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Charging - first problem

Piotra

Active Member
Hello
I finished building a bike but I checked charging and ... I do not have charging :-(
Of course, stator, rotor, voltage regulator and battery is new (but sometimes new parts are broken). So where is a problem?
When I check:
- the voltage of battery removed of out bike is about 12,7-12,8V
- the voltage of battery when is in bike and engine runs is about 12,5V, when I accelerate even less than 12V-11,8V, so I'm sure that there is problem with charging.

A checked following:
- when I disconetted plug between regulator and stator, when engine idle the voltage on plug outing from stator is about 17V, there is no grounding between with any pin of stator plug - so I think it seems that stator and rotor is OK and working.
- resistance between pins of stator plug is ... well ... about 0,5ohm (it's maybe to much but when I contact just probes of ohmometer there is about 0,4-0,3ohm, so, when I subtract, on stator is 0,1-0,2ohm - it seems OK,
- I'm a little bit scary about connection of this plug because I can't instert the plug very deep, but I hope that the connection is here (I'm not sure how deep plug should be inserted),
- voltage regulator base is well grounded,
- from voltage regulator there is one long wire, and during bike assembly I connected this to 30A breaker (AUX side); from this breaker (BAT side) I have a wire to plus (+) of battery.

What do you think? I connected it in good way? Where is a problem, what should I test and how?
 
Single phase stator or three phase. Genuine HD parts or aftermarket.

When you disconnect the stator to regulator plug, you should see the electrical terminals right at the end of the rubber connector. If not, the terminals have sank into the rubber and are not making contact. You did not say what year these parts are or model. Makes a difference.
On some years, the terminal do not have a retainer and will push back into the plug.
 
Not really sure what I am looking at since it is not Genuine HD. Pictures and test procedure in my manuals are not the same because all I have is HD schematics.

I know there is not a whole lot to it since it is single phase,,but I would really need to see the installation manual to be of any help to you. Can you up load or scan. From the picture in your link it almost looks like there are only 3 wires coming out the regulator. Is that true?

That 17volts you read, I assume that was AC not DC.
 
Exactly there are only 3 wires coming out from regulator. Two of them are going to stator plug. And third to 30 amp breaker and from breaker to battery. It's very, very simple system.
That 17 volts, I think, was AC beacause I measured it from stator plug.
 
Only 3 wires. That means the Regulator MUST make clean positive contact with frame. Don't rely on screw threads. I would install a 10 gauge jumper wire from regulator body to a clean frame ground point.

HD regulators don't relay on the regulator body to be mounted to the frame. Therefore there may be no provision for your setup to work without the jumper in place.
 
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What I am suggesting is only a guess because I need to see the instructions that came with the alternator kit. Somewhere in the instructions they must indicate a grounded regulator is required.(?)
I would think a quality jumper was included in the kit. There has to be printed information with the instructions.

Making a 10 AWG jumper would be simple, but I don't know for sure that is what you need without first looking at the schematic or instructions. It may be a waste of time without 1st seeing the install instructions. Up load them if possible and I will be Happy to tell you exactly what you need to do..
 
Unfortunelly there were any instruction with this kit so I can't upload it and kit did not included any jumper. I just look at parts catalogs for Big Twins from 80's up to 1999 and this kind of jumper was used from 1994, before there were no jumper.

I think first I will use car jumper cables to connect regulator body with good ground (or just minus from battery) and it can give an answer if it this makes problem.
 
This is simple (don't laugh it's not in scale) drawing of my conections stator-regulator-breaker-battery. Maybe here you will see a problem.
 

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