Good idea. This is officially on my weekend to do list. Will post what I find. I'll send a message about the voltage gauge.Originally Posted by lunaticfringe
The gremlin was back today. Nearly to work and BLAMOO, CEL light comes on. So back home I go to get the car to drive back to work. &^#%$&!!!!! Oh well, was going to do ^^ over the weekend anyway. Just wish she was giving me a clue as to what is causing this instead of what is not.
I think AZmidget had a similar issue with his bike, you may want to contact him. think the stator was the issue in the end.
Thanks thrstmech. Bought some CRC electrical cleaner yesterday, disconnected and cleaned the connections behind the belt guard, ECM, and fuse box. Nothing looked corroded or problematic other than some gunk behind the belt guard from riding. Pulled the windscreen and checked all the wiring there. Cleaned battery posts and connections, again. Started her up and checked the battery before putting the belt guard back on. Strange thing was that the battery voltage was now 13.3 v and VERY steady. Didn't have the subtle bouncing around of voltage or move up to closer to 14 volts like I've seen before. After putting the belt guard back on the battery voltage did bounce around a little more and would dip into high 12 volt range. Makes me wonder if there is a wire grounding after putting the belt guard back on. Maybe the belt guard is putting some pressure on the wiring that is resulting in a grounding somewhere that doesn't show up when the belt guard is off?
The other thing that changed after cleaning the connections is she won't start unless the clutch is pulled in, which she wasn't doing before. Before I could turn the key, flip the switch, and start her up in neutral. The neutral light did come on, before cleaning, when she was in neutral. Not sure if there is a connection with the battery drain problem or not.
Was getting dark last night and hard to see details so today I am going to recheck wiring, stator, VR and do an oil change while I'm in there.
I think I found it! Went back and retested everything. All was good except the battery voltage. It was constant and then slowly started to drop. So, somewhere between the connections behind the belt guard and the battery the charge was getting lost. I wiggled the connectors and wires round and started to get a charge at the battery. Did another close inspection and found the following.
Wire.jpg
Going to fix and see if this fixes the issue.
Disconnected the Deutsch connecter, cut and soldered the white wired, heat shrieked, reassembled, and did not solve the problem. However, while wiggling wires it does seem to be the 77 connecter. I got a charge as I moved it around. There is no melting of the connector or evidence of arcing so I don't think the connector itself is bad. I had previously disconnected and cleaned with CRC electrical cleaner but am now thinking that I may need to do a "deeper" cleaning and inspection. Seem to be slowly narrowing down the culprit.
I am wondering if the VR is bad or going bad could it be intermittent like my symptoms? Am starting to lean toward just getting a new VR and connector kit, especially if this last attempt doesn't fix the problem.
^^^^^ typically no. when the VR goes...it stays gone. have never seen one come back to life. have experienced a few that would act up in very hot weather combined with the dreaded stop-and-go traffic situation due to the hot environment where the VR is affixed to the bike but even that is rare. check the large heavy power lead battery from connector up to battery tray area while you're in there fidgeting.
lunatic - that is what I figured. Didn't seem to make sense that the VR would cause intermittent problems. Since i was getting a charge and everything passed charging system tests some times and not others I figured it had to be somewhere between the output on the VR and battery. Narrowed down to the infamous 77 voltage regulator connector, I hope.
1. Took the male and female connectors apart and checked the wires and connections but all looked good. Went ahead and cleaned them all anyway.
2. Reassembled and hooked back up.
3. Started her up and check voltage at battery. Wasn't getting a charge even though passed all the tests for a third time.
4. In the female end of the 77 connector, pushed the two prongs down toward where they would make contact with the male connectors. Added a little dialectic grease to the female end and when I fired her back up she was charging.
Best I can figure is that for some reason the 77 connector was breaking the circuit. I've seen where this connector has caused issues in older bikes (03-08 if I remember right). Everything I remember reading mentioned the bad connector melting or showing signs of arcing, which I do not have. Will take her for a ride and see if the issue reoccurs. May just order a new cNot sure if anyone else has had this issue before but hopefully my intimate time with the wiring over the last week will save someone else some time if they have the same problem.
I would suggest very carefully checking each wire, for a broken wire inside the insulation, take connector apart and hold each pin and pull each wire one at a time, any wire that stretches is bad, found lots of intermittent problems this way. Good luck!
Humm I'm having charging issues myself started today maybe it's a bug that's going around lol
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