Posted this in the electrical section as well...thought I would get some words of wisdom from here as well.

Been dealing with this issue for a little while now with my 2012 FLHTCU. A while back, had both the "check engine" & "battery" lights come on, as well as drop on the voltmeter and a quick high reading up to almost 16. Checked for codes and had both P0562 (battery voltage low) & P0563 (battery voltage high). Checked obvious causes, all seems good. Restarted bike...no warning lights on & voltmeter back to just over 14. Not knowing if these codes are old or current, I cleared them. Been for a couple of short rides (50 - 100 miles) since then...all seems normal. I have noticed the voltmeter drop a bit for a few seconds a couple of times, but then right back to just over 14. Checked codes after riding and no codes at all. All seems to point to a failing voltage regulator so I ordered a new Cycle Electric unit.

Here's my problem/question. My new voltage regulator is lost in transit somewhere between here and Africa. Yes...you read that correct...Africa! USPS for some crazy reason sent my package to the Congo, and that's where it sits as of this morning according to tracking. We have a trip planned for this weekend, leaving Friday morning. Going to be about 1000 miles round trip. Bike starts & runs just fine.

Looking for wisdom from those more knowledgeable than I. Would you:
1. chance it and ride as is?
2. if yes, is there possibility of creating further issues/damage riding as is?

Don't really want to cancel out on our ride.

 

You have the potential of doing some damage, if it overcharges you could ruin your battery, if it undercharges your bike might not start. Have you check to ground on the regulator? Perhaps it's not making good contact.

 

unless you are certain that the charging system is working, don;t ride it.

re-visit the diagnostic tests and you can get some certainty

if you do...take some extra wire and straps so that you can buy a charged car battery and set it on the rear seat and wire it into the bike.
be prepared to pull the fuse or relay for the lights to extend your range

On one of my '53's I could run it about 3 hours on a 9 volt battery...had a funny 6 volt genny problem which took awhile to sort out

mike

 

16 volt spikes could damage the ECM and those are not cheap.

 

i wouldn't ride it until i got it fixed.

 

Only ride it if you have good towing insurance and a fat wallet.JMHO

 

As said above, a fat wallet and good towing insurance, then sure, ride the hell out of it!!

 

Wow - I wonder if any of the above people actually had a bad regulator? Mine was intermittent just like yours and I ran the bike that way for almost a year until it finally died. If this is your first sign of trouble you should be OK. Bringing a battery tender to use at your destination may make you feel better.

 

I would typically agree with you, but in this case, his regulator is not doing the typical 10 volt - 14 volt cycle thing which doesn't hurt anything usually but instead it is doing the over voltage thing (to 16v etc) and that can be bad.

He could probably ride it forever but there could always be that one time it spikes and blows all components connected to 12 volts.

 

Mine was only intermittent for a couple days before it failed hard. My guess is that you would not be able to complete your trip before it fails hard.