1995 xplorer 400 high voltage

[Jay DeMille]

all light bulbs burned out, voltage at battery when not running 12.2, voltage at battery when running above idle is 18 to 20, checked all wiring for corrosion and tight connections & found no problems, checked stator wires for short to ground & found no shorts so I replaced regulator/rectifier with no change in the high voltage. Anyone know what else might be causing the problem?
Thanks, Jay

[Denis Gionet]

Is the battery good ? Try with a new battery, or fill the old one with distilled water and charge it with a charger first. If the rectifier is connected properly, it should be dumping the excess voltage to the frame of the bike, through the aluminum heat sink. Is the brown wire of the rectifier connected to ground ?

Regulators/rectifiers always need to be properly grounded to function properly. I just replaced the battery and rectifier of my 94 400L that I just picked up. The new rectifier ground wire connected directly to the wiring harness, the old one went to a mounting screw. I soldered them together so that the wire goes to both places, to make sure it's properly grounded. Works perfectly.

[Jay DeMille]

Thanks Denis, your advice is correct I put in a new battery and now it works.

[Denis Gionet]

Yup. The battery needs to be there and in good condition, otherwise the rectifier works too hard and burns out, thinking the battery is low on voltage, and can never accept a charge if its cells are dry. In fact, I filled my old atv battery with distilled water and charged it, and it appears to be still good. It'll stay a spare for now though, just in case.