LilBeaver

Well, after a mixed day of working on the bike and trying to get enough work done to stay up with where I need to be I have found a few things: 1) Almost all of the wiring harnesses had some dirt on the outside but appeared next to new on the inside, none the less I blew them out, sprayed them with electrical contact cleaner, blew them out again, greased appropriately then reconnected. I found that the radio connector under the passenger seat (the 10?-pin connector) was actually loose. I firmly connected that one and subsequently I have a reliable volume control now but still seems about 1/2 as loud as it was before. 2) The contacts and wiring harness for the regulator/rectifier literally looks brand new. One thing that I did find is that when I went to disconnect it, it just slid off. That is the little release on the wiring harness seemed to not be fully engaged. I do not know whether this is relevant or not, but that is what I found. I firmly reattached it and checked to ensure that the 'locking' mechanism snapped into place; and it did this time. 3) I have looked over all of the wires I can get my hands on, unwrapping them and rewrapping them after inspection and have found none that have worn through the insulation or have sharp bends. Of all that I tested there was continuity within the wire and no unexpected shorts to ground. Obviously I was not able to test all of them so this is mildly inconclusive. (I mostly did this because it was convenient to do while I let the contact cleaner dry.) 4) Only 1 out of 45 dealerships/suppliers that were contacted today claimed to have a regulator/rectifier in stock. Unfortunately the parts guy spent 10 minutes looking for it and could not find it. 5) Last thing I tried to do was check the resitance of the stator. I fought for a while to get the probes on the leads correctly and I could not quite get in there... So I came in to read up on suggestions on how to get to it and may or may not attempt again tonight. I realize that some may see cleaning and inspecting the harnesses and wiring this thoroughly is a waste of time but I figured at this point it could not hurt anything especially since I needed to take the bike apart a little bit to properly wire the driving lamps so another few hours of preventative maintenance could potentially leave me with many more trouble free miles... but we'll see. Summary: Today was very much inconclusive which I view is a good thing. Not finding anything blatantly wrong, discolored, melted, smoking, etc is a little discouraging in that it does not firmly identify an issue but somewhat encouraging to see that it very well could be something as simple as a battery or if it is the regulator/rectifier (which I suspect would have showed some discoloration SOMEWHERE on it or within the harness or contacts if something happened with it). But we'll see. First thing in the morning I am going to go ahead and put the tank back on so that I can start it up and test the charging system (since everything else seems to be checking okay). I wanted to be darn sure that there was not anything else that would potentially fry anything else on the bike before I started it up... As I write this (and look it back over) it sure looks like I have not been very productive today, but, hopefully this thoroughness will pay off in the end... I guess I will stop there for now.

I am not surprised either. I just wanted to make sure it would turn over and it started. I shut it off within (literally) 1-2 seconds. Lunch time now. I have taken off the regulator/rectifier and looked at the connections. There is no discoloration at all. My plan after lunch is to disassemble the plug that the r/r plugs into to see if I can see anything that would indicate a poor connection, etc. I have been thinking about it and I am going to see if I can find a wiring diagram for this particular rectifier/regulator unit. I have access to some high quality oscilloscopes and i was thinking that I ought to be able to determine functionality (or lack there of) BUT I need to know the particulars about the circuity (which I realize I may not be able to come across). Granted I can probably run the bike for a few minutes to check the charging system since it ran for the 2.5ish hours yesterday it took me to get home... My presumption is that any damage that would be done has already been done by now... Thanks again for the input, it is greatly appreciated! - Rick M.

Oh yea, when I flip the cruise switch the lights come on momentarily then the "on" light stays on, like it had always done in the past. Also the dash lamps seem to be noticeably brighter, BUT I really do not know if they actually are or if it is just my imagination...

