Battery drain?

[duaneage]

Believe it or not, windings donot have to be straight. As long as there are enough turns of the proper size wire they can be crooked. I have made many coils out of magnet wire and tested perfectly wound coils versus crooked wound coils that were not nice and even. As long as I used the same amount of wire and the right number of turns they tested the same.

I will be very surprised if this fixes the problem

[tfb]

I think it's been rewound before. Not visible in the photo is the rest of the wiring which runs from the stator and exits the crankcase... it had been rather messily joined in the middle (a few inches out from the stator).

Also, when I got the bike, the 3rd phase was still wired via the headlight switch on the right handlebar, which is the main culprit for cooking the windings in the first place. So my guess is that after 24 years the machine may have been through a few stators :roll:

Mike.

[tfb]

Duaneage,

Testing the stator with a multimeter, and following the directions in 'the Stator Papers' here on the GSResources website, showed that the windings were pretty-well dead-shorted to each other, ie. the windings for each phase have broken-down.

So I am interested to know why you think that fixing the stator (which clearly needs fixing -- I mean, in places those windings have virtually fused) won't fix the problem?

I should add that I tested the starter solenoid as you suggested a few days ago, and it checks out perfectly, so there are no problems there.

Mike.

[duaneage]

Didn't know they were shorted.

But coils don't necessarily need to be wound perfectly, that was my point.

Good luck with it, at least you can ride down there this time of year!

[argonsagas]

Now that you know the problem, rewind it, or replace it with a new one, and get back to riding.


FYI, the number of windings is what counts most; the regularity and/or appearance of the manner in which they are wound does matter, but it is a definite second place. The regularity of windings makes for longevity, as it lessens vibration and fatigue, and keeps the insulation intact longer.

BTW that stuff that looks like lacquer on the wire, is actually lacquer.

It is a different formula than the acrylic version you spray on your car. It has been used for many years, and it is very good at providing electrical wire insulation.

[tfb]

Duaneage,

Good point about the coils not needing to be wound perfectly -- it gives us all courage to perhaps do this job ourselves next time! Unfortunately GS stators seem to be the one GS component that doesn't last forever.

In short (no pun intended), the windings have been shorting wherever possible; virtually zero resistance between the windings, and ditto for each winding with earth... so it was a wonder anything was getting through to the reg./rect. In the photo of the windings, take a look at the second winding from the right of TDC; insulation has almost gone, and several loops of winding have self-soldered together.

Thanks again all, for your input & advice. I'm looking forward to getting these electrical woes behind me and for some trouble-free summer motorcycling.

Mike.