My 2004 ultra classic encounter a failure in charging of my battery and the volt meter does not move pass the 10V mark and the battery indicator light came up after a short ride. send the bike to the workshop and after opening the alternator kit, found out that the magnet inside the alternator kit have fallen apart.may i know what is the main reason for the alternator kit assembly to fall apart in my 2004 ultra classic? The existing voltage regulator is working well. my mechanic suspect the stator assy is faulty so we bought a new set of this stator assy and glue back the magnet on the alternator kit but the problems remain unsolve after we assemble the part back. Do we need to replace the whole alternator kit and the voltage regulator in order to solve the problems? recently i had added on an after market inner primary cover and may be the bolt was not tighten at the correct toruqe. Could this be the main reason for the alternator kit to fall apart? Thanks , Ivan

the meter is an amp indicator, therefore wired in line with charger, if batteries are charging and meter is not indicating then the meter is bad. if batteries are full then it will move very slightly when batteries are low it moves more

With the battery fully charged, use a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) to check the output of the charging system. Connect it across the battery, red meter lead to positive, black meter lead to negative. Put the meter's function switch in DC VOLTS, 20 VOLT range. Start the engine and bring it to a high idle of about 1500-2000 RPM. The meter should read 14.5 to 15.0 volts.

If the meter does not read correctly, unplug the regulator where it enters the front of the engine case. You'll be measuring the AC voltage at the engine case side of the plug. Put your meter's function switch in AC VOLTS, 50 VOLT range. Put one meter lead into one metal contact in the plug and the other lead into the other metal contact in the plug. Makes no difference which lead goes to which metal contact. Start the engine and bring it to a high idle. You should read 30 volts or better.

If you do not read 30 volts at the engine, your stator is bad. If you have 30 volts or more at the engine but low voltage at the battery, your regulator is probably bad. This is a simple test and it's accuracy is about 90% or so.

Good Luck
Steve

Ok, let's check the charging system. The battery is easy. Take the battery out of the bike and take it to an automotive parts store. Ask them to load test the battery for you. If the battery is over two years old, it could need replacing.

Once you're sure the battery is good and it is FULLY CHARGED, we can test the rest of the system. You'll need a DVOM (digital volt ohm meter) to check the system. With the battery back in the bike, connect the DVOM across the battery. Red meter lead to the positive terminal of the battery, black meter lead to the negative. Put the meter's function selector switch in DC VOLTS, 20 VOLTS or greater. Start the bike and bring it to a high idle. The meter should read 14.5 - 15.0 volts.

Now, to test the stator, follow the wires from your regulator down to where it goes into the engine cases. Disconnect the connector and look into the engine side of it. You'll see two metal contacts down in there. Set you meter's function selector to AC VOLTS, 50 VOLTS or greater. Start the engine and bring it to a high idle. Touch each one of the metal contacts down in the engine side of the connector with a meter probe. It makes not difference since we're measuring AC voltage at this point. The meter should read at least 30 volts.

Now, if the alternator (stator test) does not put out at least thirty volts, the stator is bad and needs to be replaced. If the alternator does check good but not enough voltage at the battery, your regulator may be the culprit. Make sure all connections are clean and tight and that the body of the regulator is grounded good. Recheck the test at the battery. If it still fails, replace the regulator.

Now, I've seen may problems such as your's that are intermittant. In other words, the problem is here on minute and gone the next. I fought that on one bike for over a year until we finally replaced the entire charging system and fixed it. If your bike proves to be doing that, you may wish to consider that option. Fix the thing and be done with it. I wouldn't buy the rotor, just the stator and the regulator.

Good Luck
Steve