Need a little bit of help to pinpoint which is broken. Have a '97 916BP, the regulator was replaced 3 years ago with the new version. Last week my bike suddenly lost all power and wouldn't start again. Got it home and put the Optimate on and it started the next morning.
Got the old multimeter out and I'm getting just under 12v dc off the battery when revved to 4k. Checked the ac voltage on the 2 yellow wires going into the regulator and it's 2.3 (when mmeter set to measure 200, or 002 when measuring 500). Not sure whether this means the alternator's shagged or if it's the regulator. Further investigation shows that the pastic insulator on the yellow wires has melted in one place. Does this means that the regulator is the villain of the piece ?!
Charging problem I had recently turned out to be no more than corroded connectors; wire and reg/rect were still serviceable. Seems sensible to fit the meter to provide advance warning of any probs in the future, though.
thanks for the great link - the little yellow wires that connect from the alternator to the regulator have melted badly, but I'm not sure if it's the regulator, these wires, or the stator that's shagged. I think it's time I got the bike into the local ducati garage and get them to sort it.