XB9R guages fail, 1/2 power engine, engine dies, battery dies, won't restart. NEED HELP!

[transamman]

Hey guys, new on the board and I need some expert advice. Have a 2007 XB9R, has driven perfect for 14k miles. Was out riding for about 1hr and suddenly the engine light comes on, the guages die, then the bike's power drops, then the bike stalls. I coast to a stop and the bike won't restart the battery is drained too low. If I jump it or bump start it, it'll run about 1 mile and die again. I have the shop manual and retreived code 16 - battery/charging system. Performed all the tests except the load test. It's receiving 16 volts/1000 rpms as it should. No shorts in testing resistance on the 46 plug. Meter reads 0 ohms resistance when testing 1-2, 2-3, 3-1 on 46 plug. Manual says it should be 0.3 - 0.5 ohms. Is this the problem? Also when the bike is running if I disconnect the 77 plug and measure voltage output from the regulator going to the battery, output is 4.5 volts at idle and doesn't increase with rpms. When I test voltage at the battery when the bike is running and the 77 connector is connected the meter read 14.5 volts. The battery disconnected reads 13 volts. I'm wondering if the 4.5v out of the regulator is too low? Also I read somewhere, but can't find it again, that the Buell is going into a protection mode when it shuts down like this. Is there anything I'm missing and what else can I check before I just start throwing money and new parts at it?

 

[Iamarchangel]

Rule out protection mode. First symptoms were a bit similar but they would go away once the bike cooled off.

Load test is always the first step in starting issues. Best to rule that out. Besides, you can't properly do the other steps without that info.

However, dying while riding does rule out several battery issues and puts it more to a charging issue.

After that, I can barely do multimeter stuff when it's in front of me. There are others here more proficient in that.

Basics: making sure grounds are good and main fuse is snug.

 

[transamman]

There is no starting problem other than the bike draining the battery while it's running I'm assuming untill the point at which the electronics will no longer function and the bike shuts down. Once the bike cools off and the battery is recharged via an external charger it starts and runs just fine untill the battery is drained again. So it must be in the bike charging system. As far as the load amp test goes, I have no idea other than the HD dealear as to where to aquire one to perform the tests. The load test is pretty much irrelavent b/c I already know the bike is drawing more current than the charging system is replenishing. I just need to know how much voltage is supposed to be output by the regulator, b/c everything is really pointing towards that. And all the grounds and connectors are fine. Sorry I don't mean to sound like a jerk but I've been building and working on engines for 20 years and these electrical gremlins can be a real pain. And the shop manual basically says to test and reapair by replacing components untill you make it work.

 

[Iamarchangel]

No problem. You've obviously got the basics covered.

Yeah, manual has a weird bit where they expect you to have a second bike with good parts standing by.

Your test results look like they're pointing to replacing regulator/rectifier. (Looking at page 7-25 in the '03 manual.)

 

[Livers]

And the shop manual basically says to test and repair by replacing components until you make it work.

Sometimes it gets the job done quicker. Labor, you know... Do the external stuff first, Battery, regulator, then stator and rotor on the inside. Other than wire and connectors, that is the entire system.

 

[transamman]

I'm sorry I guess I shouldn't have said that the Load test was irrelavent. What I meant was I don't have anyway of performing the load test with a load meter. Since the voltage regulator is going to supply enough voltage to maintain the 14 volts when the bike is running, the only way to tell if it working properly when the meter is reading 14 volts is to strain it with a load and see if the current (amps) increase to compensate the load requirement. I'm just fishing for a way to test the regulator without the load meter. It seems to me the bike is running untill the electronics drain the battery, the meter is probably becoming over worked and the bike shuts down b/c the regulateor can no longer keep up with the load. once the bike cools down and I jump the bike, it repeats the process and dies again. If this makes sense let me know. I'm just kinda bouncing ideas off you guys before I spend the money on a new regulator. And yes I replaced the battery with a new one and the same scenario occured. So I'm pretty sure it's the regulator.

 

[transamman]

Just wanted to update in incase anyone else has a similar problem. The issue was not the voltage regulator at all. It was a faulty highbeam headlight bulb. The bulb would dead short after it would heat up or experience excessive vibration. Since I run with my highbeam on all the time it was producing a constant drain on the battery untill the point it would shutdown the bike. So next time you have an issue like this, make sure you remove the bulb from the headlight housing, plug it in, turn it on and allow it to heat up, then do a few vibration checks on it, it just might dead short on you.

 

[user_deleted]

nice that you posted back up with your findings. THIS IS THE VERY REASON every single buell owner should install a $3 voltage gauge on his/her bike. simple to do...dirt cheap...peace of mind is priceless. in your case the rocker switch position to hi-beam would have, thru the gauge, immediately revealed the problem area.

 

[kdawg302000]

My bike has been having the same issue...how would I even go about testing and to se if that is my problem also?

 

[ztied]

Thanks for posting the issue and the fix. Good job fixing it.

 

[1125RBlaster]

lunaticfringe - I look for other threads but didn't come up with anything about what type of voltage gauge and where to install it. Can you provide a little more info on that and which gauge is preferred.

Thanks