Not Charging after going through tests on stator pages

[saxmanwwjd]

I have a 1980 GS1000G with 32000 miles on it. Last season I had to repair 4 pin holes in the gas tank which ended my riding season quickly. I finally finished using the POR 15 tank coat on the inside and the POR-15 black primer paint on the out side. It turned out nice and no leaks could be found. Well after getting it running and having my battery on a battery tender all winter I thought it was a battery issue so I went up to the auto store and had them test the battery. It was holding a charge but was weak so I took it home and charged it. I rode my bike for a week having to charge the battery every night when I got home. Some days I would have to push start my bike after work. What a pain!! So I decided to see what type of voltage my battery was getting when I had it running at idle which was just above 13.10V and I know that was probably the charge in the battery and not what was coming from the charging system. I then came out to the this website and read all of the Stator Papers IV page and printed the test instructions to figure out what was wrong. I did the first test and had the test leads of the multimeter on the battery terminals and got 13.05V and when I went to rev up to 5000 rpm it went up until it reached about 2500 rpms and then dipped to about 12.85V. The headlight also dims when you go above the 2500 rpms. I went through the whole test procedure and did find that I had a bad fuse going to my headlight but I replaced it. I tested everything just like it asked and found that nothing was wrong. I have notice that the Green w/white striped wire does get very hot. I replaced the connector just the other day and it has made the insulation around the connectors very warm and the insulation acted like heat shrink tubing. It has gotten very tight around the connectors. I am not sure what is the problem right now. I just know it is not charging. The voltage on the stator was yellow and white w/blue tracer had 86V@5000rpm, white w/blue tracer and white with green tracer had 76V@5000rpm, and white w/green tracer and yellow had 76V@5000rpm. This was the no load stator test. I also tested the R/R when at an idle and then I tested it off of the bike and still could not find a problem. I am not sure where to go next. Please help.

[Steve]

Sounds like bad connections to me. Especially check your ground connection for the r/r. Many times it is grounded to the battery box, which is rubber-isolated. :shock: Either extend that wire or just run another wire from that ground point to the negative terminal on the battery.


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[SPARKSS]

Hello there saxman. Not much fun pushing and jumping onto a 10ton Gs1000 is it heheh (been there before). Your stator (AC source) is probably ok BUT when you did your disconnected voltage test, I'd also need to know that there was NO AC voltage between each of the stator wires and chassis (this indicates an AC short to the stator core). A path here, irregardless of your line-line voltage will cause the rectifier to not work to your benefit. NEXT.....Measuring voltage across the battery is only PART of an indication that the battery may be charging.......you need to insert an ammeter in series with either battery lead to see whether the battery is indeed receiving significant current. This, on a running bike should be on the order of a few amperes max. If you see very low current and good or high voltage, then the battery is incapable of being charged - the charging system (stator and rectifier) are providing power to run the bike only. If you see significant to high current that doesn't taper off after the bike has started and run (perhaps 8-9 amperes) and the voltage is low (anywhere 11.5 - 12 etc) then you may have a shorted cell in your battery - QUITE COMMON....the symptoms are VERY SIMILAR to what you're experiencing. This is not a repairable condition and the battery must be replaced - This situation, over many others will cook your charging system (in particular your stator) as much as any other common problem. Are you familiar with finding voltage drops in a circuit?

[saxmanwwjd]

With each of the three leads from the stator when I was measuring resistance the display went to infinity. (OL.:-D) Which was a good thing for me that means I don't have to crack the case open and change the stator. I am trying the ground wire from the R/R to see if it works. I have been busy with birthday parties and my wife and two kids. My daughter is 6 and my son is 4 months. He keeps me very busy. I have also taken the battery and put it on a battery load tester and it said that the battery was good. It starts the bike every time after I charge it. My battery is giving out 13.15 volts and when the bike is running at idle it is around 13.10. I also have a degree in Microcomputer electronics which took us through voltage drops along a resistor path. I think I should be able to figure out where the voltage is going if I know what voltage I should have at the point of reference. I have measured all of the voltages that the stator page requested so I am trying the ground terminal remedy to see if running another wire up from the R/R will fix my problem. I am also going to drop by Wal-Mart on the way home and get some more 15 amp fuses because one of my fuses fell apart when I was cleaning my fuse block.(Headlight fuse)

[txironhead]

Take your fuseblock off, pry off the plastic cover on the back, and thoroughly clean and inspect the entire assembly. Bad fuse connections are very common on these bikes. Then replace all of the fuses with new ones. This, along with the extra ground wires, may solve your problem. Also, check and thoroughly clean the main ground connections (negative post to engine case).