Well this is the place for answers so here goes. I was riding yesterday and noticed that my turn signals worked off and on. Parked the bike for about an hour and when I went to start it it had a dead battery. Checked the terminals and the neg was slightly loose. Tightened it up and got a jump to get home. Since I figured it was a weak battery charged it and it started right up this morning. Parked it and within a few minutes the voltage reg is smoking and partially melted. So what caused this to happen? Is this how they go? Can I just replace the regulator or do I need to worry about other things.
Once again thanks for all the great advise I have gotten from this forum.

 

i beleve they just wear out and do wierd stuff,then melt. easy fix, just replace it.

 

Get a multi meter and check your stator also.

 

The screws holding the regulator could have come loose. This could cause arcing. Which would cause heat and melting. As said I would check the stator output. Personally I would go with a OE regulator. Make sure its fastens down tight that's the ground. Some people run a wire to the battery neg terminal to insure a good ground. Good Luck.

 

Agree with the others. Likely to be either stator or regulator. Test it all and then test it again! The service manual has some tests you can do with a multi-meter.

 

Well I am back to tell what I came up with. Replaced the voltage regulator because it was melted but no go. Then replaced the started circuit breaker and starter relay.
Still no go. Checked stator and it was good as was the starter. When I would hit the start button a circuit breaker in the dash would trip and the lights would dim. Then checked for shorted wires which is really difficult but still no luck. Finally I put a meter on each of the circuit breakers and the last one tripped and the bike started right up. Anyway I am going to replace all the circuit breakers but am still a little leery that I can trust this fix. Am I just worrying for nothing?
This forum is the best for answers so I wanted to let you know how it turned out.