| Author |
Message |
    
Xb9sbear
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 06:23 pm: | 
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I've burnt thru a lot of money buying a lot of parts for my '03XB9S Lightning. Voltage Regulators (3), ECM's (3), Coils (2), make up a list of the most expensive ones. I've spent even more monies chasing down diagnosis of problems. Various symptoms had always led me to believe that there was a short somewhere in my bike's system and I'd long been on the look for it, but just couldn't find it. My bike was costing me a fortune...
Having one of the first year/model XB's, I wasn't surprised to find that the wiring harness wasn't perfect in my bike. Many a wire had been chafed and had to be rerouted, and/or repaired over the last 56,000 miles. I'd attributed my ongoing electrical issues with these shorts and written off the idea that I might find one solution that explained the reoccurrence of many, let alone, ALL past problems.
When my bike had its latest relapse a month ago, I found myself @ my wits end. The bike was running hot, and my coil was running hot and it would eventually just die of a dead battery. The diagnosis was once again a faulty voltage regulator. I knew it had to be something more. This was a symptom, not the problem.
A friend mentioned an article he'd read on Badweb, about a faulty voltage regulator connector in pre-'06 Ulysses'. He told me that his had this problem and described it to me. When I got home, I pulled up the link he'd forwarded to me and lo and behold the symptoms matched my bike. I wondered if it was only U'lys that had this problem or did it extend to all Buell types? As I read, I received a couple more emails from other friends on our forum telling me they'd suffered the same problem, and they sent me other articles on the issue.
So, I pulled my connector apart and there it was; My new voltage regulator was already being damaged by arcing. There was a bit of black soot and some corrosion. The half that was attached to the bike showed obvious signs of melting, just like in the pics. Gentlemen, I had the smoking gun in my hand!
Funny thing was that I HAD the connector update to retrofit my bike, and didn't even know it. I had ordered a new voltage regulator from the dealer, but didn't want to wait. So, I'd borrowed a spare from a friend and thought I'd fixed it, until it died again 5 days later.
It seems Buell updated the connector in '08. When they did, they made the old style obsolete, but since they still had a ton of old ones, they just threw the updated connector in the boxes. They never issued a recall that I know of. When you order a voltage regulator today, it comes with the part that fixes the problem. I had the fix right in my garage, and didn't even know it...
Here's what all pre-'08 Buell XB owners should know:
You should be aware, that if your voltage regulator is reading faulty, you need to inspect your connector. If it needs updating, you should do it, and THEN retest your voltage regulator, as you may find theirs nothing wrong with it. If you don't do the work yourself, make sure you inspect that the connector was updated by your mechanic, and not just discarded. This was what happened 5 months ago, when I last had to eat a voltage regulator, and coil.
I've read where the arcing has been attributed to all sorts of electrical problems, as one often leads to another. Surges cause coils to overheat. This can destroy an ECM. Also, read about stators being burnt up. Even read about headlamps burning out.
Just wanted to spread this info. I wish I'd found it sooner. Thank God for Badweb. I might have gone on hemorrhaging money. We Buellers gotta stick together...
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?" |
A_bit_addicted
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 12:23 am: |
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That is unbelievable, i'm checking mine pronto! |
Id073897
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 02:04 am: |
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The VRs are not broken in the case of a melted connector 77, all that needs to be done is to replace the connector (Delphi Metri Pack Series 480, http://whiteproducts.com/sealed480.shtml). But you could get the weirdest results if AC input is not working properly. This is a result of the analog circuits driving the VR - their task is to cut connection to the stator as soon as voltage exceeds a given limit. The driver circuits rely on a smooth sine-shaped input, which is not given whith broken AC wires, "flapping" AC connectors or grounded stator wires.
As a rule of thumb: before replacing a VR check stator first. It might well be the real source of the problem.
The melting connector 77 has been covered in many posts, as have countermeasures to fight the increasing contact resistance that's causing the heat. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 08:17 pm: |
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quote:their task is to cut connection to the stator...
You mean:
{short the stator output to ground...} |
Id073897
| | Posted on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 02:38 am: |
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Yes, pulling the AC lines to ground is a common way to prevent any current flow through the rectifiers. |
Xb9sbear
| | Posted on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 11:05 pm: |
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Thank you Id.
Your point is well taken, and I should add that in my case the stator had been ruled out already on multiple occasions...
I should also correct the term pre-'06 U'lys as there were no U'ly's before '06. My bad.
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?" |
Xb9sbear
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 09:41 pm: |
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Here's the post that about the U'ly that got me off on the right foot:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/446915.html
Here's the part number info:
Voltage regulator Connector Service kit Y1312.02A8
I sincerely hopes this helps save someone the type of money I've spent...
Special K!
Central Texas Hill Country Hellbuellies
"I'm a Hellbuelly! What the hell are you?" |
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Voltage Regulator Connector/ Pre-'08 XB's