[halwade]

I'm dumb, so please be merciful:

After only two rides, my brand-new battery only has the juice to turn over my 1200 sportster motor twice or four times before completely taking a shit. the voltage regulator is brand new, the stator has 4,500 miles, etc. I can't test the wire from the voltage regulator to the battery until I get her running, but I suspect it's sending power to the battery as it's supposed to. I've shut the motor off and turned it back on with the battery and starter button about 10 times on its original charge w/ no problem, and I put the battery on its trickle charger last night to keep the juice flowing. any ideas? thanks for all your help.

mcgoo

 

[StraightPipez]

Not to over simplify but I had a very similar problem and turned out to be a loose wire. Take nothing for granted, especially in the electric department...

 

[Flatironmike]

Hal:

If you 'reused' any battery cables or they are taut - try swapping them out with new. Bad cables may look okay, but can be the culprit....

See you Wednesday!

 

[Threadkiller]

A good charging system will throw 13.5-15 VDC back to the battery. Start with a fully charged battery, and test the battery directly. If you are only reading battery voltage 12.5-12.8 at 2K rpms then you have to look "downstream". Next is the alternator resistance and output tests (get a manual and have a decent meter). If the alternator passes both (actually 3) tests by process of elimination your problem is the voltage regulator. BTW I've also seen a bad ground strap from the battery negative to the rear of the frame (way up under/behind the battery's support tray. TK.