Voltage regulator fails

(11/10/2013) I've had problems recently with the oil temperature gauge and oil pressure gauge. So when the voltage gauge started showing low readings, I jumped to the optimistic conclusion that maybe the gauge was flaking out. Wrong. I rode it over to Mike Russo's house this afternoon and watched the needle slowly drop from 11V to 10V to 9V to 8V.

We checked the gauge connections. They were fine. So we decided to go for a ride. Hey, it was a beautiful afternoon, perfect for riding. I hit the starter button and it became immediately clear that it was not the gauge. The bike would not start.

Fortunately, Mike had a spare battery--yes, Mike seems to have a spare everything in his garage--and we replaced my battery, hoping that was the problem though we were very skeptical. I have learned that even in the face of skepticism, however, try the simple solution first.

The replacement battery allowed us to start the bike but the voltage gauge was still reading only about 10.5V. So, we went for a short ride to see if the stator would bump up the charge. It did not.

We decided it wasn't likely the stator causing the problem because I've had a stator fail on this bike before. When a stator goes, it tends to go slowly and revving the engine will usually cause the voltage needle to move up a little. It wasn't budging in this case. That left only the voltage regulator as the suspected culprit.

Mike called the Raleigh dealership. We described the symptoms and what steps we had already tried and Carl at the parts counter agreed that it was probably the voltage regulator. He had one in stock. It would cost me $217. Mike asked him if that was the gold plated version, because we didn't need that one. No, $217 would buy us the stock model (HD part number 74505-06).

We drove in Mike's truck to Raleigh and purchased the new voltage regulator. We opened the box and found one large part. No wrapping paper, no instructions. Our first thought was hey, this is good, right? No instructions and it has only two simple connections. How hard can this be? (Advice: never ask that question out loud; you're cursing yourself.)

In order to get my old voltage regulator off, we first had to remove the pretty chrome cover. Two small allen-head bolts were all that stood between us and getting the voltage regulator off. I removed the right bolt. It was hard to get off because someone had applied copious amounts of Loctite. Then we went after the left bolt. Forty-five minutes later we got it off. I'll spare you the details, but the process involved vice grips, drill bits, various other tools, and plenty of cursing.

After installing the new voltage regulator, we located some new bolts and cut and ground them to the needed size for fastening the chrome cover. No Loctite!

Here's a tip from Carl the parts guy: before you install the new regulator, clean thoroughly the area on the frame where the regulator bolts to the frame. This is because this is the ground connection for the device and you want as clean a connection as possible.

The bike is now running great with the stator properly charging the battery and powering the entire bike. The left LED turn signal is now fully lit as well, an unexpected bonus. (Previously, the lower half of the light would not come on due to insufficient voltage. It only fully illuminated when activated as a blinking signal.)

As usual, I have Mike Russo to thank for saving me from running off to the nearest Honda shop. He also did most of the work getting the old regulator off. Thank you Mr. Russo!

And as always, keep the shiny side up.

-The Long Rider

Is the problem with actual oil pressure or with the oil pressure gauge?

(11/5/2013) Ever since my ride to Key West last year, I've noticed that my oil pressure gauge has read much lower than the 30 psi (or thereabouts) I'm supposed to have at normal operating engine speed. The first question to ask, of course, is my oil low? Well, it was a little actually when I checked in Key Largo. But it took only a quart, which was not nearly enough to explain why the needle was falling to practically to zero at times.

Last summer, after I got back from Florida, I asked a couple of friendly mechanics about this. They suggested that because I was using synthetic oil (Amsoil) the pressure was reading so low because even for 20W50, it got really thin when hot. No, I wasn't buying that explanation.

The pressure/pressure reading was too low for one of two reasons: (1) the oil pump wasn't doing its job, or (2) the gauge was wrong. Possibility one was scary and potentially very expensive, but less likely. Jimmy Winters had my lower engine torn apart just a few years ago and said the oil pump looked fine.

I decided to start with the gauge. Here there were three possible causes of a faulty reading:

1. malfunctioning gauge (shown in the photo; HD part no. 75032-99B);
2. short in the wire to the oil pressure sender unit; or
3. malfunctioning sender unit (HD part no. 74438-99A).

Given that my oil temperature gauge was so easily affected by rain, I decided to replace the oil pressure gauge first. As usual, I went over to my friend Mike Russo's to perform the work, which turned out to be very fortunate because we found the use of 10-inch needle nose plyers very helpful, and I don't own plyers that long. After exceeding our patience several times, we managed to get the old gauge out and the new one installed.

Disappointment ensued as the new gauge seemed to register only slightly higher readings than the old one. I then concluded it must be the sender unit. As soon as I got home, I logged onto eBay and purchased a new oil pressure sender unit.

