Low Voltage

normally the heavy grounds are hooked to rear of engine case below motor mount area

Again, it may not be your charging issue, but that coil needs to be replaced, asap... The casing of the coils insulates the high voltage charge, keeping it from escaping to the nearest ground. Garaunteed you are not getting 100% of the potential spark those coils can put out, even though the primary coils are taking the same amount of power. Extremely inefficient... I'm very surprised that she's still running on all four.

Since you need to replace the coil anyway, give it a shot, it may just fix your problem.

Hate to say this, but everytime I've dealt with really goofy electrical problems, especially charging problems, that seemed to come and go with the wind, it was due to using dielectric grease on the connectors.

Dielectric grease is an insulator and with heat and vibration, it wicks into the metal contacts in the connectors. It can make two wires that appear to be connected have a very high resistance or even prevent connection completely. I know it doesn't seem like it can, intuitively, but I've re-wired many bikes just for this reason. It was the only remedy to cure the crazy symptoms. It's also less time consuming to re-wire than trouble shoot every circuit on the bike over and over.

However, your cracked coil is a different issue. One possible cause is leaving the ignition on without the bike running. The Dyna III and Dyna S power up the coils anytime the ignition is powered on, not just when the bike is running (as in the stock electronic ignition).
This does also happen with age in normal use too, as Plummen suggests.

ssalyer wrote:

Ok, here's my question... The coil gets a short in a winding. This causes the coil to heat and crack. The coil is still working at least marginally because It's firing on all 4. It is still getting hot because of the short. Could the coil be pulling too much current?

I think it would be impossible for acoil to pull enough current to eat up the total output of a healthy alternator/regulator because if that much current went through such a small device, it would literally melt.

loudhvx wrote:

Hate to say this, but everytime I've dealt with really goofy electrical problems, especially charging problems, that seemed to come and go with the wind, it was due to using dielectric grease on the connectors.

I'm not a fan of greasing up connections either. I realize car makers did use it in tail light sockets but I don't use it.

loudhvx wrote:

Hate to say this, but everytime I've dealt with really goofy electrical problems, especially charging problems, that seemed to come and go with the wind, it was due to using dielectric grease on the connectors.

Dielectric grease is an insulator and with heat and vibration, it wicks into the metal contacts in the connectors. It can make two wires that appear to be connected have a very high resistance or even prevent connection completely. I know it doesn't seem like it can, intuitively, but I've re-wired many bikes just for this reason. It was the only remedy to cure the crazy symptoms. It's also less time consuming to re-wire than trouble shoot every circuit on the bike over and over.

However, your cracked coil is a different issue. One possible cause is leaving the ignition on without the bike running. The Dyna III and Dyna S power up the coils anytime the ignition is powered on, not just when the bike is running (as in the stock electronic ignition).
This does also happen with age in normal use too, as Plummen suggests.

thank you for posting this info. another member here used to preached using dielectric grease on connections. he knew even less about electrics then carbs.

ssalyer wrote:

Tek, Every inch of wire on this bike is 2 months old. All the connections are from Vintage Connections using their crimping tool. Every connection was put together with di-electric grease. I'm confident that the wiring is good. BUT, I will continue to check and recheck the connections.

I'm going to run a ground strap directly to the motor. Seems like that should be done


Once again thanks for the input.

EXCELLENT! A man after my own heart.

Replace that coil(s)! Good luck!

Well if you don't like the non-conductive stuff, then use a conductive product: Electrically conductive assembly grease :laugh: But seriously, don't in multi-connections. Thats why theres dielectric.

I have experienced some intermittent problems with wiring where people used goobs of dielec grease in poorly physically mated connections. However, a properly fitted (tight) physical connection with a dab of dielec on there usually proves little more electrical resistance then the wire itself. Measured, it is usually less than .01 ohms.

Just make sure to do vigorous conductive wiggle testing! :laugh: It's the true mark of a professional!:silly:

Cheers!

arai59 wrote:

Restroom poetry.....this from high school...

Here I sit all in vapor.
Just ran out of toilet paper.
Bell is ringing, no time to linger.
Look out asshole, here come the finger.:laugh:

Any of your grounds coming from a rubber mounted service ? Like battery box ?

craigy was in the next stall and toldhim to use a dollar,so he did.2 quarters,2 dimes and a nickel! :woohoo:

PLUMMEN wrote:

arai59 wrote:

Restroom poetry.....this from high school...

Here I sit all in vapor.
Just ran out of toilet paper.
Bell is ringing, no time to linger.
Look out asshole, here come the finger.:laugh:

Any of your grounds coming from a rubber mounted service ? Like battery box ?

craigy was in the next stall and toldhim to use a dollar,so he did.2 quarters,2 dimes and a nickel! :woohoo:

Yep.....got it out of pops coin collection.:laugh: Speaking of bathrooms........have you had your nose into a crapper lately ? I know your a hands on guy and the squishy turd is a daily enjoyment for you.:laugh:

nope off to do a water heater,but everytime i work on a toilet i think of you! :kiss: :woohoo:

Seems to me if you had any draw in that system that would over come a good charging system you would find it very quickly from the temp of the wire, including coil primaries.

That leaves you with a bad charge system. If the stator is putting out enough current under load, you're down to the rr. Since that's new twice, either you're burning them up or there's a problem with the reference voltage, which means clean that connection, measure the resistance, and double check the ground.

I know this sounds stupid and redundant, but why I'm saying is don't freak out. Just take your time, start at the top and work your way down ONE time, eliminating every step. If you do, you will fix the problem.