Hello all, I've recently encountered a head scratcher. While on my travels this summer my battery has continuously been giving me problems. When i started the trip it was full and happy and kept a charge for about two months. Then it died completely and i bought a new battery thinking the old one had run its course. Unfortunately that new battery died as well so i bought a second new battery thinking that i had perhaps bought a bad battery. Well that new new battery just died too so then i was fairly certain i had an electrical issue and ran some tests. First test was the stator output, which i measured at 24 volts when connected to the two white wires. Looking good. Next i tested the ref/rect output which showed no voltage. Ah ha! A bad reg/rect it seems. So i buy a purportedly working used one on ebay and install it, buy a new battery and do some more tests.
First measurement is a new, unused battery. Reads 13.1v. Next measurement was the output of the new reg/rect and i only see millivolts. Couldnt get a better reading than that. Is this right? When i plugged it back in the connections popped a little with an electric arc. Next measurement was of the battery after a short ride. Bike turned off measurements read 12.9v. With bike on 13.1v. Next measurement was a few days later after a longer ride. With bike off i got 12.7v. Then i took another longer ride and it dropped further down to 12.0v. Took a reading of the battery with the bike running and got 12.0v. Something's not right. Seems like either the new reg/rect is also bad or I'm missing something. I now carry a battery tender on my road trips and charge every night. What else should i be looking for?
Here's a pretty picture from the trip up in California.
