Voltage regulator?

[hdstn]

I tried searching this and didn't get an answer so...

07 12Stt started a little hard this am and then barely tonight. Got home, shut it off to pop the seat and grab the tester to check the battery and it wouldn't start. Left it on the tender, came back in an hour, it refired, but only 11.4-ish so definitely not charging. I have read about stator problems or is that only on the 1125's? Any way to check and tell either or? Bike is always on a tender when not on the street btw

 

[ajgerdes]

only 11.4 volts when it was running? if so i would throw a new stator in it.

 

[Ranger3987]

could also be related to the regulator mine wasnt charging the battery hardly at all depending on which is bad both are about same price around 90 bucks

 

[07Bolt]

03-07 had weak regulator plugs; 08-10 had updated regulator plugs. my 07 xb9r fried the plug at 12k miles, bought the upgrade kit, no worries

 

[jimijeans]

The older bikes had some Regulator problems, And also the plug would melt on the Terminals. The 08+ bikes has the upgrade system. After you have checked the Terminals/the grounds/. Charge the Battery for a good 6 hours OR if you have one, till the Automatic charger turns off. The smaller Trickel OR 1.5 amp unit chargers are slower but the Battery holds up better.May want to take the Battery to auto/store & have a Load test done Especially if the Battery is 2-years or older.Then just put a Digital Multi-meter on the battery and start the bike.AT idle 12.6 volts/ AT 3000rpms 14.5 or so volts. As you slowly bring up the Rpms the voltage should climb to the Max.,of 14.5 or 14.6 Max.With Low beam on. If not in this voltage range shut down the bike.Unplug the Regulator and test the Stator, [seperately] from the reg.,I have the complete how to(stator,regulator) test & check on this forum.Stevenc150-put it up (I Think) in one of the links that he is so good about for the Bullers to use for Diagnostic of this area.Hope this will get you started in the right direction.The Ohms reading for a Stator that is good should be Zero Or no continuity,with regulator unpluged and bike turned off. DO the Test procedures before you do any spending. `Jimi

 

[jimijeans]

For those that would like to test the Stator with The Bike running.You may want to get someone to start the bike and bring the Throttle up. This is testing the AC current.Or total Voltage. Perferably with the bike on a Pit stand.1- Unplug the Regulator.2-Take your AC voltage meter and put the two Test prongs(point leads)and stick one each in the Stator plug.DO NOT let THEM touch.Start the Engine and bring the Rpms up to 2000,and hold it there.The volts for a good Stator is,40 to 55 maybe 56 volts max!The lower the RPMs the lower the voltage will be Say at 1000Rpms it should be Around-21-25 or so per the 1000rpm.Make SURE to use a use a Fuse Protected Meter.~Jimi

 

[hdstn]

Battery load tested good.
Stator open on all pins to ground
~0.5 Ohm's pin to pin(book says .1-.3)
AC voltage 16v per 1000rpm (dead on per manual)
Cant find anything on checking the voltage regulator

And I checked that connector 77, no problem there

 

[Rays]

The 77 connector failures can be very subtle - on my '06 Uly it was only when I removed the pins from the housing that small arcing marks were visible. In my case there was a small carbon build-up that effectively insulated the connection.
If you have this failure mode the simple act of unplugging / re-plugging the 77 connector will see charging restored temporarily as this action 'wipes' the pin/socket.
If you still have a low battery voltage with the engine running after the checks you have confirmed above and everything is reconnected I would be thinking voltage regulator.
One key point with the voltage regulator is that it needs to be connected in-circuit for you to be able to measure the output. I made this error with mine and measured the DC output on the 77 connector plug with the regulator disconnected and jumped to the false conclusion the regulator was bad.

Check the link on my profile for a document I put together on 77 connector but this is sounding very much like the regulator.
One thing you could do is remove the regulator and take a close look at the rear of the regulator where the electronic internals are potted with a flexible material. This is by no means a definitive thing but I have seen a couple with an obvious 'lump' in this potting where the compound has been effected by an overheated internal connection.

The lump in the bottom R/H corner of this photo of a failed early XB regulator is obvious.

When you compere that to this partially excavated shot you can see it reveals an overheated ground connection lug.

 

[hdstn]

To be honest I dont think I plugged it all back together and retested. Will do that in the am.

If no change I will pull the regulator and inspect the back for any obvious signs of failure and post up any additional findings.

I appreciate all the info

 

[twisted]

hdstn, look I'm just replacing my stator right now. I've got 30,000 miles on my 08'xb12r. If you have to try with the bike off, unplug your stator. Get the multimeter there is a symbol that beeps if here is a connection of the probes. Disconnect the stator touch the bolt on the primary cover, then the pins off the stator. You should not hear the beep. If you do, it is your stator. But your going to still have to replace your regulator, because it may have been damage from the stator. Quick question is your primary oil smell? Mine smelled awful!!! It was black, I have used redline in it and its always been kind of brown but clear. This time it was thick black and made the whole garage smell. Good luck, hopefully its your regulator, because the stator replacment SUCKS!!!

 

[hdstn]

So as my last double/triple check before I ordered a voltage regulator, I took Rays advise and replugged everything in and refired and checked the voltage...and wouldn't ya fricken know it...its charging. Mid high 13's at idle, 14.4~.5 at 2500rpm.

So Rays...thanks for the tips (+1 for sir!). Going to pull the plug apart and clean it real good.

Kinda of frustrating but a good learning experience and learned alot.

 

[blubayou]

Rays, you da man, you saved me some trouble shooting time. Going to place the new and improved plug on order but thanks to you I will be riding into work tomrrow. Appretiate the connector 77 write up, good work!

 

[user_deleted]

this is the best post i've ever read on testing charging circuit and components. rays......wouldn't a bit of cleaning and some di-electric grease or contact cleaner type lube fix up the 77 plug? or is that wishful thinking? just wondering.

 

[buellmekg]

does anyone know if the 08 regulator will work on my 07 xb12 or do i just need to buy a brand new one for the 07 model?

 

[Rays]

The regulators from '03 to '07 were three-phase but from '08 the XB's run a single phase stator so the later regulator will not work with the earlier 3-phase stators.

Sorry, I missed the question about cleaning & dielectric grease. It really depends on the nature of the connection failure but every bad '77 connector I have seen had the female socket spread to a greater or lesser degree. This in turn results in less contact pressure. Cleaning will certainly help in the early stages where the arcing produces a carbon layer that acts as an insulator but dielectric grease will actually make things worse. That sounds counter-intuitive but dielectric grease is a very good insulator (the term dielectric actually means non-conducting). It works great at keeping moisture out of electrical contacts without shorting things out but in a loose socket/pin set-up it will make a poor connection worse.
THe ideal fix (for a connector that hasn't overheated to the point of being wrecked) is to make sure the contacts are cleaned of any arcing residue, re-form the female socket to make sure it has a nice tight fit with the male pin and then assemble with a touch of dielectric grease. The tight connection areas will wipe clean on assembly and be surrounded with a protective layer of dielectric grease.