My friend has a 2012 Tri Glide that was not charging the battery. He assumed the battery was bad and replaced it but he found the the problem remained. This is where I got involved. We checked the voltage regulator and the output was within range but would occasionally drop very low. We then unplugged the Stator from the voltage regulator and checked it with a multimeter and there was no indication of open leads or excessive resistance. We also checked the voltage output of the stator and at idle, it was putting out 17 volts, so we replaced the regulator. Problem remained. Our next step was to check the voltage output of the stator again and this time revved the engine up to 2k and the output fluctuated greatly and then went to OL on the meter so we assumed we had the culprit. We then replaced the stator and the problem remained. Is it possible that when we replaced the regulator, a bad stator fried the new regulator?

 

If you can believe the many posts about a "bad run" of voltage regulators that would be the likely culprit but since you replaced it first the question(s) that comes to my mind is where did you get the voltage regulator and are you sure it is not defective?
With the new stator the likely suspect is again the voltage regulator.
Are you sure the wiring and stator plug is making a good connection?

I've only had to replace one voltage regulator in all of the motorcycles that I have owned and that was on my '13 CVO Ultra at 25,000 miles so that could have been a carryover part from the '12 model year.

Good luck and let us know what the problem was after you guys get it fixed.

 

Once the stator was replaced and the "new" regulator was installed, the battery was charging at 14 but the dropped to 10 after a few miles. We ran through the checks of everything on the stator and everything checked out. We put the old regulator on and had 14 volts at idle, but it also dropped to 11 after a few miles. The new regulator was an inexpensive one bought on Amazon. The "new" regulator was returned and we got a name brand from JP Cycles. So far, voltage output is consistently 14 volts.

 

When you checked the stator with the multimeter did you have it set to AC volts and follow the directions in the sticky?
But you've changed the VR and stator so it's mute at this point. Go through the tests again.

 

The new name brand regulator from JP looks like it fixed the problem. 14 volts at idle and also at increased RPM on a short ride.

 

don't know about your bike but mine (and most) don't charge "at idle"
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-1-a.html
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/elect...sting-2-a.html

 

I believe it was in 2012 when a bad batch of regulators were reported on new bikes.
At that time some individuals on this forum reported the problem.
Makes me wonder if a supply of those units are floating about for sale.