I have just been out for a 50 mile ride on my 91 Ultra. When I was returning home on the Motorway/Interstate I noticed that my Passing Lights werent working.
Nothing unusual because they fail fairly frequently but generally work again shortly afterwards .
This time though I looked at the Voltage dial and it was sitting at 10-12 whilst doing 60mph.
I am sure it generally showed 14 when doing 60mph. The Volt.dial wasnt alternating between 10-14 when the Pass.Lights were switched on probably because the Pass. Lights werent working.
I headed home thinking that perhaps the Rotor or Regulator was failing.
When I got home I put the Battery on the Charger thinking that maybe the Battery was faulty. As soon as I put the Battery charger on the Battery showed 12.9v which is what it usualy shows.
H. and Tail Lights had been on during ride and were operating ok.
Any thoughts or advice much appreciated. Bungo.

 

Hi Bungo, I replaced the toggle switches on my 1990 bike last year, because the water had got into one of them. So it could be as simple as that. The fact yours occasionally go off suggests something in that area. Another possibility is you actually have an electrical fault and the reason your lights go off is because your circuit breaker cuts out (by over-heating).

 

+1 on this. The toggle switch doesn't wear out all that often but the leads that the cheap connectors on the wiring harness attach to oxidize to say nothing of the cheap connectors themselves. Clean these up or replace them and that will fix the issues with your passing lights.

As far as your voltage level, check voltage at the battery with the bike off and with it running. 12.8-12.9VDC is what you should get from a sealed battery. 14-16VDC is what you should get with the bike running and the revs up a little over idle.

 

Hi Graham,Im not sure what the "toggle" switches are.Are they the 2 L & R switches for indicating/passing?
Again...not sure where the circ. breaker is for passing lights.
I know there is a Large contact breaker under the Oil/Dip panel but didnt think it was for passing lights.
The other strange thing is....with the passing lights non operational I would have thought that the Voltage Dial would still read 14ish when riding.
Any thoughts? Cheers,Bungo.

 

Hi,Will clean connectors as you suggest.
Battery seems ok at 12.9 after disconnecting from bike.
I will try again with Battery connected and see what the Volt. Dial shows, both riding and static running. Many thanks for response. Bungo

 

Hi Bungo,

By toggle switches I meant the ones that turn on the passing lamps (and anything else you may have as accessories). On my bike they are one either side of the ignition switch, down low in the photo. I have five circuit breakers under the instrument panel, I suspect yours will be inside the fairing.

If your passing lights are switched on but not working the voltage may well drop. Sounds as if you need a factory service manual, if you don't have one!

 

I think when your voltage was reading low that your lights might have been shorting out causing a voltage draw. Disconnect them & run your bike again. If everything is normal, rip out all light wiring for those riding lights including switches & relay's and do all brand new wiring.
Keep us posted!
Hatch.

 

I fired/started the Ultra up today and the V.Meter was charging at 11-12v (idling).
Revving up a bit the V.Meter showed 12-12.5v.
The turn Signal Lights still inoperative.
The H.Lights and Rear lights were working ok.
I killed the engine after running for approx. 10 mins.
The Battery charge was low and unable to fire/start sthe bike again.
Using my Auto Battery with auto running I connected Jump Leads to Ultra Battery.
Hallelujah!!! Everything works inc.Turn Signals. Charging rate returned to 14v.
Im wondering now if the Battery (2 yrsold) is ******* or perhaps the V.Regulator malfunctioning? Any advice/ideas much appreciated. Bungo.

 

Charge your battery & have it load tested. I think you have a bad or dirty connection in your charging system or your stator is weak. The stator should have pushed your volt meter up to over 13 volts if it was pushing power properly.
A motorcycle battery can not handle the amps coming from a running car. next time you boost it, don't run the car engine!

 

Thanks for that advice h.man. I wasnt aware that the car running while boosting bike battery was a problem,ie.12v-12v.
The Stator was renewed about 1 year ago but I know they can be faulty at any time.
Will have Battery checked and go from there. Bungo.