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Bad voltage regulator on 2018 FLTRU

6K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  ammacdo 
#1 ·
I was on an overnight trip last weekend and towards the end of the first day I noticed the volt meter was reading higher than normal, around 15 volts. Thought that was strange but didn't have any other problems and was 350 miles from home but only 50 miles from our hotel for the night so I pressed on.

Bike was fine on the way to dinner that night too except for the higher than normal voltage reading. Well, the next morning when I started the bike the radio screen, indicator lights on the gauges, and the gauge back lights all started flashing on and off and the volt meter was swinging between 13 and 16 volts and when it got to 16 that's when the radio and such turned off.

It was 6am on a Sunday and the motor was running fine so I hopped on and rode home. All the main lights worked fine, but the cruise would kick off every time the volt meter swung up to 16. By the time I got home the volt meter stayed pegged at 16 volts unless I let the engine idle.

Called the dealer and had them pick the bike up and they said it's the voltage regulator, which was what I guessed. I bought the bike new in December and it's only got 7k on it. Pretty disappointed but shit happens I guess. Wanted to share this in case anyone with a bike out of warranty experiences these symptoms so they have an idea of what to check first.

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#2 ·
27 years of Harley-riding experience have taught me that regulators are a consumable, like batteries and tyres. They all go south, sooner or later. Then you replace and ride on. No need for ''disappointment''. It's not a design flaw on the M8. It's a perennial weakness in all Harleys post-1969 (BT) or post-1984 (Sporty). Your car's alternator (with built-in reg) will not last forever either
 
#4 ·
I'm only disappointed that it didn't last a year, but it's covered under warranty so not a big deal. If(when) it craps out after my warranty is up I will look into an aftermarket one.

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#5 ·
Damn, 30+ years of riding these things, and I'd never seen a VR go over volt until this week (die sure, but..). Now I've seen two of them do it. This one, and a friends 98 Softail which was measured (Wednesday) at 28 volts at the - not that oddly fried - battery.


On the plus side Spyke is going to warranty the only 8 month old VR on the ST.
 
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#6 ·
I’ve been through 2 regulators on my 10, it has just over 60k miles, the 16 (50k) and the 17 (37k) haven’t experienced any problems. What’s funny is I didn’t buy ESP for the 10 and have had a few problems, I bought ESP for the 16 and 17 and have only had recalls and a few extremely small issues that were easily taken care of.
 
#8 ·
Cycle Electric warns, on their web site, never to locate the voltage regulator near the oil cooler. The reason is the VR will absorb heat from the oil cooler and this will shorten it's life. On the oil-cooled M8's the VR is located directly above the oil cooler, essentially touching it. Since heat rises the VR will get very hot and this will shorten it's life.
 
#9 ·
Well that has been the location of the VR ever since HD has been putting oil coolers on their bikes. The only other option is to buy the side mount oil cooler from Jagg that mounts to the down tube. While Cycle Electrics theory does sounds plausible I'm not sure I buy into it. If you sit in a lot of stop and go traffic I might by into it more but if you stay moving I'm a skeptic of that theory. Would also be hard to prove or disprove as electrical components, especially VR's, are inconsistent on durability.
 
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