is easy to replace.
I went with a Cycle Electric regulator primarily due to it is supposedly one of the best on the market and was only $129.
It took me about 10 minutes to swap it out.
I guessed correctly apparently since my problem appears to be fixed.
Good luck.
First off let me say I'm not an expert in motorcycle electronics, but I do stay at a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses.
As for the stator (commonly known as an alternator in a car); I'm not sure what year bike you have.
For older bikes that have a 2 phase stator the output can be checked by putting voltmeter on AC and checking the voltage between the two outputs.
If I recall correctly the output should be around 35-40VAC. (Volts of Alternating Current)
For newer bikes that have a 3 phase stator, on the bike you can only easily check to see if any of outputs are shorted to ground.
If they all show an open then the stator is likely good but could be intermittently bad.
As for the voltage regulator; what it does is take the 35-40VAC from the stator and converts it to DC (direct current) voltage and regulates the voltage to a constant state.
Measuring at the battery with the bike running the voltage should be around 13.9VDC.
Anything less that 13.9VDC is a indicator that the voltage regulator is weakening or failing.
Of course in order to determine if anything's bad, it's got to be broken.
If it ain't broke it can't be fixed.
Recently I had an intermittent voltage issue.
I decided since my Heritage was 7 years old that the regulator was going to fail sooner than later so why not just upgrade it now and hope it fixes my problem.
I installed a Cycle Electric regulator and my voltage is now steady and strong reading 13.96 VDC at the battery while running.
Since my problem was intermittent I never could get it to fail in order for me to check the battery voltage during a failure.
I guess in short; with an intermittent problem you've got 3 choices;
1) wait for it to totally fail then replace the failed part
2) replace the most likely part that could be failing and hope it fixes the problem.
3) replace the cheapest or easiest part that is related to the problem and hope it fixes the problem.
I went with option 3 since a failing regulator could be related to my problem and since all regulators typically fail eventually on motorcycles.
Also an OEM regulator can be had on eBay for less than $100 and is easy to replace.
I went with a Cycle Electric regulator primarily due to it is supposedly one of the best on the market and was only $129.
It took me about 10 minutes to swap it out.
I guessed correctly apparently since my problem appears to be fixed.
Good luck.
Last edited by Bluraven; Sep 9, 2016 at 04:42 PM.
FIXED ... 2012 Harley-Davidson heritage Softail Classic dash light. Same problem
i was having same issue, bike would stay at about 1700 rpms when coming to a stop. Dash lights were dead, turn signals and all dash lights out after bike warmed up at over 1500 rpms everything died. Bike ran ok but dash was all dead, come to a stop and it all came back on eventually after rpms came down to idle. Start riding from stop and they all go dark again. Very weird problem.
I put a new voltage regulator on today and it seems to have corrected the problem. I tried to buy the regulator from J&P cycle and they completely suck! Waited a week for them to ship and they said it would be another 4 days before they got it in stock then 4 more days to ship to me. Customer service people were rude and not helpful at all. I will never use these douche bags again for anything. Everyone says what great people they are, that wasnt my experience at all. Rude and cocky was the way I was treated, like they were doing me a favor selling me this part. Price was $190, I asked to cancel the order and was told they couldnt cancel it. I told them Id cancel payment and they hung up on me. Finally got it canceled, went to amazon and bought one for $85 including shipping. Had it in my hands 3 days after ordering.
J and P electric or J AND P cycle suck the big one. Dont waste your time with these idiots, go to amazon and get it fast.
Joe Mamma
I put a new voltage regulator on today and it seems to have corrected the problem. I tried to buy the regulator from J&P cycle and they completely suck! Waited a week for them to ship and they said it would be another 4 days before they got it in stock then 4 more days to ship to me. Customer service people were rude and not helpful at all. I will never use these douche bags again for anything. Everyone says what great people they are, that wasnt my experience at all. Rude and cocky was the way I was treated, like they were doing me a favor selling me this part. Price was $190, I asked to cancel the order and was told they couldnt cancel it. I told them Id cancel payment and they hung up on me. Finally got it canceled, went to amazon and bought one for $85 including shipping. Had it in my hands 3 days after ordering.
J and P electric or J AND P cycle suck the big one. Dont waste your time with these idiots, go to amazon and get it fast.
Joe Mamma
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,238
Likes: 5,784
From: On the Big Blue marble
i was having same issue, bike would stay at about 1700 rpms when coming to a stop. Dash lights were dead, turn signals and all dash lights out after bike warmed up at over 1500 rpms everything died. Bike ran ok but dash was all dead, come to a stop and it all came back on eventually after rpms came down to idle. Start riding from stop and they all go dark again. Very weird problem.
I put a new voltage regulator on today and it seems to have corrected the problem. I tried to buy the regulator from J&P cycle and they completely suck! Waited a week for them to ship and they said it would be another 4 days before they got it in stock then 4 more days to ship to me. Customer service people were rude and not helpful at all. I will never use these douche bags again for anything. Everyone says what great people they are, that wasnt my experience at all. Rude and cocky was the way I was treated, like they were doing me a favor selling me this part. Price was $190, I asked to cancel the order and was told they couldnt cancel it. I told them Id cancel payment and they hung up on me. Finally got it canceled, went to amazon and bought one for $85 including shipping. Had it in my hands 3 days after ordering.
J and P electric or J AND P cycle suck the big one. Dont waste your time with these idiots, go to amazon and get it fast.
Joe Mamma
I put a new voltage regulator on today and it seems to have corrected the problem. I tried to buy the regulator from J&P cycle and they completely suck! Waited a week for them to ship and they said it would be another 4 days before they got it in stock then 4 more days to ship to me. Customer service people were rude and not helpful at all. I will never use these douche bags again for anything. Everyone says what great people they are, that wasnt my experience at all. Rude and cocky was the way I was treated, like they were doing me a favor selling me this part. Price was $190, I asked to cancel the order and was told they couldnt cancel it. I told them Id cancel payment and they hung up on me. Finally got it canceled, went to amazon and bought one for $85 including shipping. Had it in my hands 3 days after ordering.
J and P electric or J AND P cycle suck the big one. Dont waste your time with these idiots, go to amazon and get it fast.
Joe Mamma
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