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Stator Failed - Found something interesting

  • Thread starter Thread starter evh
  • Start date Start date
E

evh

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Last night I was out on a cruise with the boys.. We stopped for a coffee and when I went to fire up the 1100 the starter barely turned 2 revolutions and it quit.. I bum started it and went home.. Today I did some troubleshooting.. I did a resistance check across the 3 wires of the stator and one lead was a complete short, the meter beeped in the continuity check.. OK I knew it was cooked..

When I pulled off the stator cover it looked good, which doesn't always mean anything.. But when I pulled off the started cover to pull out the stator wires I found a plastic plug connector that was melted..

It must have slowly melted over time and last night was the night when it shorted out.. After I cut the melted plug off I did another resistance check across the stator and got 1.9 - 2.0ohms..


Here's the pic of the plug.. IS this factory or did somebody put this in?
2012-08-31184053.jpg



ALso does the stator in this pic look factory?
2012-08-31184118.jpg


Tomorrrow I'll cut the back parts of the wire off, solder them PROPERLY together to eliminate the plug.. Put it back together and see what happens..
 
I have never seen a plug like that on a stator, eliminate it completely and see what you got.
 
That stator is toast. I would try to get it working while you new one is on the way, but replace it as soon as possible. It should have been a very light caramel colour.
 
Some are blue, some are carmel colored, this one is red. It doesn't look all burned up. If it works, it works.

Connectors in there are a bad idea, just hard wire it so getting hot can't short it out.
 
When wires get hot they lose some of their ability to carry current. Would also look into rewiring. Will probably be ok but may help the bike last another 30 years.:D
 
tkent02 said:
Some are blue, some are carmel colored, this one is red. It doesn't look all burned up. If it works, it works.

Connectors in there are a bad idea, just hard wire it so getting hot can't short it out.
Click to expand...
I am afraid I cannot agree about the color. I have seen caramel, blue, green yellow and even clear. That one looks like a caramel that has gotten hot.
But it is not my bike, so best of luck and I hope I am incorrect.
 
well the first thing that came to my mind is that the plug the PO installed had a bad connection on one of the terminals.. Connections with bad conductivity get hot trying to supply 70volts so the plug started to melt causing the wires to short out against each other.. That is why when I tested each stator lead one came up shorted. After I cut the plug off and separated the wires the stator polls tested fine.. I think it was 1.9 - 2ohms each lead.. That seems good..

Tomorrow morning i'm going to solder direct and heat shrink each connection, that's the only way I do wiring.. I never use connectors.. Hopefully it will work... If not then I guess i'll be on ebay ordering a new one.
 
If you have some hi-temp 18 gauge wire, that is the best to use.
 
Solder is not a good idea in there. When it gets hot and melts, blobs of solder will be loose in your engine. Who knows where they may end up, lodged in some oil passage somewhere, or in the shifter mechanism perhaps. Better to use quality crimp connectors that won't melt. Not the cheesy Walmart connectors with the plastic insulators, get the good ones. An aircraft supply house will have very good quality crimp connectors. Solder and shrink is fine outside the engine case.
 
tkent02 said:
Solder is not a good idea in there. When it gets hot and melts, blobs of solder will be loose in your engine. Who knows where they may end up, lodged in some oil passage somewhere, or in the shifter mechanism perhaps. Better to use quality crimp connectors that won't melt. Not the cheesy Walmart connectors with the plastic insulators, get the good ones. An aircraft supply house will have very good quality crimp connectors. Solder and shrink is fine outside the engine case.
Click to expand...

Well the solder connections will be in the starter cavity, right next to the starter actually.. I didn't think solder could melt from the engine.. My solder connections are clean with never any blobs lol I've been working on bikes/cars my whole life.. but I will try and find good crimp connectors, I probably already have good quality automotive high current crimp connectors.. I'll use those instead of solder. ;)
 
I don't know if it is a trick of the light in the picture of the stator, but there are two poles that don't look good down at the bottom, one below the screw, and the other three poles to the left of the screw. If it has degraded the varnish insulation down at the end of those two poles, you can bet inside the windings there is lurking damage that you can't see. Mine was similar, and died a year after I corrected the overcharging R/R with a CompuFire. I would consider my labor on changing the stator worth the price of a new one. Just a thought. The stators on both my bike and my parts bike had burnt connections from overcharging R/R's and damaged stators even though the stators still worked at the time.
 