How hard can it be to replace? You can see the pressure sender unit mounted on the right front of the engine. There it is. I even found a very helpful video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmz12jw6W9Y. As usual, with a Harley, it's only easy if you have the right tool(s). A socket won't work, nor will an open end wrench. The maintenance manual calls for a 1-1/16" crow foot. And, friend, that is your only real option. Here's the problem though: most crow foot sets--especially for a 3/8' drive ratchet--go up to 1". I've now been outbid multiple times for single 1-1/16" crow foot attachments. Seems others have my problem too!

The new sender unit arrived in the mail, but I had no way to put it on. Turns out that's OK. The gauge now seems to be correctly displaying the oil pressure. I guess it just needed time to acclimate to the bike. So, let me know if you need a Harley-Davidson oil pressure sender unit for the touring models. I've now got a spare.

I also now have a new 1/2" drive ratchet set with a 1-1/16" deep socket that I now know will not fit past the frame onto the oil pressure sender unit. C'est la vie!

Next up: the voltage gauge

And now my voltage gauge is flaking out. I think we may have dinged a wire on it when we were replacing the oil pressure gauge. At first I thought my stator might be going again, but the needle jumped too fast from 10 to 14 volts for that to be likely. I've had my stator burn out and once that happens, it's hard to get the voltage up past 12V and then 11V and then 10V, etc. It's a gradual process of decline.

I already can't wait for winter to be over!

-The Long Rider

Update on Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 5:55PM by Michael A. Uhl

(10/5/2014) Well, I finally replaced the oil pressure sender unit today. On my ride back from Hendersonville yesterday, the oil pressure gauge dropped almost to zero leaving me to wonder whether or not my oil pump was failing or the sender unit was finally giving out.

It was the sender unit. Amen. I needed that 1-1/16" crow's foot to get the old one off and new one on. Here's a tip for you: break the soft part of the unit off on the old one if you can. I did and it allowed me to get a deep well socket on the old unit. That made removal a heck of lot easier. Be very patient installing the new sender unit. The metal is soft and will strip easily of you don't seat the crow's foot wrench properly.

Another old part gives out...

A big advantage of owning a full "bagger" is revealed in the name itself: the Tour-Pak (fiberglass "bag") mounted on the back of the bike. It's a large piece of luggage that comes in handy, even for the commute to work. It's so easy to drop my bag in there on the way out and then swap the bag for my helmet when I get to work.

After many years and thousands of miles, the metal gave out at the points where the side bolts screw into the bracket (HD Part No. 53801-98). In the photo at left, the right side of the bracket came apart completey while the left side held together with a crack half-way through the tube.

I got a price quote at the dealer in Raleigh and it would have cost me over $90 to replace it, with a second trip to the dealership to actually pick up my order. On eBay, I found a used bracket in good condition for $35 with an additional charge of $14.50 for shipping. For that $14.50, I get the bracket delivered right to my door. (Of course, the risk with buying the used product is I have no idea how many miles are on it, and thus the degree of metail fatigue it may have experienced.)

I'd like to thank my friend and fellow rider Mike Russo, who helped me make a temporary repair on the damaged bracket while it was still on the bike. He drilled holes forward of the cracked points and gave me two additional bolts to hold the bracket on until I could get the new (used) one.

This certainly has been the year of getting to work on my bike in so many places. Next up: the oil pressure gauge and new brake pads up front.

As always, keep the shiny side up!

-The Long Rider

BikeSafe NC and your local police department

Here's a great program for riders in North Carolina: many local police departments in our state offer a free, day-long riding instruction course called BikeSafe NC.

My friend and fellow Harley rider Mike Russo and I spent yesterday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m., with local police officers learning to improve the safety aspects of our riding skills. (We did not spend time on performance topics, for example.)

As part of the BikeSafe NC program, the Cary Police Department hosted the course at their headquarters on Wilkinson Avenue off Academy in the heart of Cary. Several of their own "motor officers" teamed with motor officers from the Apex and Holly Springs police departments in giving nine of us riders a combination of classroom instruction and assessments from two rides, a short one in the morning and a longer ride in the afternoon

During the morning session, one of motor officers pointed out that the financial cost of a single fatality--in addition of course to the emotional cost to surviving friends and family--is more than $1M. The state of North Carolina thus figures that investing some money in rider safety programs makes for a good investment. I agree.

Sergeant Mike Conwell, of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and BikeSafe NC's statewide coordinator, also joined us in the classroom and rides. 

From 9:00 a.m. until about about 11:00, we sat in a classroom. Corporal Keith Perkins of the Cary PD started us off with a couple of presentations on elements of motorcycle accidents--including graphic videos--such as causes, police investigative techniques, and prevention techniques. Accident prevention was the overarching theme of the day.

