I think I may have a bad stator.
From my research, I find the output is below what is maybe needed to keep my battery fully charged. Could be my last violent intersection with planet Earth compromised the integrity of the stator. Maybe it is 29-year-magnetic decay. But the result is the same. Lack of capacity to keep up with demand.
I started noticing a problem right after I installed the Dyna triggers. I attributed the occasionally discharged battery to the battery age, occasional extended storage, and the fact that I have an H4 55 watt bulb burning all the time.
The problem became obvious after I installed the coil relay modification. I don't know what the additional demands are of the relay coil, but current demands (no pun intended) seem to have overwhelmed my alternator output.
Here is what I have done:
New battery.
Overnight charging of the same while out of the bike.
Tested, and found that the battery charges better when I take the headlight out of the circuit. It goes to mid 13, but starts dropping when the light is on at the same engine rpm.
Here is what I have thought about.
Running without headlight. (bad idea)
Going back to points. (bad idea)
Removing relay. (bad idea)
Swapping out the coil relay for something that draws less power. Anyone know what resistance should be on the relay coil? Maybe I have one that is drawing too much.
What is the possibilty of using a solid state relay for the coil modification?
I guess if I was sure it was faulty I could replace the stator. But I would rather eliminate other things first. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if I could swap in a known good stator. But I'm not sure such a thing exists if they are all old like mine.
Thanks in advance.