Headlight goes very bright.

[T.J.]

This morning I left for work in the dark. A couple of times I noticed my head light got very bright and then back to normal. I looked at my "Kuryakyn Battery Meter" the next time it did it and the lights were all on. The red light to the right of the meter was on telling me I was over charging. It would last about a minute or so then go back to normal.

 

I had hooked up my trailer wiring about a month ago and after that I had noticed two green lights on my meter at times that before I had always had only one green light. The headlight was very bright. It really lit up the road but something is not right.

 

Where do I start. Getting ready to go on a trip next week and I don't want to get stranded.

[etcswjoe]

Most likely your regulator had the same issue back a few months ago.

[T.J.]

Most likely your regulator had the same issue back a few months ago.

 

 

So what do I do?

[dacheedah]

new regulator, bad one will fry your stator

[T.J.]

new regulator, bad one will fry your stator

 

Ok. I shall get a new one and start looking into changing it out. I hope it is an easy fix.

We shall see.

 

Thanks for the info.

[etcswjoe]

It is fairly easy, take off the loweres to get to the two 10MM bolts holding the R/R in place, remove the connector make sure to inspect and clean while you have it apart remove the two bolts and reverse the process to install. If you have questions while doing it give me a shout.

[LilBeaver]

It really is as straight forward of a change out as it sounds. I think the hardest part I had (after confirming the diagnosis) was actually making sure the wiring harness connector between the bike and the new R/R unit, made a solid connection.

As Pointed out, make darn sure you inspect that connector very VERY carefully and go ahead and "plug" and "unplug" the connector several times to clean any corrosion off the pins that may exist. I tightened up a few of the connectors as well, to ensure a solid connection.

 

I will note that when you ride home today, unless you feel like spending a lot of money replacing other parts too, keep anything OFF that you do not absolutely need to use (such as the radio, CB, cruise control, auxiliary lights, etc etc) since you are experiencing spikes in voltage, they could easily knock out parts of your system. I am not saying that if you DO use them you will definitely kill them, however, the likelihood of the components failing is pretty high. It may not be an immediately noticeable failure either... Anyway, just throwing that out there.

 

I too had to replace mine a few years back. I found out mine was bad 3 days before leaving on a 3 week/6k+ mile trip too -- it was my 'check ride' and I was nearly in the middle of nowhere. Yuk.

 

Make sure you check your ground connections and battery terminals for corrosion and to make sure they are tight -- since you are going to have a few things apart anyway, it is an easy thing to do -- pop off the wires and give the terminals a quick pass with a wire brush (remembering that just because you cannot see the corrosion, does not mean that oxidation has not started...).

 

 

Enjoy your trip!

[T.J.]

I am still at work and just pulled the regulator off. It was very simple, repeat, very simple once you know where to look. Thanks for that info.

 

I called the first Dealer in Lapeer Mi. "Ray C's" and they did not have one and said they could not have it till next week. I called Motorcity Power Sports in Bloomfield Hills on Telegraph Rd. and they have one. I will wait for my wife to get here and go pick it up.

 

I am glad I had the "Battery Meter" installed. I put it on with the thoughts of just watching it when we were riding in the colder months when we had our heated clothes on. It sure lit up this morning in the dark with all the lights on telling me "you are over charging" get some help here buddy.

 

Thanks for all the in put and I will shut everything off till I make sure this is it. That bright light was sure nice though. It made all the street signs as bright as day.

 

Note: I am very thankful for this great web sight. Thanks to all that contribute with the knowledge of these great bikes.

 

Have a great day if you want to.

[calperin]

TJ,

 

I'm close to Motor Sports. If you need anything let me know and I can help you.

 

I'll be available today.

 

Carlos

[Flyinfool]

And now you got a taste of what a HID headlight will look like all of the time.

 

Glad you found it before the trip.

 

As LilBeaver alluded to. The voltage spikes can do other damage that is not always immediately apparent. Sometimes it is just weakening another component that fail sooner that expected.

I would pack a spare headlight and some other bulbs for your trip.

Radios and CBs are still connected and using power even when off, the spikes can still get them whether they are on or off.

[T.J.]

TJ,

 

I'm close to Motor Sports. If you need anything let me know and I can help you.

 

I'll be available today.

 

Carlos

 

Thanks Carlos. I got it installed and will check it out on the way home.

[sendaro_99]

without trying to hijack this thread, I have to change out this component as soon as mine arrives because my venture has been doing this for a while and I have to ride home at night every night. can the part be changed without removing the lowers or is that a must? mine have broken tabs and are a pain to work with. thanks for any help:confused24:

[etcswjoe]

You can it's just a real tight squeeze for the wrench, I did it once with a 1/4 inch drive and a short socket.

