Charging Issue or Something Else?

Hello everyone, and thanks for letting me join!

I have had the privilege of owning my 2013 Rocket since 2014 and i’ve loved every moment of it! I have kept things (fairly) stock with a couple minor mods (EMGO Chrome Bell Megaphone Muffler install, Triumph brand fog lights, Viking bags, etc.). Ive noticed about a couple months ago that my battery keeps dying. I usually keep it on a trickle charger during the winter months and have never had this issue before.

That being said, this leads me to believe that either:

A.) Stator is bad
B.) Regulator/Rectifier is bad
C.) Bad battery
D.) Something else that i have no idea about

I replaced the battery about a month ago so i don’t believe its that.

I tested the stator plug going to rectifier with multi-meter and did not get any “OL” readings on any 3 phases so I don't believe its that.

I’ve done a dynamic test with the motorcycle running and read 12.3V at battery terminals. I also disconnected cable from R/R that leads to battery and tested rectifier with meter and it also reads 12.0-12.3V, which, to me, means the R/R is to blame.

I just replaced R/R with an OEM one from Parts Giant: RMStator Regulator/Rectifier (part #413676-29324992) that was gifted to me by my old man. (Why i haven’t bought Suzuki r/r upgrade yet). I did the same test with motor running and leads on the 2-points out of R/R now read 14.7V. I put everything back together and started bike up to measure load at battery terminals and its still reading 12.1-12.3V.

Is this normal? I took my bike to work today and noticed the last couple starts (out of 4 total for the day) are sounding weaker than the previous, which was a noticeable symptom before all this started.

I’m at a loss and concerned the issue has not been resolved. I would appreciate any feedback/advice where to go from here.

Thanks from Colorado!

Id go back to r/r, if youre running and dont see charging at battery then a ground is messed up somewhere, check ground plug (1 pin connector beside battery box, above r/r, if grounds are good everywhere, block too, then that r/r may have fried adter your initial 14.7v which is a little high, but it was charging until it wasnt, as long as your stator checks good like you did, id go back to r/r. Being able to start bike 4 times and get home is strange if not charging some, a good battery loaded up will get you about 20 minutes if not charging. Plenty r/r floating around on forum. Off brand r/r except the shindigan we use as the upgradei believe decosse said years ago something like not a good idea, its in his shindigsn upgrade threads. Make sure the ems relay cuts off after turning key off about 30 seconds and you will feel it click turning off, if it does not click cutoff it will drain battery. Im betting r/r but a few ideas.

Kevin frazier said:

Id go back to r/r, if youre running and dont see charging at battery then a ground is messed up somewhere, check ground plug (1 pin connector beside battery box, above r/r, if grounds are good everywhere, block too, then that r/r may have fried adter your initial 14.7v which is a little high, but it was charging until it wasnt, as long as your stator checks good like you did, id go back to r/r. Being able to start bike 4 times and get home is strange if not charging some, a good battery loaded up will get you about 20 minutes if not charging. Plenty r/r floating around on forum. Off brand r/r except the shindigan we use as the upgradei believe decosse said years ago something like not a good idea, its in his shindigsn upgrade threads. Make sure the ems relay cuts off after turning key off about 30 seconds and you will feel it click turning off, if it does not click cutoff it will drain battery. Im betting r/r but a few ideas.

Click to expand...

plus 1

Kevin frazier said:

Id go back to r/r, if youre running and dont see charging at battery then a ground is messed up somewhere, check ground plug (1 pin connector beside battery box, above r/r, if grounds are good everywhere, block too, then that r/r may have fried adter your initial 14.7v which is a little high, but it was charging until it wasnt, as long as your stator checks good like you did, id go back to r/r. Being able to start bike 4 times and get home is strange if not charging some, a good battery loaded up will get you about 20 minutes if not charging. Plenty r/r floating around on forum. Off brand r/r except the shindigan we use as the upgradei believe decosse said years ago something like not a good idea, its in his shindigsn upgrade threads. Make sure the ems relay cuts off after turning key off about 30 seconds and you will feel it click turning off, if it does not click cutoff it will drain battery. Im betting r/r but a few ideas.

Click to expand...

Thanks Kevin! I’ll check for bad grounds sometime this weekend. I’ll also check the r/r too and see if i can find anything unusual.

Appreciate the advice!

Welcome from South Australia

Thanks all for your help. After digging further, I found that it was, in fact, the stator. I disassembled the bike and found a charred, crispy, burnt-up stator. After installing a new OEM one via Triumph Dealer, I hooked everything back up and now readings are back to normal!

Again, thanks everyone for your input!

P.S- I apologize if this topic was posted in the wrong forum thread!

Medcardie719 said:

Thanks Kevin! I’ll check for bad grounds sometime this weekend. I’ll also check the r/r too and see if i can find anything unusual.

Appreciate the advice!

Click to expand...

Just because a battery is new doesn't mean its good. I bought a battery that went bad in a few months. Branded Energizer it wasn't the cheapest but it was the worst. Saw one sitting behind the service counter at the dealer and asked the service writer about it and he said they were the worst he's seen.