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Okay, I am determined to get this problem figured out. Been pretty busy so haven't had a chance to troubleshoot.

I performed the suggested test. With the key off, I get zero current (open circuit). I believe this is good.

I hooked everything up again (w/ battery and replacement R/R). I got 16.2-16.8 VDC at the battery (red wire) and 11.8-12.2 VAC (yellow wire) at varying RPMS.

Its been a while since I've worked on this, but it seems like that is okay, even thought he DC voltage is a little high...at least it is regulated.

Not sure what else there is to test...

Thank you everyone for the help! This forum is awesome!

I am leaving for vacation and will be gone for a week...I will try all of your recommendations when I return and post with some updates. Hopefully we'll get this figured out soon.

Thanks again!

I just got done with some testing. I removed the faulty flasher relay and did everything without a battery installed. The flasher relay must have been shorting the system because removing it changed everything.

I did check for continuity on the stator (white and yellow wire) and there is continuity. Got about 1 ohm.



See this post until after the test...I will do this next time.



I got ~12VAC at idle and up to 14VAC at a high rev. Is this range good?



Got about the same; 12-14VAC.



So, for this test I was only getting 6.5-8VDC, depending on the revs. Not good. Now the odd part: I switch to VAC and got ~14VAC (at idle) on the red wire (which goes to the battery). What?!

I did all these tests with my original R/R and the replacement R/R; all results were identical. Also, I should note that no lights (well, just the small instrument panel lights) are running off the AC during testing (my tail light is blown and I had the headlight removed).

Good to know. So for the history: Everything was going good until my battery started to become weaker and weaker. Had to kick start it on several occasions. The battery was new when I bought the scoot from the PO (about a year ago), so I thought maybe I wasn't getting a good charging voltage. After checking the VDC I found it to be high and unregulated (16-20VDC). So, basically my battery was being constantly overcharged until it gave out.

I drove it almost every day for about 6 months after I got it, then it mostly sat for 3 months (driven 3-4 times/month). Started riding it again and then discovered this problem.

I did experiment with adding an auxiliary light (35W) in addition to my main headlight (35W). I remember measuring the VDC to see the drop before and after I added the light. If I remember right, the charging voltage was around 12.5VDC stock (w/o adding the light). It definitely wasn't above 13VDC. I ran the light for a few rides, but took it off after my charging system couldn't handle it (battery was being drained after riding with it). Not sure if that little amount of testing triggered my issue. Regardless, I think something was up since my charging voltage was low and not closer to 14.4VDC.

On the same note, right after buying the scoot I noticed my starter didn't have the oomph that it normally had, especially if the motor was on the compression stroke; there would be a slight hesitation as the starter overcame the extra force. It never got worse and never had a problem with it not starting, so I didn't think much about it. When I put in a fully (bench) charged battery, the starter had A LOT of power. So, I think my battery wasn't getting charged fully due to the low charging voltage.

I drove it for quite a while after I played with the auxiliary light, so I can't say if the problem started right after that.

Sorry for the long message...trying to remember as many details as I can.

Thanks everyone for the responses. Finally a forum where I don't have to wait a week to get a response!

Alleyoop, I thought the relay might be toast. Didn't really think about removing it when I was troubleshooting. I don't see how it could be causing my main problem, but who knows... I was planning on getting an electronic flasher relay (load-independent) so I can switch out my turn signals to LEDs. I guess now is the time.

tvnacman, I threw around the idea of upgrading to the 11 pole stator, especially since I want to run a 35W auxiliary light in addition to my main headlight. But, for now I just want to get it back up and running...I've been without it for 3 weeks. The flasher is a 3-wire.

Bashan, I did perform this check. At an idle, my lighting coil put out around 18 VAC and my charging coil put out around 22 VAC. They increased with RPM, but I went easy because I didn't want to blow any of my lights out (I did blow my tail light, though). I couldn't find any specs on what they should be...what VAC should I expect from each coil?

With my regulator plugged in, I get around 8 VAC on my lighting wire (yellow wire). These seems about normal based on the brightness of the lights running on AC. Shouldn't this be closer to 12 VAC? Maybe this is why my headlight has seemed so dim. It's been like that since I got the scoot.

When I get home, the first thing I will do is remove my flasher relay and try everything out again. I doubt it could be causing my problem (I think it is more of a result of the problem), but it's worth a shot.