stator readings help

[boathead]

it took me far too long, but i find figured out where my stator output lines were. unfortunately, the set up didn't look much like basscliff's pics. hahaha. one of the three wires diverts into so much gobbledygook, wrapped in electrical tape, and then nosedived back into the bike. i will assume for the moment that somehow it miraculously makes its way to the rectifier.

being so new to this, i was perplexed about the connectors, and didn't want to tug on them, as i didn't know how the connectors mated. but i lightly played with one of them, and it came apart in my fingers before i could get a good look at it. perhaps it wasn't connected at all. i'll have to keep that in mind as a possible source of my problem.

the results of my multimeter tests are as follows (and here are my questions):
1. with everything connected, and the engine revved to 5k, there was no discernable spike in DC voltage at the battery terminals.
2. so i disconnected the wires. resistance between the wires had a reading, but it was jumping all over the place. is this normal? nonetheless, resistance was in fact detected, and the readings, while they jumped all over the freaking place, seemed to want to settle at 1 to 1.5 ohms.
3. resistance in relation to chassis ground showed OL.
4. with the bike revving, AC voltage between the wires easily got up to 60. but i didn't get it up to 5k, because the neighbor yelled at me for noise.
5. so i'm thinking stator might be good, so i reattach the connections. check DC volts with the bike off, and my battery is showing 12.3 at the terminals. i start the bike, and rev it to 4k, and quickly take a reading at the battery terminals, and it was only 12.66. shut the bike off, as the neighbor said she called the cops.
6. with the bike off, the DC voltage at the battery terminals was now 12.66. it seemed to get some charge from the stator and r/r.

so, can some of you pros tell me what i did wrong so i can recheck it when the neighbors are no longer sleeping? or if in the unlikely event that i did things correctly, what next?

sorry for the long post. tried to lay it all out there so i might get an on point response or two. btw. the lady was bluffing. no cops.

[lucabond]

Take the 3 wires from the stator and cut them off of the connector. Conect them directly to the 3 wires going to your RR other than the red or black. Connect the red to the + battery ternminal connect the black wire to the - side of the battery.
It sounds like its working, probably old and just poor connections. Hopefully you have a soldering iron and can solder the wires together. Make sure the battery connections and the water is at the right level. It wouldnt hurt to check the ground from the - side of the battery to the frame I', thinking that should do the trick. Tell your neighbor to stuffit maybe run your mower while you do your check to mask your bike running lol.
Good luck
p.s. Im out for the rest of the day so the previous offer is withdrawn

p.p.s. it doesnt matter which of the 3 stator wires goes to which of the 3 RR wires just not the black or red

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. boathead,

Let's all be mindful of our neighbors. I have neighbors on both sides of me who ride. I certainly wouldn't want them revving their bikes at 4000 rpm when I'm trying to sleep.

I replaced all of the crummy bullet connectors with blade connectors. Being an IT hardware guy, I like the modular approach better than soldering everything together.

When checking resistance between the stator legs, be sure you have good connections. With the jumpy meter readings you report, it's easy to suspect either your meter, or corroded connections under the old crimped bullet connectors.

It also sounds like you have one leg of the stator running up through the headlight switch (the headlight switch was non-existent on my bike). For those bike with a headlight switch, it would disable one leg of the stator when you turned off the headlight so as not to overcharge the system. Suzuki still used the old wiring harness even after the US DOT decided we should keep our headlights on all the time and took away our headlight switches. There is no need to use this loop. Like Mr. lucabond said, just connect the output wires of the stator directly to the input wires of the r/r. Cut back and tape off the useless loop from the non-existent headlight switch.

When measuring AC voltage between the stator legs, a good stator should put out a little more than 60vAC, even at 4000 rpm. As long as all of the legs are equal, I think you'll be OK, at least for a while.

When you are testing, make sure your ground connections are against the negative battery terminal or bare, unpainted frame.

How old/new is your battery? Have you tested the r/r? As per the Stator Papers, you should see somewhere around 14vDC (or a little better) at the battery terminals if everything is working as it should.

It does sound like your stator is testing pretty good. Please complete your testing, and cleaning/repairing of all the electrical connections, and keep us informed. Keep up the good work. But take it easy on the neighbors.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[lucabond]

I was just kidding about the neighbors, but since his post was after noon I figured he was safe. The lawn mowers are going around 10 am here. And in the winter since I live on a lake the ice fishermen are out on the lake with the power augers around 7 am and that sound travels. I had pm'ed him and explained about the light switch wires and the spade connectors and crimping tool. Even the spade connectors can go bad and you can only clean the male ones, or if you don't do a good job with the crimping it can lead to problems.
But it is easier to trouble shoot if you can disconnect things. Being a Ham I'm pretty good with a soldering iron, which leads me to another point,if there should be a Ham fest (flea market) near anybody its worth a trip as you can pick up all the connectors,plugs,soldering tools, cable ,zip ties,shrink wrap ,switches, anything electronic for real short money,you would save more than enough to cover your cost of admission probably half the price you would pay at Rad Shack and who knows you might find another hobby. I plan on putting a ham transcevier on my bike it has a removeable head so I can mount the box in 1 of my luggage bags and mount the head on my handle bars so I can talk to the world as I go down the road. And 9 out of 10 times if you dont have reception on your cell you get someone on the radio to help out in an emergency. Ok that was my plug for Ham Radio oh did I mention there is no more Morse code to learn just a written test. If anybody is interested PM me I would be more that happy to help you out. Happy riding...

