I actually just talked to the Indy that I use when I'm in over my head or just don't have time but he can't get me in until the third week of May.

 

I told him I'd take the appointment and let him know I was going to keep trying in my spare time. even if I figure out the issue it'll be about time for an inspection and if I'm lucky tires by that time. he's always booked a month out so I figured I better take the appointment while I could get it.

I sent him cut and paste notes of what happened and my thoughts and he said to expect about $150in shop time to diagnose give or take and $60hr after and for whatever needs done.

this has me thinking that I may be in about the same amount to just go through and replace the main suspects piece by piece while I wait. I figure if I do enough searching to be sure it's not just a loose or damaged wire I'm looking at

voltage reg. $100
ign switch. 50
stator. 100
batt cables. 25
fuel *** 75- 175
​​​___________________________
max. 350-450

fuel*** this is the price difference between all ***** fp rebuild kit and separate check valve. vs buying a full kit on Amazon to replace pretty much everything in the tank.

so although I would be going piece by piece even if I was wrong clear up to the last part (lol) I think I would have about the same money involved as paying him th $150 to diagnose and replace one major part like the stator or fuel system parts in the tank.

if I manage to figure it out early on I gain a month of riding this year at the added cost of frustration and loosing some of the very little free time I have. with working 70+hrs every week and the wife and 3 kids at home I need that wind therapy asap

 

Is there anywhere I can find step by step instructions on troubleshooting with the basic test light and multimeter? I'm planning to dig them out first thing tomorrow morning when I get off work and see what I can figure out. Also is there any chance that the electrical troubleshooting info in my Sportster or Dyna manual will help with the basics even if not the exact values? They are Clymer manuals but my Softail manual from Harley doesn't have any of the electrical info in it like was mentioned before. I'm not sure if it is the way the website is set up or my phone but every time I shut my screen off and try to turn it back on to read this thread as soon as I try to scroll it basically turns White and I have to wait a few seconds and then scroll through really slowly if I start to move fast the page jumps around if that makes any sense

 

 

My buddy just went and tested my battery while I'm at work and his tester says the battery is now no good. That was a brand new battery only a couple weeks old and when I went to get the bike the guy said the battery was that was in it was no good.

 

His exact message was

The battery you bought is testing at like 9 volts and when you hit the button to do load test it goes right to bad

considering I got a couple hundred miles out of it running perfectly fine all of the fully charged brand new battery before it started having any problem kind of wondering if it is possible that it was just running off of the battery the whole time without actually charging it. I'm guessing the only way to know would be to put a new battery in it and passed it after each ride to see if it does the same exact thing all over again if I don't get anywhere with a test light and multimeter

 

Fired right up with a fresh battery. I'm going to try to see what I can figure out with a multimeter but I'm thinking the stator isn't keeping up and all the problems will come right back as the battery dies

 

This is what I have for test lights and meters will this work or do I need something different I think the multimeter should work but I have no idea about the test lights

 

Use multimeter, set to 20 VDC (3 clicks CCW from off), red lead to battery positive, black lead to battery negative, record reading. Should be 12.6-12.8 volts key off, +/- a couple tenths. Key on
Start bike, remeasure while holding a fast idle- should read 14.6 volts, +/- a couple tenths. If voltage remains at key off levels, check stator output-regulator input. Set meter to 200 VAC (two clicks CW from off), 1 lead / wire, (color doesn't matter here, just don't short them together) should be somewhere above 26 VAC per 1000 RPM. I use needles to pierce wires, so I can check everything in it's operative state.

 

I took the bike for a short ride and had no issues then stopped at a buddies house and did those tests at the battery and it actually tested on the high side. It honestly has me a little puzzled and although it's great that there isn't a problem there it kind of sucks that I thought I had it figured out and was wrong once again. Another thing I did notice though was that when I flip the two smaller lights on beside the headlight it definitely did bring the meter down in a hurry