1965 FLH charging problems

[sunsetcycle]

I have a 1965 FLH and i'm trying to get the charging system working.  I have installed a new generator and regulator, polarized the generator and its not charging back to the battery.  When i test the voltage at the battery while the bike is running it reads 12.2VDC.  Does the bike need to run for a while first?

[fourthgear]

You are right , its not charging. What RPM's are you checking it ? Should check @ 1500-2000 rpms

What Gen & Reg. did you put in ?

I would check all the connections to make sure they are correct & re-flash the Gen..

The manual has a procedure to check the Gen. out.

I see you don't say any thing about the batt. condition , is it new & good ?

A bad batt. can give bad charging readings .

[Pzokes]

Hope you're not  using that "offshore" generator make by that company Mai Be Sum Spak.

[Hillside Motorcycle]

I'd be leaning in the direction of a Cycle Electric generator/reg set-up.
Always had occasional problems with my '67(same system), and once I went to the CE, all has been good.
Scott

[CraigArizona85248]

+1 CE generators are the best. I have over 90k miles on mine with no issues.

[sunsetcycle]

I installed an accel regulator and cycle electric generator, battery is new.  I just talked to a guy at a diesel shop, he said to remove the wire to the F terminal, start the bike and ground it out with a jumper wire and check voltage at the battery.

[fourthgear]

The shop manual has a complete testing procedure & I hope you have one . I don't have mine in front of me , so I can't post it from memory ( age )

CE is the bomb, I even put there three phase system in my 03 Ultra this year & my one pan has had one of there Gen/reg. systems in for seven years & no problems.

If the reg. is electronic you will not have to reflash the Gen. when disconnecting the Batt., but taking wires off the Gen & reg. ,not sure on that one .

[Pzokes]

I agree that Cycle Electric generators are excellent.  The last generator Sportsters used a Hitachi generator that I've heard was pretty good too.  But, I haven't tried one.

[twincamzz]

I installed an accel regulator and cycle electric generator, battery is new.  I just talked to a guy at a diesel shop, he said to remove the wire to the F terminal, start the bike and ground it out with a jumper wire and check voltage at the battery.

might wanna give Cycle Electric a call & see what they have to say...
CYCLE ELECTRIC INC
8734 DAYTON GREENVILLE PK.
BROOKVILLE OH 45309
Ph. 937-884-7300 FAX.937-884-5542

that or maybe check out the Technical section on their site , it has some pretty good testing information for you :
http://www.cycleelectricinc.com/

Testing System Voltage

" The easiest and fastest way to determine if the charging system is operating
satisfactorily is with a volt meter. Connect the volt meter across the battery
before starting the bike. A fully charged battery should read 12.7 volts at
72degrees F. Anything less indicates a battery that needs charging or has other
problems. Start the bike and allow it to run at a high idle for a minute or two
to recharge the battery after starting if electrical stator was used. (Caution:
take care not to blue the pipes). Turn on accessories used in normal operation
(not turn signals or horn). If you get between 13.8 and 14.8 VDC (depending on
model) you can assume the charging system is keeping up (as long as there is
not a intermittent problem). If the voltage is too low, do a system output test
and compare charging system output to system usage. "


BTW, I've been running one of CE 's DGV5000 Gen/Reg combos on my '61 Pan for the last 3 years with no problems. Spoke with their customer service once & found them to be quite friendly & helpful.

[Hog54]

Im on my 3rd cycle electric regulater in the last 5 years.So cycle electric isnt all that.I thought I was going to buy a fourth a few months ago because it wasnt charging again.But what I found was,I drove through a big storm a few months back and had to drive through a big puddle and after that is when it stopped charging.What I found was that cycle electric uses what looks like a piece of cardboard to insulate the brush holder from the brush plate and that piece of cardboard swelled up from the water and held the brush open and away from the armature.I just pushed the cardboard back down with some needlenose and the brush was free again.Make sure your brushes are touching.And as a last note,accel anything sucks.

[Devo]

Take the gen out and set on the bench. Ground field post with a lead wire to ground on the gen case. Attach jumper cable from a battery ground to the gen case. With the positive attached to the battery touch the other end of the jumper cable to the Armature post.

If it runs like a motor then it will charge. It's good

My daddy showed me that.

[ModelABob]

I've run stock 65A delco gennies for years with no problems.  If there was a problem it was usually caused by me or the normal wear from riding.  On my '65 FL I use to run an Accel electronic regulator, but had a hard time keeping the battery charged.  The battery is the
size used on FXE alternator equiped later model H-D's.  After researching the charging problem for some time.  I finally figured it out:  The Accel regulator was only allowing 10 amps to flow back into the battery.  So, I switched to an '82-'84 Sportster electronic regulator which allows 13 amps to flow back to the battery.  Now no more charging problems.  The '82-'84 Sportster
generators were the last ones H-D used and they were the Hitachi ones.  I've also heard they
are real good gennies, but are not that common to find.  I built my Pan like a Super-Glide and
that is why I switched to the smaller FXE battery.  Looks a lot better then the big FL battery
and works just as good now.  I also picked up the NOS H-D '82-'84 Sportster regulators off of eBay for real good prices.  The original plugs on the regulators that go into the alternators have to be removed and regular ring terminals added.

AMF/Ride & Shoot Safe

[99 EVO Fatboy Rider]

I had the same problem on the 58 duo glide I sold in 1992. I had a eagle iron generator I'd just bought. After testing the generator it's self on my bike, I found out it was wired backwards in the generator and was charging backwards. Check the generator on the bike to see if it's charging, take the wires off when you do this . If it's charging correctly it's your voltage regulator, if indeed your battery is fully charged. It's been to long sense I've had to test a generator so I can't tell you what the output is supose to be.

[black]

just give them a call they are good people  !  if it is there problem they will replace