[sendaro_99]

thanks for the info, will try a 1/4" socket set. can you tell me the best way to check the voyage output with new regulator installed to be sure I'm back in limit .

Edited September 6, 2013 by sendaro_99
addition txt

[Flyinfool]

Measure the voltage across the battery with the engine around 4,000 RPM.

Voltage should be 14V +/-0.5V.

[T.J.]

My install went great and all is well. I road it home yesterday and then back to work this morning. I also put on another 65 miles today and the volt meter never spiked.

 

I did take off the lowers and my tabs are also broken but all went back together pretty easy. It really is a snap to remove and install a new one.

 

I think a volt meter is a very good idea to install and an easy one at that. As I mentioned in the other post I always thought it would be good for when there was not enough volts with the heated gear on. You could see the draw and turn something off. But now, it also showed to much voltage which I would never have known were it not for darkness and extra bright head light, then looking at the meter to confirm.

[jr71]

My 83 started this a couple days ago, my ? is the regulator a common part or is it special for the model? What is the best place to get one? Thanks for all info.

[frankd]

John,

 

Welcome to the site!!!!

 

Electrically, the First and 2nd Gen. rectifier/voltage regulators work the same way, but physically they are different. On the First Gens (83-93), the rect./reg is on the left side, above the muffler, and it is a tight fit between the swing arm, frame, and muffler. The 2nd gen. rect./reg. is thicker, so it would be rough to install it there. If you want to use a 2nd gen unit, you will have to extend the wires and mount it in a different position. There are aftermarket units that are pretty small though. The charging system is rated @ 30 Amps, so any regulator with a rating above that would work.

 

 

Before you change the regulator, make sure the plugs on the regulator are clean. Also make sure your battery cables, main ground leads, and main fuse retaining screws are clean and tight. You can buy used original type regulators on Ebay all the time, and they usually aren't very expensive.

 

Gold & Venture is parting out a First Gen., and maybe he still has the regulator

http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=4588&title=parting-out-wrecked-91-venture-royaleread-description&cat=6

 

Any year (83-93) will work. The original First Gen. regulators have been very reliable. BTW, how high does the voltage go on the dash gauge?

Edited September 18, 2013 by frankd

[jr71]

thanks again the education that I'm getting here is great. the voltmeter on the dash pegs out an eighth of an inch above the green field which shows 16 as the high. I put a meter on the battery and it coinsides with the gauge showing a high of 16.6-16.9v while rpm is 3500.

[jr71]

Just started looking at the plugs for the regulator and found the plug melted where the red wires

are. Next ? Where to start looking for the short that caused this and how to tell if the regulator is toast?

[Flyinfool]

It is not necessarily a short that caused the connector melting.

A short would have popped a fuse.

 

Most common is a dirty contact in the connector will cause heat.

 

If you are getting 16V at the battery, the RR is toast.

The higher voltage will cause everything on the bike to draw more power and that could also heat up the connector.

 

If you combine the high voltage with a dirty contact the connector don't stand a chance.

[frankd]

Jeff is probably 100% correct, but there is one more thing. Take your voltmeter and measure the voltage on the regulator side of the brown wire. You should have battery voltage there. For this there is no reason to start the bike, just verify that your voltmeter reads battery voltage. The brown wire is the "sense" wire for the voltage regulator. That means that it is used to tell the voltage regulator what the battery voltage is so it can keep the voltage @ 14.5V, plus or minus .5 volt. If the brown wire going into the regulator has battery voltage on it, your regulator is trashed.

 

 

BTW, if you look on EBAY for a replacement regulator, keep in mind that they also make Venture jet ski's and that they have different regulators. Look at yours and make sure that the one you are buying looks the same.

 

You probably also need to eliminate the burnt connector. Disconnect the battery negative lead first!!! Then you can connect one of the red wires from the regulator to the bike's wiring. The 2 red wires are in parallel. Ditto for the 2 black wires. On my bike I used high quality ring terminals, crimped onto the wiring and them soldered. I used nuts and bolts to connect the reds together, and then the blacks together. You could leave the brown in the existing connector if it's not corroded. Tape up the connections with electrical tape. My stator leads (the white wires) are done the same way. If your white wire connector is burned up, do it the same way. Any white wire from the stator can go to any white wire of the regulator. I have seen some stators that have yellow wires, so don't get upset if yours aren't white.

 

 

If your battery voltage is 16V, I wouldn't ride the bike until you get it fixed. You are flat out boiling your battery, and you should check the electrolyte level.

 

Frank