[muaymendez1]

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I was worried that my stator was on the way out because the lights dim even at higher RPM, but I check with a multimeter today and it was charging 14.2 at idle 14.8 at 3k and maybe a glitch but looks like it hit 15v a few intervals.



Should I be worried of another electrical issue

 

[DaveO430]

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You just have to make sure all your connections are good especially the grounds. Take the wiring harness ground loose from the frame and sand the area under the lug and the lug itself. Also the battery ground where it connects to the engine.

 

[chesterwgunn]

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Where does the wiring harness ground connect to the frame??
On a 1200?
thanks
Chester/Chula

 

[DaveO430]

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I think it is right beside the voltage regulator.

 

[suks2bu37]

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My old 1200 did this one time. Come to find out, one battery cell was extremely low on acid. Might want to check it while you are in there cleaning connectors!!!

 

[mikef]

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Yep, dirty contacts at the solenoid, most likely.

 

[exavid]

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When the bike is idling the charging system isn't feeding any power to the battery. The battery voltage will drop a bit when the brake lights are activated. How much they dim is determined by the health and age of your battery. The wiring will effect the dimming only in that it dims the lights all the time so the additional voltage drop from the brake light coming on will increase the dimming. The cure is to make sure the wiring at the battery and the plug and socket are clean and tight as well as the battery being up to snuff. You can stick a voltmeter across your battery and hit the brake; If you see a voltage drop of one or more volts it's time to replace or recharge the battery.

 

[cycleman]

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A couple of ideas. Do a voltage drop test at the battery when you use the starter? If it drops below 10 than most likely battery is poor. You can also use amp meter connected between postive post of battery and the positive cable and see how many amps it putting out. Make sure you have the right scale or you'll fry your meter. A GL1000 only puts out about 3 amps @ 5000 rpm ( according to manual ).

Also check for any voltage difference between battery postive terminal & ground and then put the meter on the postive cable at the solenoid. If there's any difference in readings change this postive cable. I had this problem & even though I took it our & cleaned it real well it still wouldn't read properly once it was under load. Changed this cable & no more problems.

14 at idle seems high to me. If the headlight is dimming when you put the brakes on or a signal light on it sounds like a connection issue, something is feeding back into the system.

Disconnect battery ( you can leave it in the bike ) and let it sit overnight. Go out in morning & check and see what reading you get. A healthy battery will hold 12.5 & higher. The lower this reading the poorer the battery. A new top notch battery will read around 12.7 volts. You can do this test with the battery in the system. If difference in reading something is draining on the battery.

The stock batteires are small, with a less than robust charging system and they don't last long. If they are over 2 yrs old then I would change them.