Is this the sign of a bad R/R?
 

Iv'e searched the threads and I think I am looking at a bad R/R. I have a 98 hawk and the thing won't hold a charge. I replaced the battery last year, but now it won't turn over. Lights work, but not enough juice to get it going unless I put it on the charger

I just had it in for an oil change and to fix a coolant leak ($$$) so I really don't want to take it in again.

Does this sound like a short somewhere or a bad R/R? Or do I have to do more investigation before I sound off on here? :D

I do have to admit my electrical knowledge is limited, but I am heading out this morning to buy a voltmeter...

thanks for all your help

It could be but without more info its hard to tell - its possibly a bad battery...

Search on here for the normal specs and refer to the service manual link in the knowledgebase for the testing procedures. A good number of folks have it go bad and way overcharge which can blow bulbs and other electronics so if yours isn't charging that it the better failure to have. Use a finned one (better heat dissipation) from 2001 up or the modified R1 and you should be fine.

Well...

I guess the only thing I could think of to tell you is to use cables or charger to jump it... get it running, and then disconnect the battery cables to see if it still runs, or dies...

It does sound like a R/R, but at the same time... If you charge that 1yr old battery up good, it should be enough to run the bike a few hours before its low enough to give you trouble starting the thing. So with that being said, there is a possibility of bad wiring, or bad battery...

I had a old Suzuki once with a bad R/R, and I could plug it on trickle charge over night, ride to work, let is sit, start it after work and ride home on that charge... was only 10 miles to/from, but still, it would run fine on battery power, then only give problems as battery ran out of juice.

It will die. That trick works in cars, but not on most bikes. The battery has to be installed for any power to be applied.

Also the R/R isn't what charges the battery, just "regulates" the power coming from the stator. The problem here could be the R/R or it could be the stator or even the battery itself. Try charging the battery off the bike and see if it holds a charge at all, that will eliminate it. If the R/R is bad it might be visibly fried, check to see if it has melted at all. Also check the connectors coming and going, they are known to melt.

Hold the bus!
If the voltage checks rite when running, the RR is probably not the problem.
There are other posts here about static (engine off, switch off) battery drain,
eg; trip odometer holding circuit drain.
The cycle of dead/weak battery, charge or jump,dead/weak battery will kill the battery and it will act like a charge issue.
I am troubleshooting this problem now on mine and in the interim, I disconnect the negative lead from the battery if it is to sit overnight or longer.
I have installed a new battery, and i won't let it die down.
I will probably put a battery disconnect switch in and add a small battery for the instrument circuit.

Same problem here. Have been taking it for short rides and then charging the bat. Yesterday the bat died about 5 miles from home. Lost the instrument cluster. First the tach then the speedo and odometer. Glad I made it home. Time to fix it.

yours does sound like R/R...

As for the battery thing. You may be right on newer bikes, but I've left negative hooked up on many bikes and disconnected positive and had them stay running. In a case where the bike will run on charged battery, but not without charged battery would usually indicate the R/R being bad.

Although Once the bike is started, I am not 100% sure why the bike would die once battery cable is disconnected. I mean doesn't the stator produce the power to run the bike, and the R/R just selects to send portions of that power back to the battery to recharge it??? at least thats how i understand it. I guess I could see some electrical stuff being tied directly to the battery, but the engine should create its own power once running right?

So... Does this bike run on a charged battery?

When my battery is stone dead my bike will not run. If I jump it, it runs for about 10 sec then dies. But that may just be the R/R not feeding enough juice to the system.

I ordered a new R/R, but haven't picked it up yet. Don't want to waste time and $$ replacing it if it is the stator instead.

None of you good people ever considered using said voltmeter to troubleshoot???

With a voltmeter in hand it's usualy a couple of minutes work to turn all your guesses into confirmed knowledge and then replace the defective part...

thanks for all the info guys. Got the service manual and multimeter in hand, now I just need to actually start testing things. I will let you know what I find.