New stator, new R/R...Bike still dies

[Johnny K]

I dont get it. I installed a Duneage R/R, an electrosport stator, every connector was cleaned and greased. I made sure I had continuity to each wire through a connector. Before I started it up, my volts at the battery was 11.8. It started right up after i put the stator and r/r in. I let it idle for about 10 min. I shut it off, and then started it up again with a little hesitation. I let it idle for a couple of min then shut it off. Went to start it again and it went.. womp womp womp womp.... dead. Just confused..

[MikeG]

11.8 is nearly dead, I'd check the cells and then charge it up, you should have 12.9 or so fully charged. 11.4 is a completely dead kaput battery

[bonanzadave]

Before I started it up, my volts at the battery was 11.8. It started right up after i put the stator and r/r in.

The real question is whats the battery voltage when its running. If youre getting over 14vdc while your bike is running go for a short ride to get the battery charged up.

[Johnny K]

Okay. But if it started right up with no problems after the stator and R/R install and then after one time of hesitation, and then the next it went dead, it still could possible be the battery? Wouldn't the R/R and stator kick in and charge the battery as it's running??

[Johnny K]

It's funny you ask. I was just about to take it for a ride when I shut it off, and then went to start and it went dead.

[Johnny K]

I will charge the battery later on after I get out of work towards the evening and go from there on a fully charged battery.

[tkent02]

Did you do the troubleshooting in the stator papers or just buy new parts?

[jbs80106]

re-read the stator papers!

The bike only really starts to generate voltage back at the battery >3000 rpm or so. I think on mine I see some small voltage back at idle, but then again my bike currently idles around 1000 rpm!!! (too high, I know).

If battery wasn't full when you started, and you just let it idle for 10 minutes its possible it just drained the necessary few volts from the battery.

Plus, starting can put a pretty big draw on the battery and could take a while to recover especially if you started out below 12 V to begin with......

Use a volt meter, check battery voltage, make sure >12V. Start bike, check voltage at the battery at idle. Probably not much above 12 to be honest. Then rev it up and see if voltage goes up......

[doctorgonzo]

1000 RPM isn't too high for idle. That's dead on or maybe a tad low. 1050 is the recommended and 900 or less puts you in danger from low oil flow.

[Dave8338]

1000 RPM isn't too high for idle. That's dead on or maybe a tad low. 1050 is the recommended and 900 or less puts you in danger from low oil flow.

Correct. My guess is that the battery is toast as a result of the stator and R/R issues you had. Your battery should show a solid 12V+ static. The voltage should climb to 13V+ at idle and jump to 14V+ but less than 15.5 at 5,000RPM's.

[skidMarkNZ]

Okay. But if it started right up with no problems after the stator and R/R install and then after one time of hesitation, and then the next it went dead, it still could possible be the battery? Wouldn't the R/R and stator kick in and charge the battery as it's running??

You need to get about 3-4k of rpms before it will charge at full rate (14.7 volts)

perhaps it is not charging and the bike is running total loss from the battery, ie spark is coming from battery.

sounds like charge aint getting through to me, sometime you have to unearth bodys of reg recs. or leave one charge wire off, ive had that happen before.

[duaneage]

Might be a dead cell in the battery, not much to do about that. If it does not come up on the battery charger (slow trickle charge) then a new battery is needed.

[Johnny K]

This morning I left the bike in my shed after it died and went to work. Came home about 2 hours ago. Went to start the bike up. The bike started like nothing was wrong with it. I let it idle for about 5 min and shut it off. Went to start it and.. womp womp womp. When it was idling though, the R/R, the wires from the R/R and the Stator wires were getting really warm. I am charging the battery tonight and will have a full charge on the battery tomorrow. I dont have a battery tender, just a battery charger. I will unplug it when i go to bed and plug it back in when I wake up in the morning.

[duaneage]

I think that battery took a hit from the charging system problems, Johnny. It won't hurt the RR, but the stator has to provide power for it and there is a limit to how much the stator can safely put out.

If it doesn't come up, buy a maintenance free battery, spend a little extra for a top quality battery. The cheap wet cells for 30 bucks don't last more than a year it seems. I broke down and got a battery from www.tristatebattery.com and it came with a three year warranty. 2 years later still no problems. Note they have free shipping on orders over 50 bucks. Luckily I live 20 minutes away and actually drove there with my dead battery and changed it in the parking lot.

I ran it down to 9.6 once by leaving the parking light on for a day. After 1 hour on a battery charger the voltage was back up and it was like it never even happened. A cheap wet cell would have died on the spot.

[Johnny K]

I'll keep that in mind. I think the bigger picture here is that yesterday I felt the R/R, wires from the R/R and the stator wires were getting really warm. It was like the same as last time, but not as hot. How warm/hot do the R/R, wires from it, and stator wires get? Im just afraid that something will cook if I take it for a ride once my battery is at full charge.