Weird charging problems

[Matchless]

Psyguy,
Have you visually eyeballed the stator since this problem started? Usually burnt windings can easily be seen.

Just a comment, if you test for load current with the bike running, keep the wires from the stator disconnected so that full load is drawn from the battery and that is measured. You most probably have been doing that.

Good luck!

[psyguy]

Have you visually eyeballed the stator since this problem started? Usually burnt windings can easily be seen.

no, not yet. want to test it one more time while riding to get detailed data over time, before i have to drain the oil to look at the stator...

Just a comment, if you test for load current with the bike running, keep the wires from the stator disconnected so that full load is drawn from the battery and that is measured. You most probably have been doing that.

nope, didn't occur to me to disconnect the stator i'm a novice at the lektrix

[Matchless]

You do not need to drain the oil, just lean the bike over a bit to the right and no oil will come out except a spoonfull or so and you can pull the cover easily.

[Steve]

As Matchless said, no need to drain the oil.

Simply put the bike on the centerstand, tip it to the right, slip a 2x4 under the left pad of the centerstand.
Here is how it sits. Plenty stable.



.

[psyguy]

so, i tested the system again, while riding. the results are as follows:

• headlight OFF - voltage = 14.7V-14.8V at any rpm between 2k-5k rpm, voltage steady over 5 mins of testing
• headlight ON - at constant 5k rpm - voltage immediately drops to 14.2V and keeps dropping over the next 10 minutes to 12.5V then stabilizes
• in the city riding (variable rpms) over the next 20 minutes the voltage dropped to 12.2V-12.3V

then i ran out of time for testing

[psyguy]

took the stator cover off today. not everything is good there, it seems...

(thanks for the tip (and a pictorial!) on how to take the cover off without having to drain the oil )








i would appreciate your thoughts as to weather this sort of damage would be enough to cause the symptoms that i have (as in the first post)

[chef1366]

Is that just melted insulation or a shorted pole?

[almarconi]

During the course of this entire thread you have still not answered the questions concerning the condition of your battery?

Have you checked the charge of the battery and the specific gravity of the electrolyte in the battery? Simply measuring the voltage does not tell you the true health of a battery.

Why are you so convinced that the stator or R/R is at fault? I purchased a wet cell battery from walmart and no amount of charging would get the battery above 12.3 volts. The battery was simply defective. Replaced it with an AGM battery and charging system works fine.

[psyguy]

During the course of this entire thread you have still not answered the questions concerning the condition of your battery?

i tested the system with a good car battery and got similar results. do you think that is enough to rule the battery out as a suspect?

[psyguy]

Is that just melted insulation or a shorted pole?

i was wondering the same thing. how could i determine what it is?

[almarconi]

The charging system on your bike does not have the capacity to recharge a car battery.

Why don't you test your motorcycle battery?

[psyguy]

Why are you so convinced that the stator or R/R is at fault?

i am not convinced, but some folks that know their stuff like bakalorz, posplyr, matchless, seem to think along the lines of a faulty stator (as the RR has been tested on another bike as OK and the battery was new when these problems first occured).

but i'll test the battery for the electrolite specific gravity, i do hope you are right and this is as simple as a faulty battery that can not be diagnosed by a voltmeter only

[almarconi]

How old is the stator? Is it original?? A stator is not that expensive and is easily replaced.

The battery is an integral part of the charging system. It may or may not solve your problem but it can't be ignored. If your stator is producing voltage, your R/R is sending voltage to the battery and the battery is faulty your system is not going to charge.

[almarconi]

Here is some useful information on batteries. There is a chart that show SG and battery voltages.

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html

[KiwiGS]

i was wondering the same thing. how could i determine what it is?

Do you have a pet sparky?
If you do get them to do an insulation resistance test. That will tell you if the insulation is damaged.
Cheers