TOPIC:

The bike has been slow cranking since I got it. Decided to do a voltage check and its not charging. Printed the chart from the manual and checked it out. I didnt get the bike to the full 4000 RPM range to do the stator test, but I did put it on fast idle around 1600. Voltage on the 3 yellow wires were... 24.8, 14.8, 24.0. I figured I would try a regulator. Got the aftermarket regulator, mounted in in a different location since its bigger than the original, wired it, and still no charge. The regulator gets pretty warm, but no charge.

A few questions.....

I didnt wire it directly to the battery as recomended. I tried to keep the bike original and I wired it through the original red plug on the bike. (The female back side just like the original one). All wiring is correct. I disconnect the plug and check for battery volotage and the black & white/red wire at the male end of the plug and have battery voltage so Im assuming the regulator is being sent a voltage to turn on. Recheck all 3 yellow wires coming from the stator and 2 are the same and 1 is low at 1600 RPM. Does it sound like hte stator is bad ?

Also... looking at the wiring diagram I see the battery shows 3 wires on the positive terminal of the battery, my bike only has the big red wire on it. There are no other wires on the terminal.

On the negative post... there is only the big ground wire, no other ground wires on it. There is a I think black/yellow wire that is just looped around from the terminal back to the crimp on the same negative post.

Does it still sound like the stator is bad ? Im getting a headache messing with it so far.

Thanks

The negative post. I dont know why the wire is attached to the cable, then looped back on the terminal with a ring terminal.

Found a way to mount the regualtor back under the battery tray. Rewired the new regulator and still not charging. Going to have to get the Stator after all. That better be the problem. 1 of the voltages is low from the yellow wire. half of what the other ones are. I been looking through the wiring diagrams and cant find what a wire is for.

Under the seat there is a wire I believe its blakc and grey that has an opening for 2 into 1 conections. Im not sure what or where it went or if it was even hooked up to anything. Any ideas ? It comes out from the right side behind the rear wheel master cylinder

Stator Coil should read .32 to .48 ohms (due to low value, don't forget to correct for losses in your meter)

Stator Coil lead to frame should be infinity (O.L.)

These bikes have no serviceable parts (being that the alternator / stator is of the permanent magnet type).

I would look more closely at your harness condition, grounds and battery before opting to sacrifice more hair.

Rob.

Thanks Rob,
After work today Im gonna give it another checking over. I did have that one low voltage output from one of the yellow leads from the stator. Getting an accurate ohm reading has been giving me problems. I did get a crazy reading of 7.3 ohms on the one lead that is suspect of being the problem. I went through the wiring about 5 times and checked everything else. I mounted the new regulator under that battery case where it should be also. I ran the wires directly to the battery as suggested, and still no charge. I had a feeling about it while I was going through the wiring. Has anyone ever did something and while your doing it you just have that feeling like "this aint the problem, its not gonna work". Thats what Im getting the impression of with the Stator being the problem for some reason. They said if the 3 voltages are not the same, then "replace the Stator". Im gonna go through everything one more time, and if I get bad readings again i will order the Stator. Im just having a gut feeling thats not the problem either though........

According to the manual for my 550A4, you should have:

About 75V AC phase to phase at your stator connections, at 4000 rpm.

Do this first before anything else.

I like paper clips for probing a harness, then use insulated alligator clips to grab the paper clip.

If you've got this, it's in your harness or in your new rectifier/regulator...

Ain't vintage iron grand?

Rob.

Saki Jockey wrote:

Ain't vintage iron grand?

Rob.

Exactly. Thought i would just be improving the bike, not having to fix things that should work for just about forever. Charged the battery, started the bike, at around 3500 RPM Im getting 48, 48 & 22 volts. Called the bike guy and he said Stator. Will have it tomorrow afternoon. Should be on by Wednesday. I dont know why Im still having that "this aint gonna be the problem" feeling. We will see.

I decided that since Im getting the Stator tomorrow I would take the cover off and have a look at the old one. I took a few pictures. The old one looks pretty well overheated, old, and wireing looks pretty well gunked up.

Post edited by: dannyg40, at: 2007/10/08 16:30

Now the rotor....
A Question,
See how a piece of that red lining is missing towards the 8'oclock position ? On the top of the rotor at the 12 o'clock position its starting to "peel away" from the outside of the rotor. Should I leave it, or is this a problem with it being damaged ?

Post edited by: dannyg40, at: 2007/10/09 14:00

Just an update.......
Installed the new Stator today. Followed the book and used non-permanent locktite, torqued the bolts to 87 inch pounds, scraped the gasket real good, installed, fired up the bike and charging just great at 13.5 ! Now the problem is the cold weather has set in here in Chicago. Oh well, at least one problem has been solved.

Wow, that was very unexpected. Glad to hear you got through it though.

I wouldn't worry about the rotor too much, it's just permanent magnets glued to the rotor machning.

FYI, all voltage readings associated to charging should be read with the bike at 1800 - 2000 rpm steady. The alternator makes peak efficiency at this speed.


Good luck getting the weather to warm up, us Canuck's are pulling for ya, eh?

The KZ specialist here by me said from the begining when I went to see him that the 81 & 82's had Stators that could be a problem. He told me to pull the cover and se if the Stator was burned up by looking at it. I didnt and spend more time and money then I needed to. Oh well, at least I know the charging system should be good for another 25 years.