I figured I would post an update... The battery was fully charged so I let it chill for a few hours while I tried to get some sleep. Installed it this morning (along with a new headlamp) the lights function properly (except for the driving lamps, but I have not checked the bulbs or the fuse). The radio comes on and I do not get that gd awful noise within the headset when the radio is set on speakers or headset. The CB turns on, but I have not done anything but turn it on and off in the garage. When I turn the CB off there is a loud pop that comes through the speakers (but it thinks that it is receiving something). Turning the squelch all the way up, it stops receiving, I turn off the CB and there is no pop. The other thing that seemed a little fishy with the radio is the volume knob was not functioning properly. It would turn up 1 level per click but turning the volume back down was quite sparatic (meaning that sometimes it would go down while turning and sometimes it wouldn't). Also with the radio, the volume seems to be significantly quieter than usual. I pushed the starter button, the bike cranked and started right up. I immediately shut it off because I want to get through the rest of the electrical connections before I do anything else with the bike. I am going to run out and pick up a relay, some wire and connectors so that I can wire up the driving lights 'properly'. While rewiring those, I will check the inline fuse as well as the bulbs (I suspect it is just the bulbs since the headlamp burnt out yesterday and it is on the same circuit). For the radio, I will double check the connections, look for any sign of arcing or discoloration in the harness as well as along the wires that feed to the radio then probably be back on here looking for other things to look at to try to troubleshoot that too... But one step at a time. Thanks again for all of your support, I will definitly keep you posted and have more questions as I get through all of this. Rick M.

Right you are. I hope I didn't say that it was somewhere... :-/

Brian: I believe it was a passing thought at one time but with the conditions down here I think that may be a good way to go. I am actually lucky enough to be able to park it in the shade for most of the time it is outside (at work anyways). And I have put a healthy coat of wax on it as well as leather conditioner for the seat. BUT, I did not anticipate the dust to be as bad as it is so a cover seems like the right way to go...

Brian: I did my homework before going out to purchase the new battery. I had to go with something that was available off the shelf so that I could get this ready for next weekend (hopefully I can have some conclusive results by then). It is an OEM replacement made by Interstate; it IS the AGM type ... Pretty neat stuff! Concerning the battery that I pulled out, it was difficult for me to tell where the electrolyte (it was a 'sealed, maintenance free' battery -- according to the outside anyways... I forget the brand but it was one that I had never heard of and seemed like an off brand; maybe a 'local' auto parts store house brand or something) was but I did notice significant corrosion on at least 2 of the plates (near the top) of the cells that had the moving caps. And yes, low electrolyte would certainly be a source of failure... I wish I would have looked more closely at the battery and taken pictures now (I already took it in to be recycled... I think I'm going to head back to where I got it to see if they still have it and would give me another look at it....) Looking around the outside of the battery and all around the battery compartment, down the frame etc I saw no direct signs of ANY acid leaking out. I do realize that it sometimes takes a while to show up but it seems to me that if it has been sloshing around for a long time IF anything were to have snuck out I would have seen hints of it somewhere. I am aware of how corrosive H2SO4 is and have already mixed up and wiped all of the nearbye areas with a basic solution that should neutralize any of the acid that could have possibly spilled out. Thanks again. Rick M.

dksmith: To be more clear, upon inspection the caps were not covering/on the holes... Whether the adhesive gave way and they moved out from heat/vibration or there was a buildup of pressure that popped the caps off I do not know. The battery did not smell unusual when hot or cold before and after this ordeal. It is interesting how many issues a battery can lead to, even with something as 'simple' as a singles cell going bad... Thanks! Rick M.

Forrest: I will do the AC check - that will be interesting to see... Thanks! Rick M.

