Electrical gremlins. HELP!!

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1978RJC

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Hey guys and gals. Out riding the 86 max yeaterday and it was running great! A few hours in, the bike started losing power and sounded like the the carbs were loading up. Then in heavy traffic, it stalled. Got it fired back up after waiting a few minutes, then it died again. Tried to start back up and the battery was dead. I replaced the rectifier a couple years ago when the same issue happened and all has been well till yesterday. I also noticed that while it was running yeaterday, the headlight was on but the light was pulsing with the engine revs. Thought if replacing the rectifier again, but i wanted to know if anyone out there has had this problem and if so, does it sound as if I may need a stator? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
 
Hey guys and gals. Out riding the 86 max yeaterday and it was running great! A few hours in, the bike started losing power and sounded like the the carbs were loading up. Then in heavy traffic, it stalled. Got it fired back up after waiting a few minutes, then it died again. Tried to start back up and the battery was dead. I replaced the rectifier a couple years ago when the same issue happened and all has been well till yesterday. I also noticed that while it was running yeaterday, the headlight was on but the light was pulsing with the engine revs. Thought if replacing the rectifier again, but i wanted to know if anyone out there has had this problem and if so, does it sound as if I may need a stator? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!



Did you replace the rectifier with another stock one?


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One more thing. I keep having to reinstall the little diaphram in the fuel pump and when it pops out, which it always does, the pump keeps running. Could that be what killed the battery?
 
Steve is right. Too many goofy things seem to go on in Vmax charging systems to guess at the cause. Follow the diagnosis flowchart and you'll come up with the problem quickly.
If it turns out it's a bad regulator, I'd definitely replace it with an SH775 Series type unit. A bit of retiring needed, because it doesn't plug in like stock, but well worth the effort.
 
Bill, it's hard getting old, when your fingers go somewhere besides where you intended. Since I know you are already retired, I think you meant solving the issue while using posi-locks or solder and heat-shrink.



Steve is right. Too many goofy things seem to go on in Vmax charging systems to guess at the cause. Follow the diagnosis flowchart and you'll come up with the problem quickly.
If it turns out it's a bad regulator, I'd definitely replace it with an SH775 Series type unit. A bit of retiring needed, because it doesn't plug in like stock, but well worth the effort.
 
I'd think it was time to buy another vehicle.. That looks like an old Heathkit I built back in the 1960s.
 
I lived not-far from Benton Harbor, MI, the home of Heathkit. It's about as-far to the southwest as you can be, and still be in MI.

My dad was a hi-fi enthusiast in the 1950's and later. He built Heathkits, Lafayettes, Knight Kits, and Dynaco. He also made a Klipsch-style folded-horn speaker enclosure. Klipsch is an Arkansas corporation. Know anyone-else from Hope, AR? Electro-Voice is a MI corporation and they aren't far from Benton Harbor, in Buchanan; Electro-Voice makes great speakers.

It sure sounds like the regulator/rectifier is giving-up the ghost, MaxMidnight's suggestion to use the troubleshooting thread is great advice.
 
Thanks so much fellers!! And Steve, thanks for that algorithm! That will be used for sure!! Y’all are the best! Love this forum!
 
Hey guys and gals. Out riding the 86 max yeaterday and it was running great! A few hours in, the bike started losing power and sounded like the the carbs were loading up. Then in heavy traffic, it stalled. Got it fired back up after waiting a few minutes, then it died again. Tried to start back up and the battery was dead. I replaced the rectifier a couple years ago when the same issue happened and all has been well till yesterday. I also noticed that while it was running yeaterday, the headlight was on but the light was pulsing with the engine revs. Thought if replacing the rectifier again, but i wanted to know if anyone out there has had this problem and if so, does it sound as if I may need a stator? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!


I had this same problem 2 months ago..... all charging & ignition components stone stock, except for 6 month old Odyssey batt. Replaced R/R with FH001 (used), bypassed the connectors, hardwired R/R to batt (with an inline 30 amp fuse). Still having intermittent hot start problems, though it hasn't died on me again. Generator is putting out A/C whenever I check it, but sometimes only seeing 12.8v at idle warm at the batt, around 13.2v at 2,500 rpm...... usually over 13.5 when cold, up to 14.4v at 2,500 rpm.
 
Aw c'mon, it ain't that difficult!

You start at the beginning and work you way through testing in a logical manner to establish the cause.

My diode check reads out in ohms....... Electrosport says volts, so I don't know how those values correspond......... and maybe my dyslexia a bit, but some of the verbiage on exactly which connector you are testing at seems a little muddled.
 

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