| Author | Message | ||
     Mhevezi |
Lately the old Uly has been doing great. I have had very few issues with my bike and I just crossed 30K. I get an occasional CEL, but it goes out after a few (10-30 seconds) so it never stays on long enough or fires regular enough to diagnose. Well that changed yesterday on my ride home from work. At about 20 miles from home the CEL came on and stayed on. Bike ran fine otherwise. About 5mi from home the gauges went dead and all the lights dimmed. Bike still ran fine, and I was able to get it up the hill to my home and park it safely in the garage. Shut her down and not enough juice to re-start, battery was drained. Called my buddy with an '09XT and he had the EXACT same failure and it was corrected with a new stator and rectifier. I assumed the same with mine and called Al at American Sport Bike to order the parts for some weekend fun. Al wisely recommended I check the stator output before I spend any money. He is a wise man. Checking the stator output on the '08 and newer XB's is palm-to-the-forehead easy. Most of the on-line documents and "DIY" guides were for the older bikes with 3-phase stators- very little info on the single phase '08s and newer XB's. I traced the stator output connection to the VR and the plug is right behind the scoop on the left side of the motor. Unplug the stator from the VR, insert meter leads, set multimeter to VAC and fire it up! About 40 VAC at idle and 50-60 VAC at around 3000+RPMs, good output at the stator. And with the battery charged, the bike fired up and ran beautifully. Everything checked out, so I ordered a new VR. I will slap it on as soon as I get it (just a few days) and report after a few weeks on the XT. Wish me luck. | ||
| Hughlysses |
It's not too bad of a job. One Important Safety Tip- while you're working on the bike, install some sort of voltage indicator so you don't get surprised and/or stranded by a charging system failure the next time. Küryakyn and Signal Dynamics are a couple that work well. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sounds like you did the diagnosis perfectly. The only other thing I would add is that the connection between the stator and VR could be poor. That could also cause your symptoms. The connection between the battery and the bike could be poor, but that doesn't quite match your symptoms, as in that case once the bike was running it would have been fine. Bad battery connections are usually "runs fine but won't crank well after shutting down". | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Fatty Meter Mod http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142838/335986.html?1202653245 (Message edited by Ft bstrd on February 25, 2015) | ||
| Daddio |
Thanks for the link, Fatty, I've been thinking of this doing mod lately, and recall when you did this. | ||
| Big_island_rider |
I used a Koso meter. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/742562.html | ||
| Motorfish |
++1 Fatty Meter Mod. Looks like a stock light in the dash. | ||
| Mhevezi |
Yeah, a voltmeter certainly can't hurt. Got the new VR on today. I measured the voltage at the battery, with the motor running and the old VR hooked up. Got 12.19vDC (same as the voltage with the motor off). Installed the new VR and measure the new voltage with the motor running- 14.20vDC. So it seems to be doing it's job. For the next two/three weeks, I'll be riding slightly nervous, but I'm pretty sure it got it. Happy Buelling! | ||
| Griffmeister |
I've been wanting to do that mod ever since I first saw it. So perfect having a space right in the dash, looks original. Maybe this is the incentive I needed. Looks like you've cured it, I'd say enjoy the ride. | ||
| Mhevezi |
Well, After a few rides to & back from work, I think I got it. My commute to work is 44miles each way, so a few trips outta tell me what I need to know. All I can say, is if you have the same issue I had, check your stator before you dive in and rip-apart the side of your bike! I was going to do just that and did the stator check first. Saved me almost $200 in parts & a day of labor. Next the search starts for how to add some type of voltage gauge. I saw one on E-bay that includes a clock & ambient temp readout. It's a little big, but that would allow me to run the Trip Odometer in the Buell display and have a better idea on when to get gas. Hmmmm.... Ride Safe! | ||
| Crusty |
I did the "Fatty Mod" to both my '08 Uly and my ex's '08 Ss. It's inexpensive, easy, looks like it was installed by the Factory and works really well. |
