Driving down the road the battery light & check engin light came on.volt meter dropped to 11 then about 30 miles later batt light went off and check engine light went off and meter went back to 14 volts. Is this the stator or regulator? I'm traveling so changing a regulator wouldn't be a big deal but a stator would.

 

Could be a few different things. Year of bike? There are tests you can do to to the VR verify if it is indeed that.

 

2007 ultra classic I don't have many tools with me

 

Every time I see a guy with these exact symptoms, they ALWAYS want it to be the regulator. But they never get that lucky. They change out the regulator and ride it for a day or two then find out its the stator.

 

I have a 2007 road king and mine did the exact same thing yours is doing.The battery and engine light would come on.Some times for 5 minutes but never very long and every couple days.I thought nothing of it.Put it in the shop to have some polished rotors installed.The tech was on a test drive and seen both lights come on.He ruled it the regulator and its been running well for 10,000 miles.

 

Then you need to find somewhere that does! There are two Stickies in the Tech Electrical section that will diagnose what your problem is - don't just buy stuff without finding the culprit! You will need a multimeter.

 

Can't argue with personal experience so I will just ask a question. If the stator is failing, how does it ever provide 14+ volts again after the first failure? A $10 to $20 VOM from Walmart is cheaper than buying the wrong part. Test the stator by the book but don't delay. The failing part may promote the failure of the other part, then you must replace both.

 

....like others, i had the same problem. i ignored it for awhile but the interval between going back to "normal" got longer. finally, i took it to the dealer. the codes said voltage problem....diagnostics said both high and low voltage problem. replaced the voltage regulator for about $350 or so. that was at 34000 miles. just went past 36000 with no problem on my 2013 FLHTK.

 

Since I always buy a new regulator when I need a stator anyway, I'd start with the regulator first. Cheaper and easier to install (and probably the culprit anyway.)

 

You might just check your connections from the stator to the regulator and then the plug from the regulator to your battery. Check your battery posts for tight fit as well as the ground cable where it connects to the frame of the bike. If any of these are a little loose or worse, that will most likely be your problem. A loose connection in the charging system can over heat your regulator and you know what heat can do to electronics.