Hey Everybody! I'm new to the site, new to the bike, but not new to mechanical and electrical workings, but my 88 has me stumped. Its a 600 by the way.

I bought it from a guy I know, and I know that 'used is unknown' but I trust the guy. He said nothing was wrong. It was his daily ride and he never had an issue.

So this is how the story goes. I rode it without a problem for about 3 weeks. After that, I rode it to work and when I came out, it wouldn't start. I jumped it with another guy's bike at work and rode it almost all the way home. About a mile out (and at the bottom of a hill of course), it totally died. I tried to restart and there was no headlight, horn, or anything else.

When I finally got home, I tested the battery and it came back at 9.6v. I replaced the battery and it ran fine for a couple days and then went haywire again having the exact same issue.

Since I am used to working on cars and not bikes, I'm not used to the reg/rec problem or the stator issues.

I apologize for the long post but I was trying to get everything in. I would be grateful for any help that can be offered. Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like the reg/rec failed to me, it seems to be pretty common with these. You can test it with a multimeter, but mine actually tested ok when it failed so that may not help. There should be a 3-pin and 4-pin connector at the base of the air filter housing. Check for battery voltage between the red/white wire and the green wire. If ok, disconnect the 3 pin connector and check the resistance between one of the 3 yellow wires with the remaining 2 yellow wires, and repeat for each wire. You should have between .1 - 1 ohm resistance in each circuit. But like I said mine checked out ok according to the manual but had still failed to charge the battery.

To check for a short in the stator, test each of those 3 yellow wires mentioned above for continuity to ground. If continuity exists on any of the yellow wires to ground replace the stator.

Hope that helps!

 

check for corroded connections as well, older bikes are known for this. remove the tank and check all of the connections, when you do that you might as well put a smear of di-electric grease inside them providing theyre still clean.

 

how old is the battery? Low voltage can affect the old hurricane in a few ways...I have had fuel pump stop working and corrected as soon as the battery was replaced. That same pump is still in the bike 10 years later.

 

he replaced the battery

 

If you decide to buy a new R/R, I would suggest a new aftermarket one. They are cheaper than OEM and work just as good.

 

definitly sounds like a R/R problem. Put a multi meter on it after you disconnect it and see what you get.