mlwestoriginal Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 My 02 VFR seems to have stopped charging the battery as I only see ~11.8V or so at whatever engine speed. I've had the recall for the wiring harness performed and don't seem to experience any other issues while the bike is running on purely the new battery I just installed. My reading here seems to point to either the voltage regulator/rectifier or the stator itself. Has anyone here diagnosed this set of symptoms recently they'd care to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 Clearly there's no charging going on at all. There's plenty of help in the electrical forum . . . Next steps are to diagnose the stator (a likely culprit) then move on to the R/R and wiring. http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/29975-tips-tricks-to-help-your-charging-system/ http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/29102-stator-tests/ http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/34946-electrical-upgrade-how-to-with-pics/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Knute Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 You can give this flowchart a try as well. http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/files/file/159-electrosport-charging-system-fault-finding-chart/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Egg on Leggs Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 Had this happen to me last month, voltage reading did not change with revs. I checked all the fuses and they were OK. The next check was the continuity of the Alternator which was also OK. I did not bothering checking anything else, just got a Mosfet kit and fitted it and got my charging back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 Had this happen to me last month, voltage reading did not change with revs. I checked all the fuses and they were OK. The next check was the continuity of the Alternator which was also OK. I did not bothering checking anything else, just got a Mosfet kit and fitted it and got my charging back. Best way for sure .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 Is the plug into the RR all the way in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted June 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2015 I'm from the KISS camp, the following has helped fix over a hundred or so viffers and other bikes. Again, checking the charging system starts with battery first. The system is a 4 legged stool (battery/wire harness/RR/stator).... and all have to be in shape or charging no workie. -Sorry for your electrical troubles. Well, looks like you gotta do…. “The Drill.” Go through all your connectors for burnt leads, dig deep. Crispy wires? Not good. Your gonna have to fix that! Then---Go through this starting point quick list. You will need a multimeter too. Steps: - Recharge battery overnite - then to take it to Autozone, Batterys Plus or similar to load test. -- Good? Bad? – An iffy battery can fake you out and act like a bad R/R. Buy new if needed. - With good battery fire it up, warm up for a minute or two. These are R/R quick checks--- --- With voltmeter at battery get voltages -- idle volts? 5000 rpm volts? What’s the numbers? Should be in 13ish min idle and in 14s at revs. If in the 12s at idle, try at 1900 rpm. (It’s not unusual for the system to be in discharge or no charge at idle.) - Check stator - 1. Pull connector apart. Set meter to resistance. Check pin to pin stator side, 3 yellow wires, A to B, B to C, C to A. What’s the numbers? 3 separate readings --Should be less than 1.0 ohms. (Engine off) - 2. Check continuity from each A,B,C pin stator side to ground, -- -should be infinity - nada nothing. no continuity. -- 3 separate checks. (Engine off, again connector is apart) - 3. Crank it back up. Do another pin to pin thing, but set meter on AC volts. idle and 5000 rpms. What's da numbers? Should start 15 -20ish and climb 50ish and more. Again – 3 readings stator side connector and still apart. - Repeat hot. This quick list will catch the obvious stuff, but if you need to dig deeper check this chart. (Some guys like this chart, my taste, I don’t care for it.) http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlwestoriginal Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 Thanks everyone for your replies and I hope no one minds if I leverage your experience at testing out the various parts without digging into all of the schematics. Just did a quick search and found OEM RR parts for ~$40 so I'll likely try that first as mine has never been replaced in 50K miles and 13+ years of use. What is the easiest way to check (other than using a Megar which I don't have) the stator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlwestoriginal Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 A quick check of the output of the three yellow wires shows voltages at 4k RPM to be about as follows: A - B = 7V AC A - C = 10V AC B - C = 7V AC These sound pretty low according to mello dude's post. However, I'm using a true RMS meter which might explain the low voltages and without access to what the waveform looks like from this alternator setup I wouldn't have a clue as to what the RMS values should be. If my meter isn't massaging things too badly does that sound like it might be a bad stator? For the record, the resistance readings of the windings appear to be nominal - that is to say ~0.2 to 0.3 ohms between each pole and infinite (at least with my DMM) to chassis ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted June 8, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2015 Without the true AC voltages, you cant isolate whether the problem is the stator or R/R or both. The possibilities go like... Bad stator, good R/R --- low voltage output at the battery... Good stator, bad R/R --- low voltage output at the battery. Good stator, bad R/R -- overly high 15.2 volts or way higher volts at the battery. So see.. you gotta figure out if the stator is good. But that said, if the bike is at 50k + miles, its probly worth it to do a stator job anyhoo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted July 7, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted July 7, 2015 This little diagram always helped me to better understand. Roll On ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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