Another Charging Issue

[sceltuar]

The responses to the topics are very informative - thanks to all. My daily commuter for the last 4 years is an 82 GS750E and the thing has been a tank. Since spring of 07 there have been some charging issues that are really growing more complex. Spring 07, battery died - replaced battery but it didn't last more than two weeks. I did the charging diagnostic test in the Chiltons manual and found a bad Reg/Rectifier. Ran for another week and then the shop replaced the stator. Ran great until February 08 and then another dead battery. New battery lasted 1 ride - shop said it needs another stator - rather than pay them $400+, I did it myself. I ordered a new stator from Dennis Kirk and it came from Rick's in the northeast. I put it in and the lights were never brighter but I noticed some oil leaking from the magneto cover. I got another gasket for the cover and replaced it the next day but noticed the lights were not as bright now. I performed the GS Resources charging system check and all three stator wires read ground to the engine case when they should read open. When I put the new gasket on, I didn't remove the stator, only the wire run to the battery area. My main question is, am I going to have the same problem when I plunk down another $150.00 for another stator or did I probably mess something up by opening up the magneto casing again? Thanks for any feedback. Scott

[mikluha]

How much was the resistance from the stator wires to the ground ?

[sceltuar]

It was reading 0 ohms like the wires were directly connected to the engine block.

[twr1776]

Have you run the additional ground wire from the R/R to the battery? Also, have you cleaned up your other electrical connections and main ground wire? I am no electric guru but it sounds like you are drawing or losing voltage somewhere in your system.

[bakalorz]

The responses to the topics are very informative - thanks to all. My daily commuter for the last 4 years is an 82 GS750E and the thing has been a tank. Since spring of 07 there have been some charging issues that are really growing more complex. Spring 07, battery died - replaced battery but it didn't last more than two weeks. I did the charging diagnostic test in the Chiltons manual and found a bad Reg/Rectifier. Ran for another week and then the shop replaced the stator. Ran great until February 08 and then another dead battery. New battery lasted 1 ride - shop said it needs another stator - rather than pay them $400+, I did it myself. I ordered a new stator from Dennis Kirk and it came from Rick's in the northeast. I put it in and the lights were never brighter but I noticed some oil leaking from the magneto cover. I got another gasket for the cover and replaced it the next day but noticed the lights were not as bright now. I performed the GS Resources charging system check and all three stator wires read ground to the engine case when they should read open. When I put the new gasket on, I didn't remove the stator, only the wire run to the battery area. My main question is, am I going to have the same problem when I plunk down another $150.00 for another stator or did I probably mess something up by opening up the magneto casing again? Thanks for any feedback. Scott

I would open up the stator cover again, and look around. It sounds as if you may have got one of the wires jammed and cut some insulation or touching something inside the cover.
The stator may not be shot, it may just be some insulation you can replace.
Also check for shorts to the bikes frame on all the wires going from the stator out to their connectors. A short there will cause the same readings.
Its most likely only one short wherever it is, all the windings are connected, so a short to ground on any one of them will make all of them read very near zero.

[bwringer]

You can't just replace parts and keep riding -- you have to look at every part of the system.

For example, pretty much every GS has some corroded connectors somewhere. Get a six-pack of something tasty, pull up a chair and a good light, and clean them.

All of them.

Every.
Last.
Connector.

There's some spray stuff for connectors and contact you can get a Radio Shack, but sometimes you have to get in there with a tiny bit of rolled-up sandpaper. Replace ganky connnectors with spade connectors. Protect all connections with anti-oxidant grease.

Solder your stator connectors, or at least replace the crappy bullet connectors with spade connectors. If you must crimp, use only a Very Good (very expensive) crimp tool that makes the complex OEM-style crimps. The $3 crimp tools from Wal*Mart are worse than useless. If you don't have the expensive crimp tool, pull off the plastic insulators, solder the connectors, and protect all connections and connectors with heat-shrink.

Several folks have also found problems hiding on the back side of their fuse box. Unbolt it and take a look.

Once all your wiring is healthy, then you're ready to look for voltage drops and unexpected drains. For example, a bad coil can soak up several amps and still function somewhat when it's cool enough.