Motorcycle Repair: 1983 vt 750c honda shadow is overcharging, yahama virago, regulator rectifier

Question
Hi Bill,
  I have a 1983 vt 750c honda shadow and i am having problems. I rode the bike for a few years and needed to replace the battery every year. It would fry the battery. Then one day sitting at a red light it backfired, i went home and the plastic connectors to the regulator were melted. The bike sat for a few years and now i am trying to correct the problem. I bought a new battery, regulator/rectifier, and a new alternator/stator. The bike is still outputting over 15v at a idle and more at 5000 rpm. It was suggested to me to turn on the ignition key and wiggle the key to see if the lights blink. And they did. I was told to replace the ignition switch. I am trying to test the ignition switch, and according to the clymers book from the ignition switch the black wire is ground going to the regulator. When i turn the key on it is a hot wire 12v. Is it suppose to be a ground or a hot wire. Then i took a multimeter attached the red lead to the black wire on the regulator hooked the black lead to battery ground. I got mv (mila-volts) no set number it just bounced all over the bike was not running. I guess what i am asking could the ignition switch be bad and back feed to the regulator. (I also have a honda magna and a yahama virago and the ignition key did not blink like what the shadow did. but both of those bikes have nothing wrong with them. I also tested ground on both of those bikes the black wire from the ignition switch just to see and they were both dead ground.) So i believe my meter is reading correctly. Am i going in the right direction or am i missing something. I also checked and recleaned all the grounds i could find. I need a second opinion before i spend another couple hundred dollars. Thanks for any help.

Answer
Karen,  Go to www.electrosport.com and download the free troubleshooting guides for the charging system and check the "known issues" section for your bike.

Actually, here they are:  http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/known-issues/common-tech-issue?m...

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf

Stators often have over-heated connectors, which lead to failed reg-rectifiers. The ignition switches do numerous duties, including supplying switched 12v power to the rest of the bike, often with a solid black wire. I don't have a diagram to check the specifics, however. The ignition switches on bikes with CDI-type ignitions also supply a GROUND to the ignition system to shut the bike off. When the ignition switch is turned ON, it opens the ground to the CDI, then grounds it when the switch is turned OFF.

Ignition switch bases can work loose from the switch assembly and cause intermittent connections with the rest of the bike's electrical system, so check the switch base for a solid connection with the key switch housing.

Bill Silver