I rewired and reinstalled the OEM voltage regulator on my '69 XLH. I wanted to see if the generator was charging and the regulator was functioning. So I fired it up,all normal, everything functioning as advertised.
I took the battery out of the system by removing the negative ground strap, kept running, all stayed normal. (I know this doesn't determine the output through the reg., but I just wanted to check the functionality).
Now long ago when I was a teenage gas station attendant in Reno I was told that to perform that test the positive lead should be detached to take the battery out of the system. Does it make a difference? I looked at the schematic and everything is grounded back to the frame/neg. ground strap....I figure that once the battery is disconnected on either side, it's out of the system. I'd like to avoid disconnecting the positive lead if possible.