Oem Light Bar Issues

[CHADP]

Hey All,
New to the board. I recently installed an OEM light bar on my 2K 1500 Intruder. Shortly after install, I noticed occasional "flickering" lights and the speedo and fuel gauge lights fading in and out slightly. Didn't think a whole lot about it until the other night when I lost everything electrical on my way to work (yep, on a dark road at night) After I coasted to the side of the road and checked my drawers, the bike fired back up. I continued on to work and she died again. This time, the bike acted as if the battery which is brand new) was nearly dead. I shut off the light bar, let her site for a while-now on the side of a dark stretch of highway, then she fired right back up. I decided not to take any chances and turned back home to trade out for my truck for the night. I disconnected the light bar today, and did not notice any "flickering" or "fading". Has anyone had or heard of this problem? I wouldn't think it was too much load being OEM. Sorry for the long first post, but any suggestions would be great.

Thanks-Chad

[bud van houten]

i have the same type bike and have had the same problem. had the bike checked at a shop and they said it was charging 13.89, which should keep battery charged. battery is a year old, had it checked and it was good. it went down on me after taking it to the shop, so i got it home and checked it myself with a volt meter, and it checked 12.29 should be between 13.5 and 14.5 from what i've read. i'm thinking a bad connection someplace. if not, it must be the stator or rectifier, but if either of these is bad, i think it would dis-charge all the time. know this is a pain, because here in kansas city we're having great fall weather and now i'm afraid to ride very far from home.
you might want to check out a sight sean(stp1971)sent me. it has a lot of great stuff and included is a charging system upgrade for the intruder 1500 that looks pretty simple(i'm going to try it). later, bud
{moccsplace.com}

[oldgeezer]

Before I went too far, I would check all the wiring for the light bar. It sounds as if you have a wire shorting out in the system. Anyplace you've made a connection, make sure you either have soldered it or used a bare butt splice and covered the connection with heat shrink tube. Even though it is called "electrical tape" is shouldn't be used for any permanent wiring situations as the glue fails and a bare wire connection will become exposed.

Also check everywhere the wires go through a grommet or make a hard turn. Finally, make sure the wiring harness is secured to the frame with zip ties. Wires that are allowed to vibrate will wear through causing electrical problems.

[CHADP]

Thanks for the quick help. Both scenarios came to mind first with me. I tore the light bar apart yesterday and could find nothing loose, worn through, etc. My first thought is crappy rectifier and I have checked out moccsplace. I think for now, I will continue with my "experiment". Run with the light bar disconnected until the perfect Colorado weather turns to crap. I may upgrade the rec' and stator this winter. I can't stand to see these last few weeks of perfect weather go to waste driving the truck.


Thanks again guys!

[bud van houten]

chadp, i'd at least get it someplace where they can do a quick voltage test. if it's running under 13.5 your going to get stuck along the highway again, as you're basically running on the battery without much charge going into it. if this is the case, you may drive it a couple hundred miles before it goes off again...and you won't know when. later, bud