Insane, growing, electrical problem

[OldNTired]

Originally Posted by OldNTired

Hello, all. This is my first post, so if I get something wrong please let me know.
I have a 2006 GZ250. At the end of last year it 'looked' like I had a battery problem. Since it was the end of the riding season I didn't get serious about it, all I did was test the battery, and test to see if it was charging. After 1/2 hour of riding it measured 11.75 volts at rest. BUT, when I tested it while the engine was running, the voltage jumped all over the place! The highest 'charging' voltage was about 11 volts, the lowest was about 6.5. The worst part was that I got the lowest voltage at higher RPM's. It finally warmed up enough today to try to check it out. I thought at first that it must be the rectifier. I can not get consistent readings on the rectifier tests using a diode tester. I tried two different meters! Checked out the stator, etc, it looks fine from what I can see (checked OHMS).
No, there were no loose, corroded, burnt, or pinched wires, anywhere that I looked.
But, here is the worst part! I figured I'd put it all back together to make sure nothing got damaged from sitting around. Then, just for laughs I thought I'd test the charge while it was running, just to make sure. But, I got nothing when I turned the key: no lights, no horn, no T signals, no starter, not even a neutral light, nothing!
From reading every post I could find having anything to do with the rectifier, I did see that some folks have had problems with the wiring inside the headlight bucket. I will check that out soon. But, would anything in there cause the erratic charging?
I am at a loss here, any help will be welcome. And thanks in advance. I would add a 'confused' smiley here, but can't figure out how to do it!

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Just an update here. I had time to spend a few hours on it today.
First, I recked everything that I had already tried. Battery had been on the tender, and measured 12.9V. Nothing had changed (big surprise), and I did not find any problems.
Then I dug into the headlight bucket. I was really hoping that something would show itself, but I found nothing wrong. No loose or unconnected wires, no burned/shorted wires, no corrosion. I double-checked every wire to see if insulation had worn off somewhere, but no luck. For lack of any better ideas, I started checking every ground that I could reach - all were good.
Then, not sure why, I tried to check voltage to the fuse box. Negative lead of meter to negative of battery, positive to fuse socket. NO voltage. I don't know about the circuits enough to know if that is expected or not. Can any let me know? Thanks. I am not the best at reading schematics these days.
About then the thought entered my mind that the easiest fix might be the firm and repetitive application of a sledge hammer. I decided it would be better to take a break and have some dinner. I have no idea what to do next.