Issue with Pitbull

Energy One
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jeffwest5599

Member
I posted this in the General section as well so I could hopefully get some help.

I have a 2001 Pit Bull. The other day, I was driving and out of nowhere it started to sputter. When I gave it gas, it would just accelerate, then cut out and accelerate and cut out. iI did this until it eventually died and would not start. Almost like it was running out of gas or someone was disconnecting the battery and then hooking back up. The low beam headlight also went out. Brought it home and checked everything over. I thought it might be a battery issue and it was probably due for a new one any way so I went with a new battery. It is not as bad but is still doing it. I then checked the battery and it is low and low enough where it will not start the bike. Put it on the trickle and it says battery is only 25%. Apparently the battery is not charging. Additionally, my signals now only work every once in a while. The starter also is very weak. I was wondering if it might be a regulator and should this be my next check. It has the Thunderheart control module so if I read correclty this should not be an issue. If not, is iginition the next thing. Bike only has 10,00 miles on it. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff
 
J

jeffwest5599

Member
Issues with Pit Bull

I put in new plugs and they are good. One post said check the attachment. What do you mean by attachment.

Jeff
 
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jeffwest5599

Member
Issues with Pit Bull

One other question. I have read 100 different ways to check the voltage regulator. Which is the best way to see if I have an usse with this.

Jeff
 
W

woodbutcher

Mr. Old Fart member #145
Staff member
question to start with. where you bought the new battery, did they just take it out of the box and give it to you or did they put it on a full overnight slow charge to get it up to peak????? get the new one load tested, may not be any better than the old one.
 
easy riders

easy riders

Member
check these:THIS SAYS WHAT I THINK AS WELL, VR IS BAD.
Here is an easy way to test the Voltage regulator on a 2005-2009 if you suspect it is bad. For this test the wire to the battery will be called B+, the two pins out of the stator plug will be called Pin 1 & Pin 2, case will be ground.

1. Disconnect the ground cable from the battery.

2. remove the B+ wire from the circuit breaker.

3. Attach an ohm meter between B+ and ground (by the way the case is clear anodized therefore when measuring ground you need to measure it at the bolts). The resistance should be over 2meg Ohms, or an open circuit depending on your meter.

4. Measure resistance between B+ and Pin 1 or B+ and Pin 2. There should be great than 1megohm, or an open circuit depending on your meter.

5. Measure resistance between Pin 1 and Pin 2. There should be more than 1megohm.

6. Measure resistance between Pin 1 and ground and then Pin 2 and ground. should be greater than 1megohm.

If any of these values are less than specified you have a bad voltage regulator. This is a good test to confirm that it is bad however there has been one time that I did this test, everything measured fine but the VR was still bad. So what this means is if you are less than specified resistance you definitely have a bad VR. If you are not less you may still have a bad VR but should double check the rest of the system before you spend money for a new VR.
 
B

bigdogtech01

Well-Known Member
jeffwest5599 said:
One other question. I have read 100 different ways to check the voltage regulator. Which is the best way to see if I have an usse with this.

Jeff
Click to expand...
It's very easy. Start your bike and let it idle. Using a meter, set it on DC Volts. Test battery with bike at idle first. Then increase your RPM up to no more than 3000 RPM. The meter should be well in the 13.5 volt range at all RPM's. No less than 13.2 VDC and no more than 14.6 VDC.
To test your Stator, with bike off ( not running ) unplug the Voltage Reg. wire from the stator. Set your meter on AC Volts. Place one lead into one side of the stator plug and the other lead into the other side of it. ( having two people for this sometimes helps ) Now, keeping both the leads in the stator plug, start the bike and let it idle. At idle your meter should be reading close to 20 VAC. Increase the RPM by 1000 up to 3000. The meter should read up to around 50 VAC.
 
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jeffwest5599

Member
Issues with Pit Bull

My voltage meter crapped on me when I was doing this so I am going to get a new one. Anyway, I noticed after running it for quite some time and letting it idle, when I put it back on the charger it went down to 25% on the battery trickle charger. It did not charge it while on the bike so I am assuming the VR is bad. When I started all of this, the trickle charger said the battery was at 100%. I will check with a volt meter and see if that is it.

Jeff
 
B

bigdogtech01

Well-Known Member
jeffwest5599 said:
My voltage meter crapped on me when I was doing this so I am going to get a new one. Anyway, I noticed after running it for quite some time and letting it idle, when I put it back on the charger it went down to 25% on the battery trickle charger. It did not charge it while on the bike so I am assuming the VR is bad. When I started all of this, the trickle charger said the battery was at 100%. I will check with a volt meter and see if that is it.

Jeff
Click to expand...
A good percentage of the time it is just the Volt Reg. But, sometimes the stator does go bad or can even sometimes be a problem with the rotor. I have seen the magnets on the rotor come loose and in turn it takes out the stator. Also, if your compensator nut loosens up it can also make it so the rotor becomes loose on the crank shaft and after some time the splines on the rotor wear out and eventually end up with none at all. Any loud noises from the primary? Front side of it?
Also keep in mind. If the stator is bad it can also take out your volt reg. Sometimes you end up having to replace all 3.
Good luck :cheers:
 
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jeffwest5599

Member
Issues with Pit Bull

No noises from front end of the primary It has a 3" open BDL primary on it. I am going to do the voltage check tomorrow and go form there. Hopefully it is just the regulator and That will be it. We will see.

Jeff
 
easy riders

easy riders

Member
you can also measure if the stator is the problem.
Stator: If your motorcycle is not charging, you need to check the stator. Locate the plug for the stator on the front of the engine block. Switch the multi-meter to OHMS range on the lowest setting, usually 10 ohms. With the motorcycle off, read between the 2 pins or holes in the block. These should show continuity. If your meter is accurate you could read 1 to 3 ohms, but cheaper meters will not be that accurate. As long there is continuity it passes this test.
 
J

jeffwest5599

Member
Issues with Pitbull

One other thing. Even on a full charge the starter is weak. The button on the switch housing seems to hang as well. I did not know if that could be sn indicator of anything. The started always hangs if using the instrument housing button but not if I use the plunger on the stater.

Jeff
 
Five Five

Five Five

Well-Known Member
Had the same issue a while back .... bike was acting strange emergency flashers goin on and off ... missing ..cutting out...
went through all my electronics ....rebuilt the carb ...changed plugs ...etc ..

ended up being my spark plug wires
 
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