Brian: Thank you for your response. I have more information from the previous owner that may be significant (but maybe not). The battery was replaced March of 2005 around 22,000 miles. The next service date was June 29, 05 with 24,024 miles. Next was June 26,06 at 27,030 miles. I picked up the bike April of 2009 with 28,500 miles (I actually changed the oil in the guy's driveway before I left, along with inspecting as much as I could get through since I was going to ride it home... 350 miles away). So the bike was obviously not ridden very much in the three years between his last service and me picking it up. I have no idea if the battery stayed connected and in the bike, if he took it out for storage, or if he had a maintainer, etc. He said that he had never had any issues with the bike so weather I can trust him or not, I do not know... His maintenance records (unless he intentionally left something out) are extremely detailed from the day he picked up the bike (with 3 miles on it) to the last entry he made on June 26, 2006. (He told me that he had to stop riding for health reasons). All of the entries were the services that the maintenance schedule called for plus oil changes every ~2,000 miles. Oh, and he had the carbs cleaned and synced before I picked up the bike (with the way the bike ran when I picked it up, I believe it). BUT, like you said, it is curious if there was trouble with it or if the caps worked them selves loose. Before I exchanged the battery earlier today (and I now think I should have taken pictures of it for my own reference/reinspection later) I looked it over very well for signs of fatigue on the sides or anything that would hint as to what happend. All I found was that not only was there a cap missing but two more caps were completely off of the filler holes. One was cracked and the other was stuck loose but not covering the hole. So there were no signs of the battery swelling in any direction, no discoloration anywhere, no cracks, etc. Just the additional 2 caps leaving 3 of the filler holes exposed. With as dusty as it is in this part of Texas it would not suprise me one bit if something worked its way in there. I do my best to keep the bike clean, but I ride it daily and it sits outside while I am at my office (which is usually 10-12 hours a day, minimum) So it sits outside in the wind, dust, etc. It is quite frustrating, I spend a lot of time cleaning it all up and it seems like all it takes is one ride for the inside covers and everything to be just completely covered in dust/dirt... But that is west Texas for you... Thanks again for the insight. I have to wait another couple hours for my new battery to be completely charged before I can mess with anything else, so in the meintime I am going to keep going through the wiring and harnesses (eventually wire these passing lamps differntly) since I already have it all apart anyways. - Rick M.

Lunch break for me so update for anyone watching this and helping me out... - I have setup the battery and am charging as per the manufacture's instructions. - I have pulled the seat, tank side covers, cowling and have inspected the wires that I could get my paws on... looking very carefully so far I have found none that show any indication of wear on the insulation or exposed wire, etc. I am trying to be very systematic about this so I do not miss any single wire (which IS making me see crosseyed at times :-P ) I will pull the front faring after lunch and look at those as well as evaluate how whoever installed (Based on the previous owner, I presume the dealer) the driving lights and most likely modify the wiring to appropriately adjust the current flow through the ignition switch (after all these puppies are on the bike and I would like to use them). After I finish inspecting all of the wires that I can find, etc I am going to go over all of the connections (including grounding points) and disconnect, thoroughly clean and appropriately grease all of the connections. (while also testing for inappropriate grounding at each of the harnesses). I realize that it seems very likely, at this point, to be a regulator/rectifier issue but since I won't be able to get one of those until late this week (I assume that the dealership, that isn't open on Monday, will have to order it... so earliest I'll have it will be Wednesday... Goose: Thanks again for your continued support. You are very knowledgeable about these bikes and I have certainly noticed that you are very willing and able to help others out when needed (and write up some great tech articles). I have a few comments in the quotes below. Thanks again.

Goose: Thank you very much for your response, again for ease I will comment within it. - Rick M.

Jeff: Thank you for your response - for ease I will comment within the quote. - Rick M.

Squidley: Thank you for your response. - Battery is in the works. - Driving lights wiring - I agree 100% I finally had the time this week to rewire that whole getup and I actually have not been using them since I first read about all of the potential problems associated with them (Fortunately there is that little switch that allowed me to turn those puppies off) -- I will definitely look specifically for the wires rubbing though (I looked through/over a lot of the wiring last night, but I was getting real discouraged so I called it quits and figured I should come at this with a fresh head. All: - How does one check a regulator/rectifier? I suppose a check for continuity and some standard resistance is probably a reasonable way to start. Thanks again, I'm going to get working on it some more and I'll be back and forth as I am in process... - Rick M.

4 up front, 20-35 in the rear (I have varied it quite a bit in the last 2 weeks trying different setups and I don't know what it is at now, but somewhere in there) I set it up for 2-up although my passenger weighs maybe 100 lbs soaking wet...

