hedgehog Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I had a problem with my bike today. I went for a 100mi. ride two days ago with no problems whatsoever. Today, I had to jump start it. 5 min. into my ride I had my directional on and the speedo was bouncing with the directional and them stopped working altogher. A couple min. later the tach stopped working. Unfortunately I could not just stop. About 10 min. after these problems came about the speedo and tach started working fine. Anybody have any ideas what could be the problem? Battery, Reg/Rect, stator? Anybody had these symptoms before? I have notice the head lights dim a little every now and then, but not regularily. I appreciate any help. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Year ? Mileage ? Could be just a bad battery, they need changing every so often. Need more info first as these bikes have specific problems that are year dependent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Did anything get wet? Possible corrosion in a connector? Make sure ground wires are clean too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgehog Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 I have a 97 with almost 14,000 mi. on it. It did not get wet recently. I just checked the battery and it was a little low. I did run it and checked the battery again. With the motor at about 4,000 rpms, I was reading at 12.4 volts, when I was idling I was at 11.94 ish area. Does this help at all. I will check again once I get the battery fully charged again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXTi Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 It sounds like your charging system has had it. Get yourself a good troubleshooting guide to determine if it's the RR and/or stator are bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 My regulator went out, and because of the ride I was on, I couldn't stop either, and it cooked my stator. I had the EXACT same symptoms as you, except the fan quit working, the headlight went out, and the bike did whatever it could to save power to stay running. Better start saving up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I have a 97 with almost 14,000 mi. on it. It did not get wet recently. I just checked the battery and it was a little low. I did run it and checked the battery again. With the motor at about 4,000 rpms, I was reading at 12.4 volts, when I was idling I was at 11.94 ish area. Does this help at all. I will check again once I get the battery fully charged again. Didn't I read where the electrical system doesn't supply enough voltage at idle for charging? I'm not sure I'd panic over the 11.94 v. at idle yet. I'd start with the battery. How old is it? Does it sit on a battery tender? Still check over all the electrical connections. Does it start ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 The voltage at the battery should be at least 13.5V at 4000 RPM; I'd say either your R/R or stator (or both) are shot. Get the debug instructions (link posted here on the forum several times - search for it) and find out where the problem lies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Sounds like the stator kicked the bucket........... when the R/R goes out 90% of the time it will overcharge your system not undercharge it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryG Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Sounds like the stator kicked the bucket........... when the R/R goes out 90% of the time it will overcharge your system not undercharge it. Not with mine. I just replaced my r/r and before I did I was gettin 12.5V or less at 4000rpm. Now I'm at 14+ I would get a trickle charger if didn't already have one. Charge the battery fully and then measure volage at idle. Then test under load again. If you're still at 12 or so at 4000rpm, I'd replace the regulator first. The carb'd r/r's are notoriously weak. Talk to Trent or Eric a electrosport.com. For $100 plus shipping they make an upgraded r/r for the bird. Has cooling fins....needs longer bolts and is a tighter fit but it fits. My '98 hasn't had any starting issues or dim headlight since I replaced it a week ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Sounds like the stator kicked the bucket........... when the R/R goes out 90% of the time it will overcharge your system not undercharge it. +1 ... stator has a bad phase if the volts are going down as the rpms go up. Been down this road a few times. Get yourself a replacement from http://www.electrosport.com/street/street-...treet_46650.php .... cheaper than OEM, more power and built much better. My volts stay over 13 regardless of what farkles I am running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockmeupto125 Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Your speedo and tach needles doing the jiggy are a cardinal symptom of low voltage. Its up to you to find out why. It could be as simple as a worn out battery, or a marginal battery that became discharged from low speed/high draw usage (especially the cooling fan). Start with a charged battery to do your tests. While the XX charging system will bring a battery back up with steady road speed usage, its best to charge a discharged battery with an external unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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