Motorcycle Repair: electrical, stator, ac voltage

Question
I was on a ride last weekend and my bike just died. Battery was dead. We thought the bike had bottomed out and shorted the taillights. So we unplugged them. we jumped the bike and it ran a few mile n did the same thing. The bike is not charging i checked it the next day. How do I check the voltage regulator. Its a 97 fatboy. Thanks Bill

Answer
What you need to do is test the stator. Charge the battery. unplug the regulator. Do a OHMs test ont he stator plug. If grounded, its bad. Next, start the bike and at the stator pins, check the AC voltage. You should be showing around 60 volts at 2000 RPM. If the stator passes both tests, thent he regulator is bad. If it doesnt, then the stator is bad. one thing to remember, if the stator is bad, it can burn ouot the regulator so both might be bad if the stator does not pass
Good luck and happy riding
Mike