Bad Voltage Regulator ?
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 539
Likes: 5
From: Penna
Bad Voltage Regulator ?
On my way home yesterday and my voltage dropped to around 9 volts , battery light came on and the yellow icon that shows when you can start the bike was on. Bike ran fine but I shut down everything that was running on battery.... radio, driving lights etc and kept riding , hoping to make it home. After about 5 miles the warning lights went out and volts came back up. Taking it to the dealer today since we have a trip planned this weekend for Kentucky.
Anyone have any idea what this might have been in case the dealer refuses to fix it ? I have a 2012 Limited that had a recall on VR but mine was supposedly not one of them
Anyone have any idea what this might have been in case the dealer refuses to fix it ? I have a 2012 Limited that had a recall on VR but mine was supposedly not one of them
Supporter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,196
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From: Shenandoah, TX
There must be something in the water, because mine did the same thing last week also. I called my indy, he said pull the wires from the bottom of the regulator and fill them full of Dielectric, a contact grease. I did and everything is ok so far. The voltage regulator is all electronic, so its works or not, no hit and miss.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 539
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From: Penna
Interesting. Will see what the dealer says this morning and take it from there. At a minimum I will do the dialectic grease on the connections if they can find nothing. I do not do electronics so I am at a loss on this one.
Did you pull the codes after it happened on yours ?
Did you pull the codes after it happened on yours ?
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 14,744
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
a bad VR may appear to work correctly at times, or it may work partially
1st: voltage always needs to be checked at the battery. you can use a tender pigtail if you have one.
if those readings confirm low voltage, You should check the charging system. the diagnostics have been posted many times on the tech board/ electrical
if those readings show high voltage ( above 14.8), you have trouble
this be as simple as a loose wire or cable, check those
the VR converts AC voltage from the stator to DC, it also limits voltage to below 14.8 Volts ( excess voltage is converted to heat and shed with the cooling fins- never use one of those chrome covers)
if you see voltage higher than that it is bad, if current drains back to the stator when the bike is parked it is bad ( bad diode), if it allows AC current to pass, it is bad ( bad diode).
mike
Last edited by mkguitar; May 20, 2014 at 11:42 AM.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Bedford UK
Not straight away, but if overcharged repeatedly it can indeed be killed off.
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Road Master
Joined: Jun 2012
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From: Boise, Idaho
The same thing happened to my bike after the voltage regulator had been replaced under the recall. Guess what, the new regulator was bad as well. I would get the regulator replaced before I went on the road trip.
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I have had the same issue twice on my 13 FLTRX. I tested the stator and regulator and they both checked out fine. I tightened up the battery cables a little although to me they seemed plenty tight. THis happened Sunday and no issue since and I ride to work everyday, and the last time was 4 weeks before and all I did them was tighten the cables. I need to put some dielectric grease on teh plug, I am yet to do that. We'll see what happens as I am going on a trip this weekend as well.
If it does again when i come back I'll take it to the dealer for warranty work as it is still under warranty but there was not time for this this week with a trip on Friday. Mileage is 16700 right now.
If it does again when i come back I'll take it to the dealer for warranty work as it is still under warranty but there was not time for this this week with a trip on Friday. Mileage is 16700 right now.
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Penna
OK, just got back from dealer and they pulled the codes which read there was definetly a voltage drop at one time. Duh...... They will not replace the VR until it happens a second time. They noted the problem on a Work Order and said MoCo will not authorize a new VR unless it happens a second time. Mine did not fall into the recall so looks like I have to run it until it happens again. Not desirable to me with the upcoming trip so I thought OK I will buy a new regulator myself....until I found out they were around $300.00. Sooooo I am going to run it as much as possible over the 4 days and hope it acts up again or head to Kentucky with my fingers crossed. Dealer did say I can run it about 4-5 hrs with low voltage till I get to another dealer in the area. BS, but what else can I do without spending the $300 that I may or may not have to.