Just after 11:00, we left the classroom for a 7-10 mile ride on city streets, each rider paired with a motor officer. I was fortunate to have Officer Darrell Roberson of the Apex PD. Even though I deviated in a huge way from the prescribed route, he just rolled with the whole experience--pun intended--and we made it back right on time for lunch with the rest of the group. It turns out that many of the other pairs of riders did their own thing as well; they just weren't as creative as I was.

At the end of the ride, Ofc. Roberson gave me some tips on how to improve my riding safety. For example, I was a bit nervous having a police officer for a riding partner and I was not as fluid in using the width of my lane as I should have been. I was working too hard to keep the entire right side of the lane open for Ofc. Roberson. In this program, the riders should ride as if there is not another rider behind them. As Ofc. Roberson pointed out to me, he was maintaining a safe following distance in anticipation of my moving across the width of the lane.

In the afternoon, we had more classroom instruction. However, at around 3:30 p.m. we got to do a 60+ mile ride, taking about 90 minutes. It was great! How much fun is it to ride with your own police escort?! We rode south towards Pittsboro on US 64 and then over by the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. We came back on US 1 and Old US 1 into Apex.

At the end of the ride we arrived back at the Cary Police Department headquarters and Ofc. Roberson gave me a verbal and written assessment of my afternoon ride. He was gracious and direct: I took his morning instructions and applied them very well. He rated my riding skills very highly.

Even though I have 30 years and approximately 200,000 miles of riding experience, I still enjoy learning from qualified instructors how to ride more safely. Many thanks to the Apex, Cary, and Holly Springs police departments for participating in this great program. I highly recommend it to all riders.

Keep the shiny side up!

-The Long Rider

Oil Temperature Gauge Comes Back to Life

In August, my friend Mike Russo and I rode to Mt. Airy for the North Carolina State HOG Rally. I told him it wasn't likely to rain, and if it did, it would be light and brief. You can already imagine how this is going to turn out.

The rally itself was a bit of a disappointment so I suggested we ride further north up US52 to Fancy Gap, Virginia where we would get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south. We could see some scary looking clouds ahead to the north and northeast, but I was confident that as we turned west and then headed south on the Parkway we would be high and dry. Wrong. We did encounter some light rain for a few miles but it ended. However, there were even scarier-looking clouds to our south--the direction we were headed. So, we got off the Parkway at NC16 and headed south into North Wilkesboro.

At the bottom of the descent, it started raining harder and harder until it was pouring on us as we entered the town. We managed to reach Crossroads Harley-Davidson on US421 where they had a nice large porch on which we could sit with other bikers happy to be out of the downpour. What happened next will be a dispute between this Mike and the other Mike for many years to come. To make this story short and avoid further controversy, I will just say that we ended up back on the road in the pouring rain and got soaked down to the undies before reaching Greensboro, NC--still an hour from home.

As we were enduring our shower and lightning show, I happened to glance down and notice that my oil temperature gauge (HD part no. 75265-04) was maxed out at over 350°F. I almost freaked out but quickly realized that given that I was riding through a sea of rain, it was very unlikely that my engine had gotten anywhere near that hot. But, given my history with these air cooled behemoths, I was panicky for a few seconds. I got my eyes back on the road and began to wonder what it meant. A few minutes later, I glanced down again and my oil temperature gauge needle was all the way over to the left at zero. Boy, was I relieved; the gauge had gone bad.

My next emotion was irritation that a three-year old gauge had now become useless. A few minutes later, I looked down again and watched the needle flip from left to right and then back to the left. I laughed. Hey, at least it had gotten entertaining: it allowed me to take my mind of the near death experience I was having with the weather.

Anyway, I am happy to report that after many weeks of appearing to be dead, my oil temperature gauge has come back to life. The picture I've included with this post is one I took with my iPhone earlier today. That 190-200°F it indicates is what I suspect my actual oil temperature--in the pan--was at that moment.

The lessons here are that (1) heavy rain and Harleys don't go well together, and (2) if a gauge appears to be dead, don't be too quick to replace it. Leave it be for a month or two and see what happens. Also, based on my experience with my last bike, a 2000 Road King Classic, and this bike, a 2006 Electra Glide Classic, exposure to heavy rain for extended periods of time also damages the air intake manifold seals/gaskets (HD Part No. 26995-86B, 2 x $2.99 each). By the way, check out this great video on Youtube for properly replacing your air intake manifold gaskets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDMjl5O66BM. Leaking gaskets may be why my fuel mileage has been so bad, I'll let you know if the new seals Rommel put on make any difference.

Now, if I could only figure out what's going on with the oil pressure gauge! That's a story for another time.

As always, keep the shiny side up!

-The Long Rider