I had actually never considered pulling a trailer until I started poking around on this site... And then I found out about the camping trailers for motorcycles (Dr_bar showed me his) and boy oh boy I have been considering (one of these days when I actually make a little $$$) picking one of those up... It would sure beat the covered picnic tables at rest areas that I usually resort to. The downside is that the g/f would probably feel that 'if I have the space, it must be filled' :-P But yea, get on those pictures, it is nice to see what everyone has done and what options are out there Oh, my original response was aimed at the 'feeling stupid thing'... I have never really given a **** about what anyone else thinks anyways so if it takes a trailer to make the trips longer and more comfortable then bring it on and load it up!

I didn't really know how to title this but hopefully I can get some advice here. ** I have indicated with the asterisks where the point you can jump to in order to get the jest of what I am looking for, but if you care to read about what happened, begin here. I am planning a trip (~3500 to maybe 5000 miles) in a week so I decided to make a test run today with some new gear that I picked up and some of the fine tuning of the bike to get an idea of what I may need to adjust, etc. Well, I get about 150 miles East of Lubbock, Texas and the dash lights get real bright for about 5 seconds and there is all sorts of crazy static and what literally sounded like microphone feedback (a positive feedback loop) coming out of the radio and the headsets. So first thing I do is turn off the CB, then the radio and the noise stops. The bike seems to be running fine through all of this, so I pull over to check the lights (I figured a bulb blew out on me given the change of brightness of the dash lights) and I guess as a creature of habit I turn the bike off as I put it on the side stand. About a half-second after I turned the key to the off position I closed my eyes and muttered a few choice words to my self as I realized that could have been a really bad choice. The g/f and I dismount and I flip the key on as I walk to the front of the bike and I see what I had expected; no low-beam (high-beam, passing lamps, turn signals, tail lamp(s) and the brake lights) are all work fine. So, I think to my self, no biggie - I'll just run with the bights on (as I usually do anyways). So we saddle up, dash looks normal, so I push the ol reliable starter button and the dash dies, let go and it comes back. I pop the side-stand up, pull the clutch in and double check the kill switch to ensure that all those safety deals are in proper position and again push the starter button and no dice. Dash goes blank and does not come back this time. Check lights again, no lights but I had the radio. So I had thought that it was the ignition switch. Before removing the tank and wiring up a bypass I decide to check fuses just to make sure; box next to the driver's seat, fuse box in cowling, and the main fuse that is located just behind the fuse box next to the driver's seat are all good. "Well shucks" is exactly what I said. At this point the only person to have passed was the county sheriff who happened to turn around and ask if everything was alright. (I had chuckled to myself and thought 'yup, everything is fine, that's why I'm laying next to my bike on the asphalt in 100+ degree heat & the lovely Texas sunshine admiring how hot the pavement actually gets... Here's your sign'). I stood up and politely explained that the bike is not running. We chatted a bit while I started to pull the tank to go ahead and bypass the ignition so I could get back on the road. Just before I snipped the first ignition wire he had pulled a jumper box out of his car and asked if I wanted to try that before I did anything else... I thought, I can try that but I am pretty sure it will be a waste. So we hooked the jumper box up, I turned the key and who would have guessed that I'd have the dash lights back. Well, to make things even better everything lit up (except the low-beam bulb that was out -- I had high beams and passing lamps still) So, pushed the ol starter button and it started right up, first crank like it always does! My jaw literally dropped as I stood there staring at it not believing what had just happened. So, we pulled off the jump box right away and the bike didn't skip a beat; sitting there purring away. So now, I decided I didn't want it running while I put the tank back on and whatnot so I shut it off, put it all back together went to start it up with the jump box again, hooked it up, turned the key, hit the starter button and I got nothing. Unfortunately the jump box was dead and we resorted to jumper cables; jumped the bike, the G/F and I saddled up, I thanked the deputy and we were both on our way. Now, my next challenge was getting fuel since I had 100 miles on the tank already and was 150 miles away from home... Fortunately, as I was closing the garage door (before I left) I checked the pockets and I did not have the spare key that I usually carry... I decided at the last minute that I ought to run back in and grab it since I have it. This saved my butt since I was able to fill up without killing the engine (I know this is dangerous but I was not happy with my alternative choices) and finding some way to start it (I have push started plenty of vehicles, but I am pretty sure that the RSV is one that I would have a hard time push starting since it is pretty flat around here and it is hard to paddle run your-self fast enough to get the thing started). Well, I ended up making it home safely; pulled it in the garage and shut it off. To summarize: While cruising along, dash lights got extra bright (for about 5 seconds) accompanied by loud noises on the radio and through the headsets (which I presumed occurred when the low-beam blew out) followed by no action from the battery (no power what-so-ever). Stopped