Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 9, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 9, 2012 Righto guys, you know I'm handy with the sparky stuff, but I'm stumped. The charging system in my 6th-gen has suddenly gone kaput again. It's lucky to put out 13.3 volts at revs and I'm darned if I know what it is. First up, check out these results: Stator ground ohms - all legs 1.6 ohms (EDIT: ALERT!! THIS MEANS THE STATOR IS DEAD! Stator phase ohms - all phases 1.6 ohms between each other Stator voltage - all phases 20 volts idle, 60 volts at 4,800rrpm Idle volts - 12.8 Volts at 5,000rpm - all over the place, sometimes up to 13.8 but never higher. Seems to hover about 13.2. Voltage drop on positive wire from reg to battery - 0.2 volts steady (idle and up to 5,000rpm) Voltage drop on negative wire from reg to battery - 0.2 ohms, climbing to 0.5 volts at 5,000rpm Regulator diode test - didn't do it yet (ran out of time, it's late and as it is I only got home at 8:45pm) So, regulator - right? Well, I quickly swapped out the regulator for the one I had working well for 2 years previously and still didn't seem to get much out of it. I will admit that my stator AC wires were a temporary hack job during the test and maybe this threw my results off. The regulator on the bike now is stock OEM that came with the wreck I bought. The charging system was rock solid until now. I'm thinking that maybe my Lithium battery has been masking the issues. These batteries don't suffer as much voltage sag as lead acid and I think that this has masked the fact that the charging system volts have been slowly dropping. The problem I've discovered with the Signal Dynamics voltage monitor is that "green" is anything from 13.1 volts up to 15.1. It's probably been dropping from 14 down to 13 over the last few weeks without me knowing. So anyway, advice always appreciated. For now I'm just gonna have to ride around with a battery in my topbox to get me home if it goes completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 9, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 9, 2012 OK, found it. The stator wires are NOT supposed to read 1.6 ohms to the frame. I checked the other two spare stators I have lying around and both of them had readings higher than 200 ohms (off the scale) between any stator wires and earth. Ergo, my stator is totally farked. I guess I should have seen that coming since it came inside the wrecked bike, but 50,000KM seems low for a stator failure. Best as I can tell it must be the insulation on the wires having rubbed off inside the stator somewhere. I'm actually really curious what has happened. An interesting factoid here is that when the stator is unplugged from the regulator, it still reads good AC voltage at rpm. I suppose that's because at that point it has no path to ground but as soon as you connect it to the regulator it completes the circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Any yellow wire to ground, should be totally infinite, 200,ohms, 500 ohms, 1000 ohms doesnt matter, that equals a shorted out stator. Thats why I recommend ground testing on the lagest mega ohm scale, cause you miss a short if on too low of ohm scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 10, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 10, 2012 OK she's fixed. Voltage at idle is 14.25 volts at the regulator, 13.8 at the battery. Seems about right given voltage drop (0.2 volts on each feed, total of 0.4 volts). No obvious signs of deterioration on the busted stator, but must just have been the usual insulation breakdown. I tell you, there is *nothing* like a garage of spare parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 10, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 10, 2012 Any yellow wire to ground, should be totally infinite, 200,ohms, 500 ohms, 1000 ohms doesnt matter, that equals a shorted out stator. Yup, tested my working stators on 2 megaohm scale and both say infinite. Would you believe they charge $800 to re-wire a stator here? Fuggin stupid - you can do it yourself with enough patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB-Oz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 bookmarked for if I ever need a stator re-wired... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 10, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 10, 2012 bookmarked for if I ever need a stator re-wired... Hah now you're putting the pressure on. I've never rewired one myself but had a good look at some of the websites that explain how to do it. Rick's motorsport stators are $155. So, either buy one of those or re-wire your own. Can't see why *anyone* would ever pay $800 for a re-wire, except due to how much Honda charge for OEM parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 $800? You can get New VFR stators online in the U.S. for under $200, no reason to play with hit or miss aftermarket, for minimal savings, that on average are known to fail more often than OEM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted July 13, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2012 Sorry to jump in guys, but I would like some clarification. Spud, does the Rick's motorsport fall under the aftermarket you're talking about? Also, where can you find OEM for under $200 online? I'm thinking that maybe I should get a spare one for when mine craps out--I've got almost 45-46K km on mine, I already got a spare R/R that I haven't tested yet but I will eventually. Just to be on the safe side. Thanks guys! C PS Kaldek, I'm glad to see you got yours back on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 13, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2012 $800? You can get New VFR stators online in the U.S. for under $200, no reason to play with hit or miss aftermarket, for minimal savings, that on average are known to fail more often than OEM. Honda Australia charge usually 2-3 times more than Honda America. It's a policy set by Japan which the local arm of Honda cannot change. Unfortunately, nobody in America does *easy* international shipping of Honda OEM parts. Unless you know of anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted July 13, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2012 Also, where can you find OEM for under $200 online? Honda Parts House. Look up your bike then go to the "Generator" page in the parts fiche. Part code is 31120-MCW-D03, price $205.87. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted July 13, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2012 I guess Ricks are rewinds ? Kaldek when are you gonna start your next repair project? I miss reading your repair post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Sorry to jump in guys, but I would like some clarification. Spud, does the Rick's motorsport fall under the aftermarket you're talking about? Also, where can you find OEM for under $200 online? I'm thinking that maybe I should get a spare one for when mine craps out--I've got almost 45-46K km on mine, I already got a spare R/R that I haven't tested yet but I will eventually. Just to be on the safe side. Thanks guys! C PS Kaldek, I'm glad to see you got yours back on the road. RonAyers.com, $194 , course $10 shipping would be $204, but some MC stators are over $300, I consider the Vfr's fairly cheap for an OEM stator, that normally yeilds over 50,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted July 14, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks Kaldek and Spud for these clarifications. They are extremely useful to a non-specialist like me. I think I will still get a stator just in case amything happens... I'm am optimist but I'd rather be prepared. Thanks again. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Make sure to get a gasket too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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