battery went dry

start bike for a 75 mile ride back home,,,engine turned over very slow but started,,,,,,after getting home, about an hour later engine turned over 1 or two times and then nothing,,,,tester on battery read 13.4 volts,,,,,pulled battery and it was dry,,,,,,,,filled battery with water and charged it on a 1 amp charger over night and bike started right up......All wires tight,,,,good ground,,,,,,after overnight charge and battery sat for about an hour,,,battery read a little over 13 volts,,,after start up with engine running,,,about 14 volts at idle,,,,2000rpm 15.5 volts,,,3000rpm 16.5 volts,,,,,,Does this indicate a bad voltage regulator,,,,,and that may be reason for the battery going dry?????????????

thanks

Does this indicate a bad voltage regulator,,,,,and that may be reason for the battery going dry??

Yes and yes.

To much voltage will boil the battery dry, and the regulator controls the voltage. Anything over 14.5V max is bad.

I'm surprised you haven't been blowing light bulbs at that voltage.

thanks bud,,,,

What bike/ system??????
Does your system have a 5 wire R/R with a brown wire that is hot at key on?????
Make sure this brown wire reads the same as battery voltage, it is the "Sense" wire for the R/R. If there is a dirty connection then this wire will drop a volt or more, then the R/R will think the battery is under charged, adding the extra volt or so and boiling your battery.
Do you have a manual with the wiring diagram?????
Look here on this site as this is all covered many times, tests diagrams, downloads etc.

what do you mean by R/R,,,,and also where is the voltage regulator located (76 kz900) I can't find it??? thanks Pat

oh,,,,R/R does that stand for rectifier/regulator.....Do I have a separate rectifier and a regulator,or is it a combined rectifier and regulator thanks pat

Do you trust your meter is the first question? Those readings seem suspect to me. How long since you last added water? I could nearly deplete the water in one day back when I rode the big trips, 2 days it would be dry.

yes i trust my meter and i did not check the battery over the past 3 months as i put it in new 3 months ago and did not think i'd have any problem....

i'm going to see if i can find that brown wire and see if it matches battery voltage

ok,,i found a silver metal box under the battery box,,,,I'll take it for the regulator,,,,it has a green plug at the end under the left side cover,,,,,male plug shows 4 wires and the female plug shows 5,,,, one wire is brown at the male plug,,,,when i checked voltage a 4000 rpm i got 16.8 volts at battery and 16.3 volts at the brown wire,,,,these volts climb slowly as time goes by,,,,,but either way I'm above what it should be at both points....Is the silver box under the battery box a voltage regulator

Yes, like Ron said, in hot weather, you can boil out the water in a few days (high mileage days) even if everything is working ok.

If the battery is dry, then the high voltage readings may be a result of the dry battery.

R/R is reg/rec in one unit. I think yours is a two-piece... seperate regulator and rectifier.

If after you replace the battery, the voltages are still that high, make sure the brown wire on the regulator is the same as battery voltage while it is running. As Motor head said, if the brown wire is low on voltage, it will make the regulator appear to be bad even if it's good.

If the brown wire matches the battery while revving, and the battery is new, and the voltage is still too high, then the regulator is bad.

You should be getting about 14.5V out of the regulator. If you are getting over 15V, the regulator is bad. Don't worry about a "RR", you don't have one. You have two separate units. The little silver box is your regulator.