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Testing The Charging System

I found the stator burnt as expected. I have another regulator off an 03 ultra that was changed out for chrome when new. I'm retired, so money is an issue. I hooked up a 12VDC power supply to it so I could check it against the old one. It tested the very same! With 12VDC across the leads that go to the battery and ground, it still shows 12VDC on the pins. I know you can't trust a new part to be good, but I know this one worked when it was taken off. So.... I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong when testing it this way, and is there a chance of burning the new stator if I use the 03 unit? I know it's hard trying to figure out a problem without laying your hands on it, but your thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Re: Testing The Charging System - question

Hi,
1991 flhtc glide classic;

Regulator looks ok. ohm tests OK. Voltage at battery 14.8vdc OK.
Stator ohm tests also OK.

Multi-meter reads house AC OK, but the stator output is jumping around ~7-15vac, no mater what the rpm is. Is that do to the frequency not being read by the cheap multi-meter or a bad connection due to all the oil?

Also the radio/clock keeps resetting.
The rest of the electrical stuff works great plus battery is keeping good charge.

Oh an additional question, where are the fuses on the 1991 flhtc, I've found very little info on fuse location.

Thanks, It was a great day to ride in Sarasota today.
-Don
 
Don

Check the harness from the voltage regulator where it passes under the bracket/frame area to see if it is chaffed through on the edge. You may be able to start the bike up and turn off the lights and see sparks as you move the harness.Very common thing to happen on those year bikes. Also suspect the oil from the primary getting through the inside of the wiring in the regulator harness causing a problem. Another common thing. The fuses may be breakers under the speedo in the housing.

From your description of the stator output, it may also be the start of a bad stator.
 
Oh WOW...this was a BIG help to this ol' electrically-challenged gal! Just got done testin' my bike and sendin' off the info to my wrench. Hopefully we can get things figured out and get the ol' gal chargin' again! GREAT information, THANKYOU!!
HRW
 
First let me thank you for taking the time to help with these types of problems. I rode home yesterday from Tulsa (40 miles) and at my last stop my Ultra was acting different. IE, high idle dim clock, volt meter down to the far left. After it wouldn't restart I let it set while we ate and then pulled the seat to see what the battery terminals looked like and when they were ok I hit the starter and it started right up. still a high idle. I turned off all the acc. and the idle settled down for a while. I'm going to test the other stuff from step 2, I'm thinking the battery was strong enough to get me home. I'll post again when I find out what's up. One question though if the reg. is bad or the stator what would it hurt to just replace the one that's bad. And see what happens. I haven't had either go bad before, but I'm assumming their neither one cheap. I'm sure the strain of one being bad on the other could be the deal. I'll do the test's and then price them both. Thanks again.
 
When you locate the bad part after testing, replace them both anyhow because the other part usually fails soon after.
 
On my 98 Ultra I first replaced the regulator (this is before I found this site) I still wasnt charging then found this site and did your tests. I found that my stator was burnt. So have replaced it, but now testing the new regulator I have 11.5 on both pins so the bad stator must have fried it? Also this new regulator is a 50 amp should I be replacing it with 35amp?
 
Sounds like the regulator is toast. Replace the regulator with the correct one for the stator size and the bike.
 
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