1995 Heritage Evo Stator / Regulator Testing

[Mongo44]

Hey Y'all! I'm having a problem with my charging system, I believe, but I want to make sure.

First, let me say that I've searched and read a number of items here and on other websites, but the problem is that I'm very uneducated when in comes to electrical stuff. That said, simply cutting and pasting a link to something will likely be a waste of time without a really detailed explanation.

Okay... My bike is a 1995 Heritage Softail w/80" Evo. I assume the regulator and stator are what came on the bike.

Scenario... I can put the trickle charger on the bike all night and the battery - which checks out good load-test wise - and take the charger off in the morning, say, at 8am. I get on it at 10am to ride, and I get nothing. Not even a click. After a few seconds, then I get not even a dash light.

This problem has always been present, but it used to be far less severe. I would ride somewhere and have dinner, get back on and it would just give me one click per button-push. It would finally start, but what a pain.

I read that it could be a bad ignition switch (and have ordered one), but I can't help but to think something's going on in my charging system.

So, I've read about testing the stator and the regulator, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right and if I'm reading the results correctly.

The only tool I have to do this is what's pictured below.

I have found the regulator plug at the front of the engine that has two male plugs into two female on the engine.

When I plug the two pins on my meter into the female holes on the engine case socket, with the meter set at the green "OHM X K1" setting, the meter jumps all the way over to the right (at zero).

When I connect the red pin to either male plug at the end of the wire coming from the regulator, the meter goes to the right and stops somewhere between one and zero (green).

Am I doing this right, and how do I interpret this.

Any help would be greatly apprectiated.

 

[HDDon]

First how was the battery load tested? Your battery without anything turned on and off the battery tender sould read 12.7V. Have you checked all the battery connections to make sure they are clean and tight? You may be correct in changing out the ignition switch, and you might want to but in a new starter relay while you're at it.

 

[tourbox]

Yes you are doing pretty much correctly. When reading across the pins in the motor it should read .1-.2 ohms on the Rx1 scale.Your meters lowest is RX1k(1,000 ohms). It would probably not show that low of an ohm reading.A digital meter would show like .001-.002 ohms.Next take your Black lead and hook up to a good ground connection,Such as the neg. side of your battery. Then with the red lead touch each pin on the Motor(one at a time),the needle should stay at the far left,no reading at all.If it swings any to the right then you Stator is grounded and is bad.If those test say your stator is OK then leave the Regulator unplugged.Set your meter to read AC voltage.
Then start the bike,place the 2 leads across the 2 pins on the motor.You should read 16-20 VAC across the pins for every 1k rpms the motor is turning.Example 2,000 rpm=32-40 VAC.As far as testing the Regulator goes you were on the wrong scale.You want to test it for DC voltage,not continuity.It is easier with a 12Vdc. test lamp.Ground the light and touch the probe of the light to each side.If the light come on any at all it is bad.
Hoople may have a better way,he's the Elect. guru.Maybe he'll chime in.There are post/threads on here in the self help section.I just know how to post the links.
Hope this helps
tourbox

 

[Mongo44]

First how was the battery load tested? Your battery without anything turned on and off the battery tender sould read 12.7V. Have you checked all the battery connections to make sure they are clean and tight? You may be correct in changing out the ignition switch, and you might want to but in a new starter relay while you're at it.

I took the battery out and back to the battery store. They hooked it up to some sort of contraption that said it was good as new.

And yes, I always check battery connections and crank 'em good and tight. I think that's the one and only think I DO know about all this!! Haha!

I was thinking I'd replace the starter relay, as well.

Thanks so much, Don!

 

[Mongo44]

Yes you are doing pretty much correctly. When reading across the pins in the motor it should read .1-.2 ohms on the Rx1 scale.Your meters lowest is RX1k(1,000 ohms). It would probably not show that low of an ohm reading.A digital meter would show like .001-.002 ohms.Next take your Black lead and hook up to a good ground connection,Such as the neg. side of your battery. Then with the red lead touch each pin on the Motor(one at a time),the needle should stay at the far left,no reading at all.If it swings any to the right then you Stator is grounded and is bad.If those test say your stator is OK then leave the Regulator unplugged.Set your meter to read AC voltage.
Then start the bike,place the 2 leads across the 2 pins on the motor.You should read 16-20 VAC across the pins for every 1k rpms the motor is turning.Example 2,000 rpm=32-40 VAC.As far as testing the Regulator goes you were on the wrong scale.You want to test it for DC voltage,not continuity.It is easier with a 12Vdc. test lamp.Ground the light and touch the probe of the light to each side.If the light come on any at all it is bad.
Hoople may have a better way,he's the Elect. guru.Maybe he'll chime in.There are post/threads on here in the self help section.I just know how to post the links.
Hope this helps
tourbox

You mean the socket on the motor, correct? The plug coming from the regulator has the "pins." Just want to make sure I'm on the right page.

 

[Mongo44]

Okay. I put the black lead to the negative terminal of the battery (the battery is disconnected and out of the bike, by the way) and I've stuck the red in each hole of the socket on the engine. No reading whatsoever. Needle on the OHM meter stays to the left without any movement.

 

[Bodeen]

If the battery is not connected or installed to the bike the negative terminal is not going to give you any result. The point is to ground the black lead at a known good ground and when the battery is in and hooked up, it is the ground.

 

[tourbox]

mongo44 you are correct,the Socket on the motor. Earlier models the were opposite. But you are correct in the terminology.My Bad. Bodeen is also correct about the ground and the battery needing to be hooked up. Your regulator output is hooked up directly to the battery in a round about way.It stays hot 24/7 even with key off. When you do that test the key should be off.You are looking for bleed back from the Positive side of battery thru the regulator.It should not have any.
tourbox

 

[Hoople]

First thing you want to do is clip (or have someone hold) your voltmeter directly across the battery. Place meter range switch in 50 DC V position. Meter should read about 12.6 volts DC. Now while looking at the meter, turn the ignition key ON. What does meter read. Now hit the crank (start) button. What does the meter read while your finger is on the crank button. Is the engine cranking at this time.

You said your charger was a "trickle charger". What is the brand. Does it have a meter on it. Read & tell us what the output specifications are on your charger. How many amps output does it have @ 12 volts. If it has a meter built in it, what is the meter reading when you check it in the morning after it has been charging the battery all night long.

Don't change or replace any parts yet. If your budget allows (or even if it doesn't allow),,, buy a quality digital meter. It will pay big dividends down the road.

 

[Mongo44]

Bodeen and Toolbox ~ Thanks, guys! I kind of figured that might be an issue (battery being disconnected). Going to throw it back in the bike and go from there tomorrow.