Electricity not my strong point - '85 450L

[geol]

The wires you showed in the pic initially are the three wires from the alternator I believe. These would have AC when the bike is running and nothing with the bike not running. There is another wire coming out of your reg/rec that tees with one leg going to your battery and the other leg going through that fuse then to your ignition switch. The fuse may be before the split and also serve to fuse the circuit before the wire goes to your battery. By going to your battery, it likely connects to the positive pole on your starter solenoid and then the main battery terminal connects to that pole as well.

I take it you feel as though the battery discharges while the bike is not running and you attribute this to a voltage leak? It would help to have an explanation as to how you came up with this conclusion if this is indeed the case. If it is the case, the issue can seem confusing but isn't all that hard to track as you have a finite number of output wires coming from your ignition switch and you could use a multimeter set in VDC at the lowest scale; unhook the connector out of your ignition switch and put the negative probe from your multimeter on a frame or engine ground and touch each out from the ignition switch and if you find DC voltage with the switch off, you have found your problem. If you can't find the problem with this method, then hook the connector back up and start touching hot wires in the headlight shell and elsewhere with the negative probe on a ground. It is time consuming but with the aid of a wiring diagram you should be able to trace each positive wire and find any leak. Just takes patience. You could also use a trouble test light and that might actually be easier for a tedious job that this may turn out to be.

[trtsmb]

.Ok, so can I assume that this is an improvement for your problem. That is, if you hadn't done that, your battery would have weakened...leave it off until until you go for another ride. The bike should start if the battery hasn't already been ruined by long deep discharge...

Finding the problem is good news. Spending $ is bad news . You need a new regulator...tons of stuff here about that...

I shouldn't add this, and there is no guarantee, but it is "what I would do" because I have noticed that the old regulators can sometimes continue to function for awhile, even while they are not functioning properly.
so, while you shop, for a little while, PERHAPS you can just carry on with the suspect R/R but disconnect it when you get home. and,again this will confirm that the issue is indeed found .

....except that, it comes with a complicated caveat: that your battery is still being charged .

Test this after a ride, or with the bike warmed up a little.
-turn your meter toward the VDC range (not"VAC") and particularly something that says about 20VDC...we want to test the the charging of your battery so we want the multimeter to include a range 0f 10-20 volts direct current ("VDC").
-. Next put the red(+) probe on the +POS pole of the battery (or where it connects to your solenoid) and the black (-) probe on the - NEG pole of your battery (or a good contact to your engine or frame= metal,no paint,a minimum of rust) tuck these probes in so at least one will stay put while you....
turn up the idle or even Rev the bike a bit. You should see 13.5-14.8 v .Now , turn on a turn signal with brakelights and headlamp on. Meter should not drop below 12.5.
less or more are both bad.
So, you are maybe ok to ride short trips with the R/R and your battery won't go dead on you but I should say I have a voltmeter attached permanently on every motorcycle I own so "what I would do" is going to seem pretty convoluted versus 50$ for a new regulator....and pretty soon, "what -I -do" is get one anyways!
and, by-the-way-Check the fluid level in your battery if it has removeable caps on it. Top up with distilled water available at drug stores. If you find yourself adding a lot of water the battery has been
A) poorly maintained .
B) is being overcharged by the regulator per your readings (more than 14.8)
C) combination of the above
D) worn out,broken battery

Batteries wear out. But don't replace until the draining issue is completely solved.

Thanks for all the pointers! I appreciate them more than you can know. I won't be able to ride again until late next week if I can get a shoe on (foot surgery yesterday) but I'm going to do your tests with the bike warmed up tomorrow. I checked the battery already and the levels are good so no distilled water needed .

[Gorminrider]

That is good news about your battery, bad news about your foot- get well soon..
all my so-called "pointers" are in posplayers' http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...tem-QUICK-TEST and also in your shop manual somewhere.., but I'm glad it helps to hear them with a different syntax ..

...some form of analogy for electricity is often the best way to start if you find it daunting.....water-hoses and pumps and things that the water is running (a waterwheel grinding flour) is a good way "in" .
so Your original problem comes down to a leak in the dam and some beavers that are no longer maintaining it, if that makes it easier!