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Thanks for chipping in, OldVet66. evh, we are not trying to give you a hard time, just a warning. I have seen a number of burned stators, in fact, a couple of years ago I bought a bunch from GS members to do some experiments with. Yours is on the way out. If you want to maximize the life of your stator, I suggest you go ahead and purchase a new one and keep it with you at all times, along with a stator cover gasket. That way when it strands you on the side of the road you can change it out, push start the bike and be on your way. I have been on numerous GS rides and rallies where we have done just that. If you prefer just to keep going and avoid the hassles of mending those wires, go ahead and replace it now. Your call, and best of luck.
 
koolaid_kid said:
Thanks for chipping in, OldVet66. evh, we are not trying to give you a hard time, just a warning. I have seen a number of burned stators, in fact, a couple of years ago I bought a bunch from GS members to do some experiments with. Yours is on the way out. If you want to maximize the life of your stator, I suggest you go ahead and purchase a new one and keep it with you at all times, along with a stator cover gasket. That way when it strands you on the side of the road you can change it out, push start the bike and be on your way. I have been on numerous GS rides and rallies where we have done just that. If you prefer just to keep going and avoid the hassles of mending those wires, go ahead and replace it now. Your call, and best of luck.
Click to expand...


I don't think you guys are giving me a hard time at all, I appreciate all the comments.. I think this forum is great for this exact reason.
The stator does look darker in the photo I posted, mainly due to lighting at the time.. I will take another photo with natural outside light...
I don't doubt at all that the stator took a beating when the plug shorted. I just thought that if the stator checks out fine with a resistance check then there's a chance it will work for now.. I will be buying a new one, that's a given..



I'm heading out there very soon to start on it.. I'll see what happens..
 
If you do put it back in service, be sure to grease (lightly) both sides of the gasket so it won't stick to the cases. It makes for a lot less work later.
 
From a visual standpoint I'd side with the guys saying it looks fine. Seen much worse, yet functional stators before.

Wikipedia says the typical electronic solder melts at 360-370 F, which is within the realm of possibility for a GS stator I'd say. Best to use crimp connectors just to be safe.
 
Nessism said:
From a visual standpoint I'd side with the guys saying it looks fine. Seen much worse, yet functional stators before.
Click to expand...
I agree. It looks to be the same color as the one from my 1000 I stuffed in Daniels GK last week.

The only thing I would check is the resistance of the meter and leads by shorting them and deducting that result from the reading you previously obtained.

I.E. zero out the meter.
 
An Update - Well the bike is running again and charging fine..

The Stator checked out fine.. I made a mistake earlier with the resistance reading I posted.. The reading I'm getting across all wires is 5 ohms..
I didn't have any crimp connectors and after looking at it again, I wasn't sure if 3 crimp connectors would fit in that little cavity where the wire repair needed to be done so I used a non lead silver solder which can handle extreme heat.. If the engine ever got to the temp to melt the solder then the engine would be toast..

Here's a few more pics..


The Stator. This is a bit clearer than the older pic.. There is no burnt spots at all, doesn't smell burnt and in person looks totally fine...

2012-09-01113128.jpg



The repair I did by the stator..
2012-09-01113156.jpg



And here's the bike these parts are attached to.. :D
2012-08-30173534.jpg

2012-08-30173738.jpg

2012-08-30173646.jpg
 
That picture of the stator looks a lot better.
Is 5 Ohms a good reading? I thought it was supposed to be between 0.5 to 2.0 Ohms. Or am I remembering incorrectly? Wouldn't be the first time.
 
The stator I just measured was 1.9 Ω's. I think His measurement is faulty.
 
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