Replacement Regulator No Good?

[rocksandhammers]

Alright, so the saga continues. Got the new reg/rec in, tested it before installing and everything seemed good. Put it in and hooked it up and started going through the charge output tests to make sure everything was ready for some riding. Fired the bike up and at idle the voltage across the battery terminals was 14.2 V. When revving up to 5000 rpm to test the charging output voltage was only 13.2-13.5 or so, and the manual says it should be 14-15. Test the AC Generator No-Load Performance and that all seemed fine, getting to over 65 V before even hitting the 5000 rpm mark.

Here's where I'm confused, I know the reg/rec is solid now, and the generator is putting off enough volts, but the charge output is still lower than what the manual says it should be. There was continuity between all three yellow wires coming off the generator. I'm thinking maybe it's just a problem battery leads maybe? I cleaned both ends of the leads pretty well, but I guess I should really go through them from end-to-end and make sure there isn't any breaks or corrosion anywhere. Assuming both leads look solid I guess I can yank the stator out and make sure everything looks right?

[Lechy]

Pull the earth lead off the battery and frame, check the full length for flexibility, if you find a stiff section especially near the battery end it needs replacing.
[emoji41]

[Herb]

Alright, so the saga continues. Got the new reg/rec in, tested it before installing and everything seemed good. Put it in and hooked it up and started going through the charge output tests to make sure everything was ready for some riding. Fired the bike up and at idle the voltage across the battery terminals was 14.2 V. When revving up to 5000 rpm to test the charging output voltage was only 13.2-13.5 or so, and the manual says it should be 14-15. Test the AC Generator No-Load Performance and that all seemed fine, getting to over 65 V before even hitting the 5000 rpm mark.

Here's where I'm confused, I know the reg/rec is solid now, and the generator is putting off enough volts, but the charge output is still lower than what the manual says it should be. There was continuity between all three yellow wires coming off the generator. I'm thinking maybe it's just a problem battery leads maybe? I cleaned both ends of the leads pretty well, but I guess I should really go through them from end-to-end and make sure there isn't any breaks or corrosion anywhere. Assuming both leads look solid I guess I can yank the stator out and make sure everything looks right?

You say that there is continuity between all 3 leads off the stator. Did you check for a short to ground and for the actual stator output?

BTW, I never get over 14 VDC to the battery, but I never have an issue with the battery going dead.

[rocksandhammers]

Alright Lechy. Will do.

Did you check for a short to ground and for the actual stator output?.

Checked and no shorts. Is testing the generator output not testing the stator? Don’t see any other tests in that section of the manual.

[Herb]

Alright Lechy. Will do.

Did you check for a short to ground and for the actual stator output?.

Checked and no shorts. Is testing the generator output not testing the stator? Don’t see any other tests in that section of the manual.

If you measured the voltage between 2 legs of the stator, with the stator disconnected from the RR, then it is a test of the stator. If the voltage is in the range the book calls for it is good. Not sure of the 800 specs but the 1400 is 80vac when checking between each of the 3 legs.

I did have an issue with my 87 not charging well and come to find out it was a weak/bad ground on the RR.

[hillsy]

Permanent magnet stators should produce 80v AC plus on each leg at 5k RPM. Doesn't matter what bike - they all function the same.

[rocksandhammers]

Well I guess that’s why I’m confused about what’s going on. All three leg combos were definitely putting out that much juice. All the tests according to the manual say the alternator is operating like it should.

Pulled the ground off the battery last night. It looks a little dirty, but no inflexible sections like Lechy mentioned and I was getting resistance values from end to end. Going to put a new one on just in case. Not sure what to check next. I guess start going through all the ground connections and see if there’s a problem somewhere else in the circuit?

[Herb]

Well I guess that’s why I’m confused about what’s going on. All three leg combos were definitely putting out that much juice. All the tests according to the manual say the alternator is operating like it should.

Pulled the ground off the battery last night. It looks a little dirty, but no inflexible sections like Lechy mentioned and I was getting resistance values from end to end. Going to put a new one on just in case. Not sure what to check next. I guess start going through all the ground connections and see if there’s a problem somewhere else in the circuit?

All you can do at this point is do the checks, the obvious and maybe check the wire loom for bad connections and chaffed/bare wires.

Gremlins like you have are a real PITA to find, at times. When you finally find the problem it will usually be so damn obvious that you will do a head slap.

[rocksandhammers]

Alright, I may or may not have exorcised my electrical demons, but I'm not sure. Put a new ground wire on just to be sure that wasn't the cause of my problems. I was getting really high resistances on the ignition switch, and when I went to check it out it got all fucked up because someone had put loctite on the screws that hold the plastic back on, so it must have had problems in the past. Replaced the switch. While checking the wiring I went over every connection to the ground wire and any connection that was previously soldered. Only found one possible problem area on the rear turn signal wires, re-soldered that. As far as I can tell everything is hooked up the way it should be. When I was testing the charge output yesterday it was at just under 14V at idle, and when I revved it up to 5000 rpm it dropped some, but it was always between 13-14 v. The manual says it should be 14-15v at 5000 rpm, but when I looked at the specs for my model year in the back of the manual that said 13.5-15 v. And Herb said he never gets over 14 v. As long as it's over 13 v is it good to go? I haven't checked the charge output since resoldering the turn signal wires, but I would be surprised if that changes much. At this point I'm running out of ideas for things to check short of going through every single wire in the harness.

[rocksandhammers]

Update to my previous post, got everything back together and started it up. At idle I was reading a little over 14v. When I’d rev the engine it would drop, but only to about 13.6-13.7 v, which is above the 13.5 v in the manual. I think it’s good to go? May go on a test ride tomorrow. Should I be concerned about the drop in voltage at increased rpms?

[navigator]

Update to my previous post, got everything back together and started it up. At idle I was reading a little over 14v. When I’d rev the engine it would drop, but only to about 13.6-13.7 v, which is above the 13.5 v in the manual. I think it’s good to go? May go on a test ride tomorrow. Should I be concerned about the drop in voltage at increased rpms?

Sounds normal to me, all my 800's show a small voltage drop when reved up.
I would just ride and not worry too much about it....you are charging.