Recent voltage drop on my 2011 Venture

[megamile]

Last week during a long ride, voltage on my voltmeter dropped from steady 13.9 volts while running (13.4 at idle after starting) to 13.3 at speed and 12.5-12.7 at idle. I noticed change happened when I restarted after a fuel stop. Last fall I replaced ignition, fuses, SCCR, cleaned and dielectric greased all the connectors I could find, only to discover that the battery was bad (Auto Zone and Advance no longer load test batteries, or this you have been much easier). At present trike starts, runs and charges as long as I keep RPMs up. Doesn't seem like enough voltage drain to indicate a short anywhere; if something were grounded out there would be way bigger indications. At present trying to organize troubleshooting; things that come to mind are faulty connector somewhere, bad regulator/rectifier, or bad stator. Have article that tells me how to check stator; all I need to do is find the plug (or maybe last owner cut the plug out and soldered the wires??) but I don't know where to look for that. Ordered a new regulator/rectifier; I have been told that to replace it I need to remove radiator to get at it. I always thought that if the regulator goes bad, it overcharges the system and fries the battery... Last regulator/rectifier I changed came with wires and a plug; this one only came with a socket for one. Does it just unplug, or do I have to get creative? I could really use some advice and maybe a couple of pictures, so I can trace this down before it becomes more serious.

TIA...

[M61A1MECH]

My experience with my Venture was that the regulator went bad and over charged the battery. The regulator should be inside the chin fairing, I did not have to remove the radiator on the Venture, The stock system is plug and play should not require any soldering, just unplug the harness and remove the rectifier, replace and plug back in.

I would inspect the contacts in the plug to be sure they are not corroded or burnt.

Here is a link on the forum for the tech section that should apply to your bike, https://www.venturerider.org/forum/forums/forum/16-royal-star-venture-and-royal-star-technical-library-99-13-read-only/

I never got into the charging system much on the Venture, but my first suspicion for low voltage word be a failing stator/generator, I think with the rectifier/regulator disconnected you can check for voltage coming direct from the stator/generator, the service manual should tell you how to do that, I do know it puts out 3 phase AC voltage, so make sure your meter is on the correct settings.

 

Hope this helps a little bit.

[megamile]

Thank you. I'll be careful. What I read was how to check for shorts and continuity; pretty sure I use ohmmeter settings for that. Do stator wires go direct from stator to regulator/rectifier? If so maybe I can check stator direct from regulator plug...