I've got an intermittent charging problem that stranded my bride and me yesterday. Took a 100 mile trip and lost charging after intermittnet on/off loss. Had my brother come with a trailer, got it home and started charging normally again. I've been having this problem for a few weeks now and thought I had fixed it by moving the wires around at the regulator..Shop mgr. at the stealership thinks my stator is going out, it seems to be heat related. anybody else had a problem like this? It's a 2004 Ultra with 26,500 mls.

 

I rode my RK several times before realizing the charging system wasn't working. Then, I would test it and it seemed to be charging but later after a ride it wasn't. So, I connected a digital voltmeter set to a.c. volts to the stator wires by piercing the wire jackets with straight pins, set a high idle with the thumb screw and walked away. After about 5 - 10 minutes the engine sped up and the meter showed zero volts! When I removed the stator I found that the wires were burned to a crisp where they connect to the wires that exit the primary. It would charge until the connection got hot.

The new stator has been upgraded a couple of times and I hope it will last. If H-D used a three phase stator instead of the lawnmower type single phase stator it would be much more reliable. Its not hard to change but you will need a manual, a torque wrench and an impact for removing bolts (only).

The regulator can't overwork the stator (unless it completely shorts out and that is not likely) so don't let anyone sell you a new regulator. If the charging voltage shows about 14 volts after replacing the stator the regulator is OK. Engine RPM is what controls the output of the stator.

 

Thanks for the input..took the Ultra to the dealer today and he seems to agree with you on the stator problem. Also, he did finally admitt htey have been having problems with the valve guide seals causing oil comsumption and is going to replace those(still under the 2 year warranty). It helps to get input from fellow HD riders...Thanks