Buell S1 Lightning Workshop Manual page 301

TESTING
Voltage Regulator Bleed Test
Be sure regulator is connected to battery. Unplug regulator
connector to engine crankcase. Use a trouble light and touch
one probe to a known good ground and the other to the regu-
lator pins, one at a time. If light glows, replace regulator.
Milliampere Draw Test
NOTE
Be sure accessories are not wired so they stay on at all times.
Check for this by connecting ammeter between negative bat-
tery terminal and battery.
See Figure 7-20. Connect ammeter between negative battery
terminal and battery. With this arrangement, you will also pick
up any regulator drain. With ignition switch and all lights and
accessories turned to LOCK, amperage reading should be 3
milliamperes maximum. A higher reading indicates excessive
current draw.
Any accessories must be considered and checked for exces-
sive drain.
This condition could drain battery completely if vehicle is
parked for a long time.
NOTE
A battery with a surface discharge condition could suffer a
static drain. Correct by cleaning battery case.
Total Current Draw Test
See Figure 7-21. If battery runs down during use, the current
draw of the motorcycle components and accessories may
exceed output of the charging system. To check for this condi-
tion, place load tester induction pickup or current probe
pickup over battery negative cable.
With ignition and all continuously running lights and accesso-
ries turned on (headlamp on high beam), wait 10 seconds,
and then read the total current draw. Compare this reading to
the reading obtained in CURRENT AND VOLTAGE OUTPUT
TEST. The current output should exceed current draw by 6.5
amps, minimum (3 amps for ignition and 3.5 amps for battery
maintenance). If not, there may be too many accessories for
the charging system to handle.
NOTE
Rider's habits may require output test at lower RPM.
7-26
3 milliamperes
flt0808
maximum
Amp
12 VDC
battery
Ignition
OFF
Figure 7-20. Milliampere Draw Test
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Figure 7-21. Check Current Draw (Ignition Switch On)
Battery
negative
cable
Load tester