[Steve]

... which leads me to another point,if there should be a Ham fest (flea market) near anybody its worth a trip as you can pick up all the connectors,plugs,soldering tools, cable ,zip ties,shrink wrap ,switches, anything electronic for real short money,you would save more than enough to cover your cost of admission probably half the price you would pay at Rad Shack and who knows you might find another hobby. ...

For the last 26 years, I have lived almost within spitting distance of the world's largest Ham-fest...Dayton, oHIo.
But ... I have never been there.

I tend to get my connectors in bulk (packages of 50 or 100) from Parts Express.
They are available five days every week, instead of just five days a year (like at Ham-fest), and ...
they are even closer.

.

[lucabond]

I went out to Dayton in 2ooo its 1 of those things that every Ham has to do at least once in their lives. Some guys go every year. I have never seen so many dead deer or tractor trailers in all my life as I did on that trip. Generally we stock up on stuff at the flea markets so we have parts on hand when a project comes up. Also a good place to get computer hardware cheap.

[boathead]

i am a courteous neighbor. it was 11:30 when i started revving. i didn't think that was unreasonable. but i stopped anyways, because she asked.

anyways.....the battery is 1 month old. i am cautiously optimistic now that the stator is ok. that leaves me with what? checking the connections, cleaning the connections. i will do that. i like the idea of connecting the stator wires directly to the r/r, but i am not there yet for a variety of reasons, namely i don't have connectors or a soldering tool. i'll be hitting home depot and radio shack in a few days.

but how does one check the r/r? my manual, clymer, has me checking the stator and that's it. if stator is ok, then ditch the r/r.

[lucabond]

not till after you clean and rewire the stator and RR. If you plan on replacing the connectors anyway, for testing purposes just cut them off and strip off about 1/2" of wire and twist them together then tape them. And see what voltage you get at the battery at 5k. If your getting about 14 volts it would seem to be ok if not then it would be time to PM Mr Dunage for a new RR and at that point you would have to put on the new conectors. At least this way you will know if it works or not.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. boathead,

There are diode checks and resistance tests for the regulator/rectifier explained in the Stator Papers fault finding chart. But chances are that if your stator output is OK, and your battery is good, then the r/r is the culprit, unless it has a bad ground. Have you connected the ground wire from the r/r directly to the negative battery post? Have you cleaned all of the electrical connections and grounds (from the headlight bucket to the tail light)? Many charging problems have been solved just by some routine maintenance. Keep us informed.

I have a few pictures of the connector crimping I did on my bike. I think they're in my stator replacement guide.

If you need a new r/r, I recommend sending a PM to Mr. duaneage. He's got used (but tested good) upgraded Honda parts that bolt right on to our bikes. A good $40 investment. Or you can buy new (~$100) or take a chance on a used part from ebay.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[boathead]

i have NOT checked all connections. i am sort of slow at this, i admit. it took me hours just to figure out where the heck the stator wires were. hahaha.

i guess this is where i am at: spend some time cleaning the contact points and connections, and connecting the stators directly to the r/r, and then see. if that doesn't work, i'll try a new r/r.

btw, mr. basscliff, i did see the r/r check in the stator papers. my bad.

and there is a jumper from the bottom of the battery box to the neg battery post. i assume this is ok. the first thing i am going to do is clean up that connection, as it looks a bit rusty.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. boathead,

Not to worry. Take your time. It usually takes me longer when I work on my bike because I'm rather meticulous and always double-check. Forgive my forgetfulness, what bike do you have? Perhaps you may want to make a note in your signature file. There may be a manual for your bike on my website.

Cleaning rusty ground connections is a very good thing. Also check the big ground cable that runs from the negative battery terminal to the back of the engine. I scrubbed mine with a small wire brush even though it had no rust. It made a big difference. The battery box is sometimes not a good ground because it may be insulated with rubber washers. The only continuity is through the bolts. I spliced some extra wire onto the ground wire of my r/r so that it would reach directly to the negative battery terminal. Every little bit of resistance you can take out of the circuits of these old bikes will help.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[boathead]

thanks again for all the input. i need it to stop raining, as my bike is under a leaky carport. it's very frustrating all the rain around here.

bike is an 82 gs650G. i have the manual downloaded from your website, and i also have a clymer manual.

[Steve]

... and there is a jumper from the bottom of the battery box to the neg battery post. i assume this is ok. the first thing i am going to do is clean up that connection, as it looks a bit rusty.

The concept is great, but never assume that the connection is in good shape.
I see that you already plan on cleaning the connection, so get to it.

.

[boathead]

thanks to all, and particularly lucabond....i think i have some success to report????

i led the black from the r/r directly to the neg post, and cleaned the contact point...it was all rusted. also steel wooled a few other connections, put it all back together, and took a reading at the battery: 12.59.

took a 15 mile ride, turned the bike off, and immediately took a reading: 12.81.

i will view this as a success.

but a follow up question: are the above readings indicative of an acceptably functioning charging system? or a functioning but not-optimally functioning charging system?

[BassCliff]

Cooking with electrons

Hi Mr. boathead,

You must take voltage readings at the battery with the bike running in order to see the output of your charging system. But it looks like you've done well.

Take a voltage reading at idle and at 4000-5000 rpm. It should be near 13v at idle and around 14v or better at 4000 rpm.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff