| Author | Message | ||
     Whippetlovr |
Hi guys, I had posted about this a few weeks back but it got archived. Occasionally my battery light will come on, when the bike is in neutral, or when stopped in gear. Sometimes it comes on right when I start the bike up... sometimes it comes on after riding around for some time. In my old thread, someone had asked what the display says, when riding with the Battery mode displayed. So I did that last night. Went for short ride, we stopped for 5 mins. I started the bike up and the battery guage was displaying 11.8. Rode for about 15 minutes, at top speed it was reading 13.9/14.0. That dropped slightly as I slowed, and sitting at red light it dropped to about 12.8. So is this normal? Battery light came on once during the evening, after I starting the bike up after we stopped for coffee, and then turned off again in about 20 seconds. Can someone dumb it down for me, if I do in fact have a problem? I haven't read much about wiring harness/voltage regulator/stator issues, I don't know what of those, if anything it could be, if anything. Oh- and its an 09 R with almost 4000kms. No problems to date other than this (other than the inability to find Neutral when the bike is cold, ever) | ||
| Milleniumx1 |
Sounds like the beginnings of a failing stator. But before jumping to that conclusion, not bad to just check the basics ... Tight cables, good battery, etc. Mike | ||
| Dannybuell |
Whose ECM are you using? | ||
| Whippetlovr |
My bike is stock (except for some pretty-up parts), stock ECM. The dealer updated the flash when I bought it. | ||
| Keef |
do u have the harness for the stator installed yes or no | ||
| Whippetlovr |
Keef- I don't know. How would I know, what can I check? Does the bike come with it installed? If not, I'd say no. Sorry if I'm asking idiotic questions. I'm not exactly mechanically inclined... my husband is a mechanic but he's a Yamaha guy and I don't think he understands what the issues may be with this bike either. | ||
| Kidder |
Have someone here check your VIN number to see what recalls/service bulletins have been performed on it. | ||
| Whippetlovr |
My VIN is 5MZHL04N993B00862. I'll do a separate post on it to see if someone can check. I don't have a local HD who can check (well, I have a local HD dealer, but they refuse to look at my bike or Buells in general) | ||
| Zac4mac |
Info I can get from HDnet says you bought the bike in April. The dealership did the harness update at the end of March, before you got it. That's the only campaign on your bike, and it says complete. Crossing my fingers for you Sarah. Keep an eye on your voltage, but for now it sounds like it's operating correctly. A lot of misunderstanding about this problem/fix - you WILL see voltage drop anywhere near idle. As long as everything is OK, the ECM will shut off one of three legs when at low rpm. This intentionally drops alternator output so the stator doesn't overheat, hence the drop at idle. You should see voltage climb back into the 12-13V range shortly after resuming 4-5k+ rpm. If it doesn't, that's when you have a problem. Keep her on the tender. Zack | ||
| Whippetlovr |
Thanks so much Zack! So since I have the harness update, I *should* be OK? Is NOT having the harness update what leads to stator failure? I did buy the bike in April, and it's never been on a tender yet. My husband tends to only do that in the winter once we're done riding for the year. Should I be doing that in between rides regardless then? (sometimes I ride days in a row, sometimes its been a week or two if weather is crappy) If I had a local dealer I'd just bring her in for a checkup. The closest dealer to me is like 4 hours away. (Message edited by whippetlovr on October 02, 2010) | ||
| Daniii |
On my bike, after the fix and with a new voltage regulator, high beam will drop the voltage at idle, but never when it is off. The service tech at the HD dealer said he read somewhere in a Buell bulletin, keep the revs above 3K rpm when the high beam is on. See what happens with the high beam off. If it still drops, especially when the fans are running, you may have a weak stator. Just my opinion, of course. | ||
| Whippetlovr |
I can't say I use my high beams much. They weren't on when I did my 'test' and watched the voltage while riding... |