the bike [stupidly] shut it off and it would not start without jumping the bike. Once bike was running, High-beam burned out within a few minutes of running with it on (Had similar dash light behavior, ie. get real bright for about 5 seconds then dim down to their normal level again; Passing lamps still functioning properly) At this point I did not have the radio, CB or cruise on at risk of doing damage to other electrical components. When I got home I looked at the battery, checked the terminal voltage with a multi-meter and read off 12.88V (no load) and with the key in the on position, no passing lamps on I got a reading that started at 1.34V and steadily dropped 0.03 V per second (in 0.01V increments). OBVIOUSLY there is something wrong with the battery. I had noticed right when I had gotten the bike that on the top of the battery there were the caps that 'seal' one of the filler holes for the H2SO4, one cap was broken and the top was covered with electrical tape. I had pulled the battery out (it was dated 05 I believe... yea yea yea, I know I should have replaced it but it seemed to be functioning fine) and inspected it and I had no reason to believe that it was in bad shape. There did not seem to be any malfunctions while riding, the bike NEVER cranked slow or struggled at idle (although I did notice that if I sat at an intersection for a while with a turn signal on the dash lights would dim slightly when the turn signal was on, and then return to their 'normal' brightness when the turn signal was off) I didn't think much of this as everything seemed to be functioning fine. So I had some extra caps laying around from other batteries so I put a cap on it, sealed it and then re-installed the battery (This was 8 weeks and 2,000 miles ago) I noticed today that the cap that I had replaced was no longer there so the hole was exposed again. The only modifications that have been made on the bike are: 1) Passing lamps that I believe are tapped into the headlight circuit (unfortunately) via a relay to come on ONLY when the high-beams are on AND the push-button switch is depressed 2) Stebel air horn powered directly from the battery (via a relay and through the fuse of course) with the relay triggered by the horn button -- wired as many others have wired these on their bikes 3) LED Tail light (one of those Radientz 32 LED Plug into the 1157 bulb socket deals) 4) 15 Bulb LED light bar on the rear (tapped into the tail light circuit via the wires behind the license plate) setup to have 3 LEDs on as running lights and all light up when brake lights are activated. *** The Questions **** So, what I have come here to look for, after sharing this novel with everyone are a few things: 1) When your bike is at idle and you have a turn signal on do your lights (either the dash lights or indicator lights (ie. neutral, or whatever) flash a little or at all? 2) Obviously I am replacing the battery and the light bulbs that I have managed to blow out BUT my question is this: Is it possible that when the battery is under load there is an internal short that does not allow the battery to draw its normal charge current (whether it is by corrosion of the electrodes, bad cell or what have you) which would have caused some of the current that should have been delivered to the battery (from the generator/alternator/stator -- whatever the proper term for those puppies are) and ended up being delivered through the electrical system casing the of the headlamps (which would be similar to starting a vehicle then unplugging the battery from the vehicle while it is still running) and also possibly the odd behavior with the radio (I have not tried the radio while plugged into a different power source yet) I know a thing or two about physics and classic cars and bikes but what I do not know much about is the way these newer bikes are wired. I know for sure on an older car with relatively simple electrical systems, this IS the case. 3) (The important one) What, if anything, could have caused this behavior with the battery IF the battery was NOT the SOURCE of the problem to begin with. Or, stated differently, is there anything that would have caused the battery to do this to me (basically die) that I should be checking before I put a new battery in and damage the new battery? (I assume the generator works fine since when I got the silly thing started it drove me home) I am so frustrated and flustered right now that I just cannot really think straight so any thoughts on this would be GREATLY appreciated. This just ruined my day... although there are PLENTY of things that went good today too. The sheriff’s deputy stopping, me being on a test run instead of being further away from home or anywhere in the middle of a trip or on a hard deadline to return, I had dry weather while monkeying with the bike on the side of the road (It started thunder storming a few hours after I got home), my g/f was actually cool with everything while I was working on it and asked that I take her out for another ride when I get it fixed since she got gyped on this one, and I could go on but I won't because I've written enough to get me booted from the site for hogging bandwidth. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any thoughts that you have on this issue. Oh to top it all off I hit a bird on the way home... the stupid thing flew right into the shield, scratched the crap out of the side of it, spatter and feathers all over the place (I had spent a few hours this morning washing, waxing and polishing the bike... It looked fantastic), and in all of that I was lucky enough to have it miss both me and the g/f... After that, she hit me and asked me wtf I did that... sheesh. END for real. - Rick M. :bawling:but :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: that I made it home in 1 piece AND have some folks, much smarter than me that will hopefully contribute to my de-confusion of these occurrences

