Apparent Electrical Problems??

[Spence6288]

Hello all, I am brand new to this forum. 

I just purchased a 1999 Royal Star Venture. I love the bike. But, the problem I am having started day before yesterday. While I am riding, I am experiencing these symptoms: (Symptoms happening Simultaneously)

Lights go dim, radio goes out comes back goes out again, comes back, engine backfiring combined with poor acceleration. This issue is happening sporadically, in other words, no correlation with hitting a bump in the road, or anything like that. 

Now I have worked on automobiles for more than 30 years, and this seems to me like a stator/Alternator type of issues where I am running on the battery instead of the Stator/Alternator.

 

Battery is being recharged as we speak, because battery was dead last night, then again this morning. 

 

Any input any of you have, or have experienced the same issues and found the solution l, please let me know? 

I am in a motorcycle club, and we have a ride we are doing this Saturday that is mandatory, so I have to have this/these issues fixed before then. 

[SpencerPJ]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new ride.  Others will be along shortly that are much smarter than I, as my previous ride was an older model than yours.  That said, seems over the years I have seen this type of issue and it is related to the ignition switch.  You might do some searching in the forum on second generation ignition switch.  Good luck.

[M61A1MECH]

Contact djh3 he makes a bypass system for the ignition switch, takes the load off the ignition switch which has been know to fail. Will not get you sorted out before Saturday ride but could help in the long term.

[Marcarl]

If your battery is dead, check the output of the stator. Check the battery voltage with engine off and the check with engine running at 1500rpm. You should have at least 13.9v. If it doesn't come up, check the connector on the left side of bike, has 3 large white wires. Take it apart and check for burning or corrosion. Solder the wires if the connector is gone. No check again for voltage.

[saddlebum]

Ignition switch is a very common issue with these 2nd gens. It appears the load put upon them is higher than the switch can handle. Sometimes the switch can be taken apart and cleaned up alternative is to replace the switch. In either case the next step is to remove or cut any wires supporting a heavy load (or entire load if you wish) and transferring them to a relay switch (terminal 87), You can even use two relays one for the accessory side and one for the run or ignition side. Next run a wire from terminal(s) 86 0f the relay back to were you removed/cut the wire(s) to the ignition switch. Run a wire from terminal 85 to ground or Bat neg- . Finally run a wire from Bat pos+ to terminal(30) recommend this wire be 12 gauge. This will take the load off the ignition switch while still leaving the Ign switch in control.

Load test your battery depending on its age it may be breaking down.

As suggested earlier check charging system performance same as you would on a car (results should be no different than a car). At least 13.9 preferably 14.2 as measured at the battery engine at about 1500 rpm.

The second gens are also notorious for intermittent issues with the rectifier/regulator it is mounted at the lower front of the bike. 

Check your wiring connections including grounds. Connections from stater and rectifier are notorious for corrosion.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by saddlebum