maxv65

I've watched the console voltmeter go from 14+ volts to 12, and STAY at twelve even with fan off, then after hitting 3k rpm it MAY go back to 14 or just sit at 12 or less for a mile. Then back to 14. I'm wondering if there could be a possible short at starter? though it starts without hickup every time. Besides the rectifier or stator, what could possibly drain the batter this fast? maybe a short in the fuel pump wiring? Bad grounds don't typically drain batteries in half a minute? Something is shorting battery directly to ground, intermittently, and I'll be damn to figure it out.

But this is the second battery in 3 months. It's almost as if something is shorting out completely, but intermittently after it's been running hot for awhile. It wouldn't be so bad if the fuel pump didn't die as well. I take it the pump probably needs at least 11 / 12 volts to run. Again, I haven't often seen a ground problem happen only after extended heat/load time, so I'm at a loss. You might think the battery would keep the bike running for more than a minute even if the charging system went crazy. But because it did happen this fast, it makes me think the stator was causing the quick drain issue. The old stator is out and actually looks pretty good. No obvious burns, though an intermittent short may not be obvious. thanks for the replies folks.

tried squelch settings, and turning CB off, but I would think setting squelch too low/high would kill FM completely if that were the case. But I can still hear static. I even thought it might be antenna adjustment, but that didn't do anything.

87 venture, CB and AM radio work. FM makes static noise, but no stations pull in. Possible problem? thanks craig

Battery is new, and high performance unit. thanks

Okay, The bike has 28k on it and it's an '87 royale. Looks great. rebuilt carbs. But now the problem is the darn thing has left me stranded 3 times. I'm seeing voltage gauge running typical range (highest is 14v read on handheld meter) . However, after an hour of driving or so...fan running...etc. hot day...all of a sudden the voltmeter shows no charging (reading 12 v) no matter the rpm, immediate battery drain, fuel pump dies, and I roll into a shady spot to sit for awhile until the bike cools and I know i can start it without the fan coming on. Once it starts, runs fine for some time then it does it again. On a 80 degree day it's not happening. Stator checked out 55 vac across the board, and .7 ohms. when it's running good. Rectifier seems okay, but the manual really isn't clear on the test points. After reading similar stories, (except for the intermittent part) I decided to replace the stator. And if it's not the problem, well, at least now it's something I won't have to worry about. And no, I haven't had the opportunity to run electrical checks when the bike died. which would have been more telling. Now, I have checked and cleaned some grounds, but being an old car mechanic I also think that the main symptom of it only happening after bike gets hot and pulling heavier load with fan, tells me it could be stator wiring breaking down under load and heat, and not a bad ground, which I would think would be more of a consistent problem, and not typically heat related. I also checked continuity of pos / neg from rectifier to frame/battery and it's good. Any suggestions on what else this could be? thanks I'm taking my license road test this friday, so I need to ge this this fixed NOW. LOL.