| Author | Message | ||
     Jv438 |
I have owned a 2008 XB12R for one year and it has had a charging issue since I bought it. I am normally good about solving my own problems, but this one has gotten the better of me. When I first got the bike I replaced the battery in the hopes it would be a simple fix, but it did not fix the problem. My motorcycle will start and ride, but it does not sufficiently charge the battery. I keep it on a trickle charger and have checked charge variations with a multimeter. With the bike off and the battery fully charged it usually shows 12.9 volts. After turning on the bike this drops to approximately 12.20 volts, which continues to slowly drop as the bike runs. I tested the stator and it output 28 Volts at idle, which rose with the rpm. I assumed the issue was the regulator so I replaced it, but this did not fix the problem. I tested the power output of the new voltage regulator and it outputs approximately 14-15 volts, however, with the bike running the battery still does not charge. Out of curiosity I took the battery(battery 1) out of my other buell xb and hooked it up to the voltage regulator with cables to see if it would show an appropriate charge at idle and it was at 14.3 volts. I then hooked the battery(battery 2) in the bike up to the voltage regulator in the same manner, but it displayed a voltage of 11.99. I thought I had purchased a bad battery(battery 2) so I switched battery 1 into the bike and did the same test with the cables connecting the regulator straight to the battery, but the new battery displayed a charge of 12.04. I am hoping someone can help me with this problem. The bike will start and run fine. I only noticed the charging issue because my headlight is dim when I first start the bike, until I ride it at a consistent 2800 rpm, and the bike will fail to start if I ride it regularly without hooking it up to a trickle charger. I have also tested the aux/light/acc circuits by removing the fuses while the bike was running and the batteries charge at idle stayed below the battery's charge with the bike off. It should be noted the bikes charge at idle today with a known good battery and new regulator was 11.99, but rose to 12.14 at 3000 rpm. However, the stator still tested correctly, as did the regulator. Any help is greatly appreciated, and if more information is needed I will provide it to the best of my ability. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Your tests and conclusions seem sound, so something subtle must be going wrong. Check the resistance of the stator pin to ground (should be infinity) and stator pin to stator pin (should be like .6 ohms but meters have trouble reading that low accurately so it could vary a lot). That might tell you something. Then I would go hunting bad grounds, which means cleaning every connection and making sure everything is nice and snug. | ||
| Jv438 |
I tested each stator pin to a ground and both showed approximately 8ohms. I also tested each stator pin against each other and the multimeter showed .4 ohms. I assume that the stator-to-ground test indicates I have a grounded stator which needs to be replaced? | ||
| Reepicheep |
Yes, exactly. Stator to ground should be infinity. Odd that both failed and show the same reading. Does your primary fluid stink? That's another dead giveaway. |