For what it is worth, I looked all over town (where I live) and could not find the horn anywhere. I found a few that appeared comparable (BadBoy horn at harbor freight) but I went ahead and just ordered the Stebel online. I also ended up wiring it up myself. Wire and the connectors are cheap, and the horn comes with a relay (although I did not end up using the relay that came with it). To mount it I ended up using a 2" L bracket and it worked fine... It doesn't look quite as good as it would had I used a Carbon_One bracket though. Good luck!

Great idea!! I have been keeping mine in my pocket (without the silver clip) and it works fine for me.

It is going to be cold up here this weekend... we're supposed to get in the 80s!

Something else to check while you are doing all of the front end investigation is to make sure you have the same amount of air in both forks. The max is 7psi so be real careful when adding. If you do not have a zero-loss hand pump I would suggest letting all of the air both forks just to make sure. This is not necessarily directly related to the wandering that you were describing but it does contribute to the overall handling of the bike that IS noticeable. (That and it is a quick thing to check while you are doing everything else). Congrats on the new scoot, it is good looking! (Good luck keeping it clean :-P )

What is wrong with parking in the living room? When I was up in the north, when it came time for winter storage mine would get parked in the living room... Just like my parents did with theirs (when I was growing up -- I assume they still do) and actually my mom's parents did the same with theirs. Now I do not have that problem... The longest I have gone without riding in the 'winter' has been about 1 week (it took that long for the ice to not be around in the morning).

I had forgotten about this, but I rarely carry when I am off duty. I usually have my sidearm in the vehicle that I am driving (I realize that having a loaded weapon within arms reach of the driver counts as concealing) but that is typically all I do.

HAHA No kidding! My scoot or F-250 for me.

Sorry to hear about your situation; My dad had to shut down his business (in Garden City area -- west of Detroit) a few months ago thanks to some of the fantastic decisions made by Governor Granholm that is doing oh so many favors for small businesses (sarcasm at its finest...) It stinks, but it seems like you've got the right attitude - Take advantage of every opportunity that is tossed your way (whether it seems good or bad) I know it may seem cliche but I firmly believe that stuff like this happens for a reason (some of which we may never know) and as long as you can keep your head up and eyes open you can pull through just fine. As for a Michigander to Texan (I grew up in the midwest except for about 6 years half-way through when I lived in Georgia and Tennessee; for 4 years before I moved to Texas I lived in Marquette, MI up in the UP)... Well, this is my second summer in Texas and some days can be brutal (granted I am in the much much 'dryer' part - but it still gets darn hot... been over 100 at some point every day for the last week) BUT for 2-3 months of this heat throughout the year and beautiful weather for the rest of the year (except January/February -- it can get down to the 30s sometimes; even snow in the panhandle) It is okay by me. My first summer here was rough and this one seems to be better so far. I am still not sure if it isn't as hot as it was last summer or if I am getting used to it... Either way it is still manageable. On a final note, I see those windmill parts go down the road everyday so they are getting built somewhere around here! Best of luck to you with whatever your future holds and I am looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks. Gdspeed, - Rick M.