Bike dies during a ride. Starts up again a few days later.

[cWj]

From the service manual: regulated voltage should be 13.5-15.5v @ 5,000 RPM.

I'd look at what the R/R does when revved. If it is decreasing as revs get high, then I believe that is its proper working state.

(others better-knowledged please refute if warranted)

No AutoZone I've ever been to has been able to load test bike batteries (or, at least, they wouldn't try with their machine). They will trickle charge smaller batteries until the green light comes on, but not test them (so they tell me). That said if it is full of electrolyte but won't charge past 13v or only holds charge for a day at a time, it seems like a bad batt. You already have a multimeter, so you can do that test yourself. AZ will give you a $5 store credit for the old one.

If I'd refilled it with electrolyte, my old battery may still have had some life. The last time I had it charged (overnight) trying to start the bike dropped it to 10v pretty quick and it stayed there. I've just decided to go with an AGM. Less fuss, less muss. One less plastic tube on the bike.

(weight reduction!, .3 secs off trap times!, 17% moar HP!!)

[AlexT]

Thanks a ton for guiding me through this, cWj. With a stronger rectifier now and an AGM battery on the way, the charging system should be back up to snuff. Will report back in the next week or so!

[cWj]

No problem. I'm glad you didn't have to replace the stator. However, you may want to go ahead and crack the cover open and test each coil the next time you change the oil, just so you know if it might be getting gimpy.

What part of NYC are you in?

I currently ramble around SI.

[AlexT]

Haha I used to live in the Isle of Staten as well but now live in Brooklyn.

[cWj]

   Ah, lovely Shaolin.

Well, if you ever need some more help or somebody to watch your 6 on a ride, I'm nearby!

[AlexT]

The battery came in the mail and there's some good news but more bad news. Good news is that the charging system should be working fine. Bad news is that the problem still persists. Even worse, is that when plugging in the new rectifier, the new connector they gave me didn't fit so I tried plugging in just the spade connectors and I accidentally sparked the positive and negative wires together  I pulled out the connector from the old rectifier and am now using that.

I guess the good(?) thing to come out of it now is that my issues are exacerbated so I no longer have to guess whether or not I've fixed the problem. I managed to get all the electricals on twice but can't anymore. The only things that currently work on the bike are the neutral and oil warning light. Speedo, tach lights, headlights all don't work. I check the wires at the headlight and get no voltage. However, I try placing the negative probe to the battery terminal and lo-and-behold, there's 12 volts. Same goes with the tachometer. So I'm getting good power now but it's not going anywhere? I check the wiring diagram and it seems like all the electricals are grounded at the battery or the starter motor. The oil and neural light are grounded elsewhere so that makes sense that they're the only things that work.

I'm going to go back and check the connections at the starter relay and the starting motor. I'll check and clean the battery terminals too but those look fine. Is there something else that I should be keeping an eye out for?

[bombsquad83]

Sounds likes you don't have continuity to ground somewhere.  I haven't faced enough electrical issues to know good places to check first.  Maybe inside the starter button switch on the bars?  Trace the electrical system part by part and wire by wire and test for continuity to ground where there should be, and not where there should not be.

My bet is that whatever gremlin you are chasing is also the cause of the burnt up stator.

[cWj]

So the problem with the lights happened after you crossed the pos/neg?

Are you unable to start the bike?

Did you check t e fuse?

I think you might be out of my depth here.

I'm even confused as to this mystery connector you were given.

[AlexT]

It was my rectifier that went bad before actually. I'll do some tests on the handlebar switches. Can a bad switch cause a break in the continuity to ground?

And sorry, forgot to mention, I checked the fuse after this happened. It's still intact and I switched it for the spare just in case there was a minuscule break in the current one. I'm unable to start the bike as it sits now, no electrics work aside from the oil and neutral light. Funny thing is that when I turn the key, I still hear the click of the starter relay (unless there's another relay clicking somewhere?). Does that mean the break in continuity isn't at the starter relay/motor?

The connector that came with it was the right size plug but the hole for one of the spade connectors is hanging towards the right side. It needs to be on the left.

[AlexT]

The problem could've been staring right at me the whole time. I went to do some cleaning on the battery cables and was surprised at how much stuff was dirtying the connections. Then I thought of a reason why that could be. When I bought the bike from the previous owner, it wasn't running. I swapped the battery afterwards and noticed the old one never had the battery acid hose connected. The fumes rusted the battery box and frame around it. All that rust powder/acid fumes must have been flying around and dirtying my connections while I was riding. I cleaned every connection in the rear end of the bike, put it all back, and it starts again.

Still having some power issues at the instrument cluster as my speedo and tach lights were flickering for a second. Didn't have much time during the night to see whats wrong so that'll have to wait. But after a semi-okay battery, bad rectifier, dirty connections, it feels good to have it work again.

[cWj]

Were you moving anything around when they flickered?

Feeling like that would be a connection issue somewhere...

Go for a ride, young man.