Charging system

[Guest]

I'm in the process of trying to track down a charging system issue on my bike. Here's a little background on my bike:
Engine - 1983 gs750
wiring harness - 85 gs700

I figured since the engines were basically the same besides the stroke(I think) the wiring should carry over. The problem is the bike will start fine and I will be riding for 30 mins or so and I'll shut it off. I'll come back it fires up fine and I ride some more and shut it down again. This time when I go to start it up not more than 30 mins after the last ride, the engine struggles to turn over. No clicking from the starter solenoid though. So I either bump start it or charge the battery until it turns over and I ride it some more then after a few starts it dies again.

I did the quick test and first of all, the battery was at about 11.9v. I don't know if that's because it's bad or because it hasn't been charging. I figured I would do all the free testing I could before buying a new battery only to figure out it's something else.

Next I started the bike and check the voltage at idle, 2,500 and 5,000rpm. All the readings are the same. 11.9v
So I assumed(you know what that means) that even if the battery is bad, that it isn't charging at all.

So I began going through the tests from here:
http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfault.htm and everything tested well until I got to the last reading in phase B. I had the bike running and was testing AC voltage from the stator wires and the multimeter read something around 1 when the site said it should be above 60v. So does this mean that my stator is bad or is there something wrong with my multimeter? I made sure I had a decent connection and the wires were still attached to the bike.
*note I read that oem suzuki stators have different color wires coming out and if you have 3 yellow wires, you have an aftermarket stator. All of my wires are yellow*

Another thing I had a question about was the diode test for the r/r. The r/r on my bike has prongs on it instead of wires going to it so i assume(theres that word again) I should test the prongs and not the wires on the harness for this test. The test said I should be getting 1.5v or higher when the red tester is to the red wire and black tester is to any of the yellow wires. During my test I didn't get any readings at all. Does this mean replace the r/r?

I know I wrote a lot here but any advice is helpful. Electricity is foreign to me. AC/DC is just a band to me.

I think the r/r is stock and I might just replace it with a compatible Honda r/r but I wasn't sure about the stator

[posplayr]

I had the bike running and was testing AC voltage from the stator wires and the multimeter read something around 1 when the site said it should be above 60v. So does this mean that my stator is bad or is there something wrong with my multimeter?

It sounds like the stator is dead.
There is a revised Phase B test you will find in GS Charging Health. For a further test.
The old test says leg to leg test at 5K need >65 VAC.
The new tests adds leg to ground tests should be zero VAC.

Battery is not too bad , considering there is no charging going on. You must have a charger.

Read Gs Stator for recommendation of an R/R (SH-775)

Read the rest about grounding; it is important.

When you have it back together, do the quick test and then go from there which s likely Revised Phase a test.

[tom203]

"....and the multimeter read something around 1 when the site said it should be above 60v. So does this mean that my stator is bad or is there something wrong with my multimeter"

Your meter might read "1" if the scale you chosen is wrong. Check your meter on AC setting (like 200V scale ) and check an outlet in your house-should read about 120 AC. Now use this same meter position to measure your bike's AC stator output- like you said , a good stator (disconnected from R/R ) will read about 60 to 90. report what you get, so we can offer a verdict on stator.

Does your meter have diode test position ? check manual .Easier to let meter pass judgement on the 6 diodes in rectifier circuit of the R/R. what brand of R/R is it? But do stator AC test first.

[MrMcTavish]

It sounds like the stator is dead.
There is a revised Phase B test you will find in GS Charging Health. For a further test.
The old test says leg to leg test at 5K need >65 VAC.
The new tests adds leg to ground tests should be zero VAC.

Battery is not too bad , considering there is no charging going on. You must have a charger.

Read Gs Stator for recommendation of an R/R (SH-775)

Read the rest about grounding; it is important.

When you have it back together, do the quick test and then go from there which s likely Revised Phase a test.

What do you mean by the new tests adds a leg to ground test? Do you mean just testing the yellow stator wires while running but instead of the reading between 2 wires its the reading between one wire and a ground?

"....and the multimeter read something around 1 when the site said it should be above 60v. So does this mean that my stator is bad or is there something wrong with my multimeter"

Your meter might read "1" if the scale you chosen is wrong. Check your meter on AC setting (like 200V scale ) and check an outlet in your house-should read about 120 AC. Now use this same meter position to measure your bike's AC stator output- like you said , a good stator (disconnected from R/R ) will read about 60 to 90. report what you get, so we can offer a verdict on stator.

Does your meter have diode test position ? check manual .Easier to let meter pass judgement on the 6 diodes in rectifier circuit of the R/R. what brand of R/R is it? But do stator AC test first.

I tested the meter in the wall socket and got about 115 or so. I don't think I had the yellow wires disconnected the first time I tried. I tested it again with them disconnected and at about 4-5k rpm it was reading around 70v

[tom203]

"...I don't think I had the yellow wires disconnected the first time I tried. I tested it again with them disconnected and at about 4-5k rpm it was reading around 70v "

Ok, your stator seems good, but go back and repeat AC test but this time also put one meter probe on one of those yellow wires and other probe on good bike ground; should be no/very low voltage shown, This makes sure that the stator windings are not grounding out on stator core.

[MrMcTavish]

"...I don't think I had the yellow wires disconnected the first time I tried. I tested it again with them disconnected and at about 4-5k rpm it was reading around 70v "

Ok, your stator seems good, but go back and repeat AC test but this time also put one meter probe on one of those yellow wires and other probe on good bike ground; should be no/very low voltage shown, This makes sure that the stator windings are not grounding out on stator core.

test complete. Readings of about 0.1-0.3. I used the battery negative terminal as a ground.
So with all of this done, is the solution pointing towards replacing the r/r? I've been reading on the site about the polaris r/rs and using the triumph connectors. Are these going to be the best bang for buck?

Again thanks guys for being so quick and helpful. This site makes owning these old gs bikes more enjoyable

[tom203]

Your testing indicates a good stator (by my definition) but those tests have stator producing little load, so they aren't conclusive but,in any event, you are in need of new R/R and the SH-775 is calling you.

Edit; I assumed he meant a voltage of .1 to .3 from stator lead to ground!

[MrMcTavish]

Your testing indicates a good stator (by my definition) but those tests have stator producing little load, so they aren't conclusive but,in any event, you are in need of new R/R and the SH-775 is calling you.

Edit; I assumed he meant a voltage of .1 to .3 from stator lead to ground!

Thank you for your insight and advice. It is indeed calling my name. I will be ordering one soon. Hopefully I can get everything put on and in proper working order before this bike show on the 7th.

[posplayr]

Your testing indicates a good stator (by my definition) but those tests have stator producing little load, so they aren't conclusive but,in any event, you are in need of new R/R and the SH-775 is calling you.

Edit; I assumed he meant a voltage of .1 to .3 from stator lead to ground!

Concur, the leg ground tests are like a built in "megger" test with 70 vac. Since you passed there is some insulating value left in the stator windings. It points to an open circuit in the r/r not allowing any power out.

Sh-775 as replacement.