Stator Prob and Quality Worry

[Counter]

Hi all - I went through the stator pages and the testing protocol to try and diagnose my battery/charging problem. My battery died after a couple of hundred miles. After leaving my exhausted battery on a trickle charger (Battery Minder) for a week while I was out of town, I put it back in the bike ('81 GS850GX) and fired it up.

The charging voltage was 11 and change. After going through the testing protocol, it looks like a new stator is in the works. My concern is the quality of the replacement stators. I have been reading about the Electrex/Electrosport stator failures in other forums. Some as late as last year.

I don't want to bite the hand that feeds the forum, but I also don't want to be stranded out with no way to get home.

What are the actual experiences with Electrex/Electrosport stators people on this forum have had? It looks like RMStators are the Electrex stators based upon the coloring of the epoxy. I want to think they are good stators, but a little extra checking can't hurt.

Thanks,

[posplayr]

[QUOTE=Counter;1063966]

The charging voltage was 11 and change. After going through the testing protocol, it looks like a new stator is in the works. My concern is the quality of the replacement stators. I have been reading about the Electrex/Electrosport stator failures in other forums. Some as late as last year.

QUOTE]

I have studied these charging systems almost from the start of my GS love affair ( 1.5 years ago). My conclusion is stators fail most often because of the R/R connections and stator is overheated causing break down of teh insulation. We are talking about plastic insulation degrading due to overheat; not exactly rocket science. So there is a high probability that much of what you hear is misdiagnosis(e.g. my stator when out must be a bad stator). I don't have any interest in Electrosport other than they are a little cheaper that Ricks. Some claim higher output so there are slight variations in winding and insulation and undoubly one is probably better than another but not to the point of one is defective.

What specifically makes you think that your stator is bad?

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Counter,

I have never tried a Rick's stator. They are more expensive than RM Stator or Electrosport parts. I have used both RM Stator (current part) and Electrosport.

My bike was eating a stator a year until I took the time to really check and clean the entire wiring harness, especially the ground connections, the charging system connections (all replaced), cleaned the fusebox and ignition switch. I do believe any stator would last if the rest of the electrical system is clean. Corroded connections cause extra resistance, heat, and failure. Check my website for all of the electrical stuff I've created/collected.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[gearhead13]

I have a brand new electrosport stator for sale in the 'for sale' section.

[Counter]

What specifically makes you think that your stator is bad?

I went through the protocol on the fault finding chart in the Stator Papers. Everything checked out until I got to the part where the voltage should be 60+ vac. Mine were 11, 9, and 4. I had the ends unhooked from the r/r and tested the leads from 2 or 3 different places on each lead when checking between the 3 leads.

Add to that the battery dying after a couple of hundred miles and the low charge rate makes me think the stator is bad.

To BikeCliff's point, I will definitely go through the connections and clean them up, solder the leads to the r/r and probably bypass the white/red wires to close that loop to the headlight. I am sure that there are several more connections to be cleaned. A couple of the connections between the stator wires and the r/r were pretty nasty when I checked them during my initial testing as well as the battery ground.

As always, if there is something missing that will save me the expense of a new stator, I'm all ears.

[Griffin]

What specifically makes you think that your stator is bad?

I went through the protocol on the fault finding chart in the Stator Papers. Everything checked out until I got to the part where the voltage should be 60+ vac. Mine were 11, 9, and 4. I had the ends unhooked from the r/r and tested the leads from 2 or 3 different places on each lead when checking between the 3 leads.

Add to that the battery dying after a couple of hundred miles and the low charge rate makes me think the stator is bad.

To BikeCliff's point, I will definitely go through the connections and clean them up, solder the leads to the r/r and probably bypass the white/red wires to close that loop to the headlight. I am sure that there are several more connections to be cleaned. A couple of the connections between the stator wires and the r/r were pretty nasty when I checked them during my initial testing as well as the battery ground.

As always, if there is something missing that will save me the expense of a new stator, I'm all ears.

Did you test the voltage when you first installed the stator? If the stator was working properly when you installed it, and went bad so quickly, it probably is due to bad connections (specifically the ground) that caused it to go bad.

[Counter]

Sorry all, I must have miscommunicated. I have not replaced the stator on my bike. I am looking to buy one, based upon the testing on the existing system in my bike as I purchased it. I don't have a new stator that I put in that has gone bad.

Sorry if I have led you to believe something incorrect.

[Griffin]

Sorry all, I must have miscommunicated. I have not replaced the stator on my bike. I am looking to buy one, based upon the testing on the existing system in my bike as I purchased it. I don't have a new stator that I put in that has gone bad.

Sorry if I have led you to believe something incorrect.

Ok, so you've verified that the stator is bad by your voltage readings. They were taken while revving the bike over 3,000 rpms, correct?

The best course of action is to purchase a new stator from RM, Rick's, or Electrosport, whichever one turns you on. When you install it, take the opportunity to either solder the stator leads directly to the reg/rec leads, or install quality spade-type connectors. Ground your reg/rec directly to the negative battery terminal also.

Once everything is in, test the stator performance again to make sure it is putting out voltage. Depending upon which brand of stator youg et, output voltage will be between 50-70 VAC. No matter what the output is, voltages should be within a couple volts on each leg.

Don't forget to check reg/rec output once everything is buttoned up. You might find another problem there as well.

[Counter]

Thanks for the support. It is appreciated.

[Counter]

The stator is in...

I just put my stator in today. I am a very happy man... Unfortunately, I didin't have my multi-meter at my parent's house (where I worked on the bike) to give it a final test.

It does, however, idle MUCH better than it did last week. The popping and backfiring seems less as well. I was worried because I haven't done this sort of thing in a boatload of years. I also got a real good sunburn today.

There were several connectors that were blackened or burnt and some had the insulation melted around the connectors. There were several connectors that the insulation was brittle as well. I did the bypass of the stator white/red wires and sent all 3 directly to the r/r. I did go through the connectors I could find and gave them all shots of CRC QD Electronics cleaner and a rub with some emery cloth. Not all, but the connectors I could find before the rain hit...

I will go through the rest of the connectors in a little while to complete this phase of the repairs to the old girl.

My thanks to the wonderful people who have posted their tutorials and stories about stators on this site. The body of knowledge really helped an old guy out.

Counter

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Counter,

Thanks for the update. It sounds like good news. Keep up the good work!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Nice to hear that it's running better, but we won't consider this case closed until we see some voltage numbers.

.

[BassCliff]

I just gotta get back to work

Nice to hear that it's running better, but we won't consider this case closed until we see some voltage numbers.

.

Yes. Numbers. And pictures. A number of pictures. And pictures of numbers.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Counter]

OK, numbers it is. I had 60-61 on all 3 circuits at about 3-4K. When I first tested them, I was getting about 40 V and my heart just ached. Then I looked at the tach and realized that my Dad didn't have the bike at 3K+ rpm's. Well, what can you do with free help...?

Anyway, I took her on a 40 mile test run down Taylorsville Rd in Louisville to Hwy 55 to Shelbyville and then back US 60 to Louisville. MUCH BETTER than before.

Now I have to worry about the oil leaks, the iffy clutch and a small problem with backfiring when letting off the throttle at 4K rpm's.

Life is Good.

Counter

[Steve]

Ok, so much for the numbers, but ...



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