1990 heritage is possessed

[chesapeakechuck]

I can officially say it now----I hate my bike and it knows it. My x-wife was more reliable.

Here's what's going on now---a year ago I replaced the entire charging system. Three weeks ago I'm running down the freeway and instantly (not gradually) the headlight goes extremely dim and the bike starts to pop and run on a single cyllinder----then it dies all together....I checked the battery (which was a month old) after I towed it home and it was shot. I figured that the battery must have shorted out for whatever reason and that was the problem....not so. Yesterday the bike does the same trick with my fresh battery.....But before it shut down completely I turned it off as not to further injure anything else. I went to check my charging system with the multi meter, but the bike won't start----no spark whatsoever. Can't check the charging system while the bike is not running, so I think I'm SOL. The battery is still ok and reads 12.85 volts and the engine cranks just fine, but what I want to know is if this problem of no spark is possible related to the problem I'm having with the battery's frying in my bike. Anybody have any suggestions? I don't see any obvious shorts anywhere, but I'm a bit concerned that my starter may be grounded out------still, I don't think this explains my problem with my batteries getting fried. If the damned thing would start, I could check the regulator for overvoltage. I'd greatly appreciate anybody's suggestions.

Chuck

[LittleBear]

What ignition system are you running.
I have heard some are sensitive to voltage and will not fire even if the bike turns over.
When my stator fried, it turned the primary oil black and smelled reeeeal good, (eletrical fire put out by oil) Check the primary oil and see if there is evidence of this. If the stator wiring was not installed correctly, it could have already gone bad.
If you have a DMM you can also check the impedance of the stator as a baisc check, not always definitive though. Follow the service manual, You should have an open circuit between the case and either stator pin and almost a dead short between the two pins.

[mlewis]

What may have occurred, as I’ve seen this same sequence of events before, is that the voltage regulator malfunctions causing the electrical system to overcharge battery until it fries and then battery completely shorts out. Second attempt to operate the bike with another battery (with same malfunctioning Vreg) manages to kill the ignition and turn signal modules. As you’ve already been through an electrical system replacement once before, make sure there aren’t any wiring issues like faulty ground connections lurking about – good luck with that!

[chesapeakechuck]

Thanks guys....I'm currently running the stock ignition...I went down to the garage a little while ago and now the bike fired right up after coughing several times. I checked the voltage across the battery while at idle and it was right around 13.5 volts and pretty much remained constant as I went up to 3000 rpm or so. I also checked the output of the stator and it seemed ok as well----at idle it made about 20V and gained 20V for every 1000 increase in RPM up to a max of about 75V.

I'm almost certain that there's a short somewhere on the charging system side of things (not the ignition). I don't know if the stator got loose and is intermittantly shorting, or if the regulator is being tempermental. I checked for a short in the wire that goes from the regulator to the battery, but it checked out OK. I'm gonna try to take the bike around the block here at lunchtime and see what happens.....when the regulator takes a dump, can it do so in a way that allows it to work properly for a while and then crap out for a while? I have no idea how that solid-state sheet works.......

[LittleBear]

Sounds like a bad wire to the ignition or coil.
Might check the white and pink wires to the coil posts, have to pull the coil cover off to see them. Also, the wires to the coil run down the frame behind the coil and can rub on the coil bracket, make sure you do not have any damage to them.
Also, check the plug from the pickup inside the cam cover. The plug should be down by your oil pump. Follow the wires coming out of the cam cover. Make sure it is not corroded or loose.
A fellow member here did have an itermintent regulator problem. Turned out to be loose wires in the regulator where they went into the regulator.
The voltage at the battery should be higher than 13.5 volts, maybe around 14 volts at 3k rpm.
Note, my "93 Heritage ran with a bad stator with a battery voltage as low as 8 volts. (no Lights)
Next would be a bad ground somewhere in the ignition circuit.
Good luck.