Tail light flickering

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Regular Guy

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Ok guys, fix one issue and another pops up. Maybe this one is no big deal but I noticed that my tail light flickers when I start the bike and grows brighter as I rev it up. It's a new LED tail light if that helps the diagnosis. I never noticed it before but I have the bike parked next to a wall and saw it shining off the wall and flickering.

Also, the battery won't start the bike if I let it sit for more than a day. I have to keep the tender connected. When I bought the bike back at the end of February, the guy said he just put a new battery in it. So........what's the diagnosis? Bad battery? Bad rectifier? Bad stator?

I hope it's something easy, lol. I'm growing tired of this trend and I've only put maybe 60 miles on the damn thing!
 
Some kind of draw from the battery if it needs to stay on a tender. There is a easy test to tell that, pg 283 of the clymer manual if you have one. I was just reading it.
Basically disconnect your negative from battery and run your multi meter from negative post to the disconnected negative lead that is still attached to frame ground. Should read .1 mA. Or less.
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The flicker is something to do with the led prob not hooked up to proper relay?

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Bad ground? I had one of those cheesy oval cat eye LED lights, it flickered due to a bad ground. Once I got it working, half the LEDs in the taillight circuit failed. I took it apart and tossed the LED board. Put in a socket for a light bulb.
 
Bad ground? I had one of those cheesy oval cat eye LED lights, it flickered due to a bad ground. Once I got it working, half the LEDs in the taillight circuit failed. I took it apart and tossed the LED board. Put in a socket for a light bulb.

Was it the Motorcycle Mods conversion kit that you had? That's what I installed.
 
Charge the battery and have it load tested.

Start the bike and check DC voltage at the battery. If it's low it could be the RR and/or stator.

If the DC voltage is low, check AC output from the stator.

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No, just some cheesy cateye light I got off Ebay following someones advice that it was a good light...
Maybe I just got a bad one, but the damn thing shone with the same intensity from both the brake and tail circuits.
I had to put in a resistor to drop the voltage to dim the tail light. Then the board failed, and the LEDS went out..
With the way my bike is charging now, I have no qualms about running old school filament bulbs in it.
I scarfed a socket out of an old light I had, and fastened it in the cateye, after tossing the LED board, it works fine.
That being said, in all fairness, it had a great chrome case and a high quality lens, so with the filament bulb it's perfectly satisfactory..
 
A bad R/R can discharge a battery. The current draw test is a good idea. But start with your battery. Fully charge it, disconnected from the bike all night, and off the tender all night. It should read minimum 12.5 volts. Higher for a recently bought battery. +1 to a load test. You can check it yourself by cranking the starter for 8 seconds or so and observing voltage. below 10.5 volts, the battery is N/G.
 
A bad R/R can discharge a battery. The current draw test is a good idea. But start with your battery. Fully charge it, disconnected from the bike all night, and off the tender all night. It should read minimum 12.5 volts. Higher for a recently bought battery. +1 to a load test. You can check it yourself by cranking the starter for 8 seconds or so and observing voltage. below 10.5 volts, the battery is N/G.

Okay, thanks for the great tips as always gents! Now, to sound like a TOTAL idiot, what is R/R? :ummm:
 
RR = rectifier regulator.

The stator windings create AC voltage.

The rectifier converts AC to DC.

The regulator maintains the voltage in an acceptable range.

The battery is a storage tank.

The battery, stator, and RR all work together as a system.

If your battery is going dead, it's wise to check the system and not assume it's just a dead battery. It could be caused by other things.

1. Voltage draw with key off.
2. Bad regulator.
3. Bad stator.

Of course, it's very possible the battery alone is the problem. But, if it's a fairly new battery you should investigate further.

A proper charge and load test confirms battery condition.

A volt meter confirms no voltage draw, key off.

A voltmeter confirms proper RR output.

If RR output is incorrect it could be the RR itself or, the stator could be bad.

If the stator is suspect, you may want to look closely at the plastic connector between stator and RR. It is a common issue on older vmax. Check for any sign of melting or corrosion.

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Yes it's "regulator/rectifier." It regulates voltage while changing alternating current to direct current, which it then sends to the battery.
 
RR = rectifier regulator.

The stator windings create AC voltage.

The rectifier converts AC to DC.

The regulator maintains the voltage in an acceptable range.

The battery is a storage tank.

The battery, stator, and RR all work together as a system.

If your battery is going dead, it's wise to check the system and not assume it's just a dead battery. It could be caused by other things.

1. Voltage draw with key off.
2. Bad regulator.
3. Bad stator.

Of course, it's very possible the battery alone is the problem. But, if it's a fairly new battery you should investigate further.

A proper charge and load test confirms battery condition.

A volt meter confirms no voltage draw, key off.

A voltmeter confirms proper RR output.

If RR output is incorrect it could be the RR itself or, the stator could be bad.

If the stator is suspect, you may want to look closely at the plastic connector between stator and RR. It is a common issue on older vmax. Check for any sign of melting or corrosion.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Yeah I just ran into that issue like two days ago with the plug from stator to rr. I knocked all the road grime off the plug to begin exposing the stator wires for a/c volt test from stator. But first was gunna check dc charge at battery so I fired it up and was getting a jumpy reading at the battery from 13.7 volts down to quick jumps of like 9 volts.
As I stepped back to ponder the intermitten and irregular charging smoke began pouring out of that plug. So I shut er down and callled Bill. He said that was a common hot spot and I could eliminate the plug with connectors, posi lock, was his recommendation and I should be good.
Stock rr is rite behind left rear footpeg.
Locate that plug and see if it has signs of heat. Mine was heat welded together and I had to break it to expose wire ends.
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Fyi what everyone made real clear to me DON'T let the three white wires from the stator short out while bike is on it will or can fry your stator.

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That one was toasted nicely, Brad. If you can't get PosiLocks, shoot me a text with your address, and I'll send you some. The condition of that plug definitely could have been a large part of the problem.

4012941 is the part number for the SH775 Series regulator from Polaris. If you go that way to get one, be sure it's genuine. It will say SH775 on the flat rear surface. Eastern Beaver sells the plugs for the unit, already wired.
 
That one was toasted nicely, Brad. If you can't get PosiLocks, shoot me a text with your address, and I'll send you some. The condition of that plug definitely could have been a large part of the problem.

4012941 is the part number for the SH775 Series regulator from Polaris. If you go that way to get one, be sure it's genuine. It will say SH775 on the flat rear surface. Eastern Beaver sells the plugs for the unit, already wired.
Thanks Bill I havnt got around to any parts stored yet to look but I don't see them being hard to find locally.
Are newer model vmax RR a good option, or are they shunt type regulators too? I only ask because I assume they could be located on same spot. Since I don't have COP I don't have the room under seat and not really wanting to put it in tool slot. Did I have any other location options for upgraded RR?

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Okay fellas, here's an update. I have followed the wires from the R/R and checked them as best as I can and they all seem to be in good order. No corrosion, no melted wires. Once I get some more time, I'll round up my multi meter and try some of the above checks. I will say that they didn't put that R/R in an easy location to access did they?
 
Okay fellas, here's an update. I have followed the wires from the R/R and checked them as best as I can and they all seem to be in good order. No corrosion, no melted wires. Once I get some more time, I'll round up my multi meter and try some of the above checks. I will say that they didn't put that R/R in an easy location to access did they?
My issue was the plug from stator to regulator. How did that look?

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