| Author | Message | ||
     Carl |
Hey guys, I was here a few years ago with a 99 M2, sold it a couple years ago, and just picked up a prestine 2000 X1 with 6700 miles on it, all bone stock, even down to the granny fanny. I bought this Saturday, and now its dead lol. I was out riding today and noticed the check engine light came on (this is my first EFI bike). It wasn't overheating, oil level looked good, so I figured it was a sensor giving bad readings to the ECM. The check engine light would be on for a minute, then off, then back on. So I decide to get home, and about a mile away I notice the speedometer starts bouncing all over the place. Then about a minute later the tach goes dead. I managed to make it home right outside of my garage. I figure it had a loose connection or something. I gave it a quick look and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. So I go to start it back up, and sure enough... clicking starter relay. I'm guessing the check engine light, and the gauge failure is voltage related. I talked to a couple guys who are pretty good with Harley's and they are leaning towards a bad rectifier. Is there any way to test these things or do you just have to take a shot in the dark and change it out. Also, I'll check the wiring going to it tomorrow and make sure there is no corrosion on the leads. Any ideas? | ||
| Devdawg |
It also could be your stator. Sounds exactly like what my M2 was doing when mine went bad. If you're still in contact with the previous owner, ask him if he ever used Mobile 1 gear lube. If he had I'll bet you stator is bad. | ||
| Jramsey |
Have your battery load checked. | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Voltage regulator if you are lucky, stator if you are not. | ||
| Carl |
Ok I guess I was in the right direction then, thanx for all the responses. I'll throw the battery on charge real quick, put it back in and check the load on it. Now, a rectifier looks like a piece of cake, one harness, and a couple screws/bolts. But, how bad is a stator/alternator on these things? Is there a tech section on the boards somewhere showing how to do it? I think I'm going to stop and get a rectifier today, and see if it fixes the problem. If its a stator, I guess I bite the bullet. I'm a mechanic so this shouldn't be too big of a deal, the only thing I'm worried about is specialty tools. Are there any involved? How much do shops usually charge if I'm feeling lazy? | ||
| Devdawg |
Stator is pretty straight forward. Shop manual spells it out pretty well. There's a string in the knowledge vault as well that goes over the procedure very well. I think I used it as much or more than the manual when I did mine. Before you buy a new rectifier, there are a couple of tests you can run with a multimeter that will help you diagnose between a rectifier or stator. The test procedure is also in the shop manual. Good luck. | ||
| Kyrocket |
A bad battery cause mine to do some of the same things you listed. Drop by any auto parts store and they'll check it for free. All you'll be out is your time, and it'll knock out one of the culprits. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Take off the primary chain inspection cover (little one, two screws) and take a deep whiff. Not always conclusive, but an insanely easy test to perform. Its amazing how bad a blow stator smells... | ||
| Buellistic |
Have a 1997 S3T 104,613.5 miles a of the last ride ... Still running the OEM original stator/rotor and voltage regulator ... Use H-D Sporter battery and put a new battery in every 2 years, NOW that "i" have a BATTERY TENDER PLUS which is trickle charging the battery when not riding, now the battery gets changed every 4 years ... "NOW" if you try to get that last electron out of your battery to save money it usually takes the(one or both) stator and regulator with that last electron ... Also heat kills the stator form pushing electrons into a weak battery or by having your primary chain too tight(3/4 inch on the tight spot) ... Let's not forget to check the battery terminals for tightness !!! (Message edited by buellistic on September 02, 2008) | ||
| Yo_barry |
I'd check the battery before anything else. Low mileage, never ridden much, might be the original battery and it's just "tired!" My $0.02, spend it wisely! | ||
| Standingdeadwood |
The same exact thing happened to my kid's XB. We were 500 miles from home. We jumped it in order to get it to a dealer. Lucky it was still covered. The dealer checked all components, but found all good. They checked all connections including ground connections. After they buttoned it up, it ran fine. Must have been a corroded connection. That was a month ago and it has been running fine since. Go after the connections first. It is the cheapest fix. Clean the connections and coat lightly with dielectric tune-up grease. Don't use too much grease. Clean off excess. Good luck. | ||
| Bad_karma |
Carl I would like to recommend the shop manual. It has a really good section on the charging circuit. But +1 on load testing the battery and cleaning and tightening power and ground cables. Joe | ||
| Buellistic |
LOAD TESTING shortens the life of a battery !!! If you practice BATTERY MAINTENANCE and keep your battery on a TRICKLE CHARGE when not riding there will be no reason to load test it ... Your Battery Charger(trickle charge) will let you know if the battery is going bad, as in it takes longer and longer to FLOAT and when it will not FLOAT, it is then time to get a new battery ... |
