What just happened??

[SBFMC707]

So im riding home and bike is running fine (03 xb9s). I look down and notice my odo is off, my speedo and tach are off, and my Red V light is on. Bike is still running great but i figured i should pull off and check things out. By the time i got off the freeway the bike shut off, and when i tried to restart it, it acted like it had a dead battery.

I assume i just lost my stator. Sucks but no biggie. What worries me is as i was walking the bike i could hear a "click...click...click" that would speed up and slow down in tempo depending on how fast i moved. Is that normal? If not any ideas what that sound might be??

 

[Xb12sLt]

My bike just did the exact same thing. It ended up being the plug connection (77 plug) on my voltage regulator and a worn wire right next to the plug. Start with checking your battery connections then check the connections under the front pulley cover.

 

[wolfo68]

Could also be bad grounding.

 

[user_deleted]

and have a free load-test done on your battery after it is fully charged to eliminate it as culprit. a battery with a sudden dead cell short which is a common battery issue in hot weather....will also cause the symptoms you described.

 

[SBFMC707]

So what is that clicking noise? In my head im picturing something internal with the motor. It sounds like its coming from directly under the "tank"

 

[user_deleted]

What worries me is as i was walking the bike i could hear a "click...click...click" that would speed up and slow down in tempo depending on how fast i moved. Is that normal? If not any ideas what that sound might be??

quite normal on most all XB's. typically it is the belt rolling over both pulleys and the tensioner.

 

[SBFMC707]

Ok, after I calmed down a bit I realized that if I was in neutral, which I was, then any noises I was hearing wouldn't be motor related anyway. Thanks everyone for the input. I'm gonna give all the wiring, terminals, and battery a good once-over before I dig in to the stator.

 

[SBFMC707]

another thing I thought was really weird with this whole situation is that the bike was running really, really good and I was doing 85-95mph my entire ride even when I notices the gauges had all gone inop and the V light was on. It wasn't until I got off the freeway and slowed down at an intersection that the bike died. My plan was to pull off and shut the bike down for a few minutes, restart it and see if the gauges came back and/or the V light turned off...it decided to turn off itself just before I followed through haha. I noticed that when I tried to restart the bike the V and oil lights were both on...checked oil and it was full.

I had a stator die on my road glide a few years ago. about a week or so before it went out the bike would make a whining noise when I'd let off the throttle. The buell started doing the same thing a couple days ago so I was kinda worried the stator might be bad. I will still check out all the other things you guys recommended first. I just thought some more info might get some more input so im throwing those extra things I noticed out there. Thanks again!

 

[Cosworth]

Oil light was on because the bike wasnt running, no oil pressure while not running

 

[WIGGLE2]

Check the basics!! Battery and assorted connections first, then take a look at the #77 connector behind the front pulley cover. Take it apart, inspect/clean/repair, then pack it with dielectric grease and reassemble. A LOT of guys dumped money on a stator and or VR only to find out it was something this simple.

 

[user_deleted]

^^^^^ ricky correct as usual[up]

 

[heagachongoose]

Check your fuses too. Never know. Electricity does funny things.

 

[AlanS]

Sounds like, at speed the stator/regulator are putting out maximum juice, 14.something volts DC. You slow down…voltage/current fall, i.e., the battery is responsible for a lot more of the load.

My first guess would be battery, not stator.

Alan

 

[SBFMC707]

I've been on a lot of forums for various things and I gotta say this forum is bad ass. Everyone is very helpful without the know-it-all smartassness I've seen elsewhere. Really appreciate everyone's input.

I'm gonna dig into it either tonight or tomorrow and start checking all the things everyone has suggested. I will let you guys know what I find.

 

[SBFMC707]

One thing I just thought of alan (or anyone else who knows). The gauges all turned off when I was still at freeway speeds. Is that normal when the V light comes on? I was thinking maybe that's a feature to help get your attention if there's a problem. If not, then what do you think would have caused that to happen? When my road glide stator died it was the lights, then the gauges, then the motor...this time it seems to have been the gauges, lights, motor. Sorry if I'm beating the crap out of a dead horse, I know there's plenty of wiring and grounding issues that could be at fault here, haha. It would be nice to know if the gauges shutting off is a feature of the bike though if anyone knows that.

 

[SBFMC707]

Charged the battery back up to 100% and load tested it, battery seems fine.
volt meter read 12.88 with bike off...fired up the bike it dropped to 12.3ish...revved it up and it stayed in the low 12's until I revved up to about 4k rpm then the meter climbed to about 13.2ish never higher than that. Mostly stayed between 12.3 and 12.6. Still haven't inspected the 77 connector for damage but based on the readings it definitely looks more like a stator doesn't it?