"'Round and 'round we go again..." (Electrical Issue)

[Lucien Harpress]

I'm beginning to see why the PO sold this bike in the first place....

I've been having a hell of a time with the charging system on this thing. First, it was an actual charging issue- the tach would cut out intermittently, and with it the whole charging system (lights would dim, etc.). This was sometimes/usually solved after the bike ran for a while. I fixed a few loose connections (so it ain't that), but it still occasionally does it.

But today? A NEW WRINKLE!

Seems now that everything tach/charging related is working AWESOME- except now the headlight isn't turning on right away. Far as I can tell, it's a relay-trip issue, because even if the light doesn't come on right away, it DOES come on eventually, then stays on after that.

The bike still runs fine, and (far as I can tell) the electrical system is still charging. Or maybe it's just running better since the light isn't on... I don't know.

It's been said before that my regulator/rectifier might be going bad, which can sometimes cause this problem. On the one hand, this would be a quick change that seems relatively straightforward. On the other hand, I don't want to drop 100 bucks if I don't have to.

Any words of wisdom?

[bikerphil]

Relay bypass (safe).....

Unplug the headlight relay. Jump the blu/blk and red/yel wires in the plug. Headlight will now come on when the key is turned on. No need for relay anymore. Repair cost, $0.

[cywelchjr]

The only issue is that the actual problem is now just hidden. Mine does the same when the weather is hot out. When it's cold it does just fine. I think it might be something to do with the diode, but I've found it takes at most about 30 seconds, so I'm not going to bother yet.

[Ken Talbot]

something to do with the diode,

In case you're interested in looking into this, here is a link to a post about finding the diode.

[Incubus]

At some point I would suggest you put a multimeter across your battery terminals with the bike running and find out what it is charging at. Ideally you should see 14.5 to 14.7 volts at the battery when you rev and hold the engine above 3000 rpm. Any less (or significantly higher) and you could be looking at a bad reg/rec or a troubled alternator. Do the test with a full charge on the battery or you might get a false high reading.

Patrick