Guest 91talon Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Ok, well, I recently replaced my battery (a different thread) and the voltage seemed ok. Took the bike out for a ride today, the first one since I put the new battery in, and within a couple of hours the voltage was sitting around 11.5. Needless to say, I boogied home. Pulled the right fairing off a bit, and pulled the recently cleaned and Ox-guarded stator connector. I know the bike was hot, the frame was hot, and the radiator tube was hot, but the connector was REALLY hot. Hotter than the other connectors around it. Not a good sign. I pulled the voltmeter out and did an ohm reading from the yellow wires to the ground, and came up at around 4.8 for all three. I did the setting at 200, but would it make much of a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted April 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 23, 2013 Connectors should mot be hotter then the heat of the surrounding. This means to me your connector i having bad contacts and needs cleaning/adjustment to let it make proper contact. The heat is comming from resistance in the contact en high amperage, this resistance shouldn't happen. So the contacts aren't working as they should. Solution, clean the contacts properly with a can of electronical-cleaning spray and adjust the female-contacts so they have a tighter opening. Then start and measure again. If it's too low again seek further. Do not let these contacts hot again as it can catch fire. Verstuurd van mijn GT-S5570 met Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Yeah, I shot them with a can of electrical connector cleaner, let it dry, then put Ox-guard on each connector. I hadn't thought about tightening the female ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted April 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 23, 2013 Yeah gotta check mine before TMac, sorry but thanks for the reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kebrider Posted April 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 23, 2013 Clean the connectors with contact cleaner and don't put anything at all on them before testing for heat. The use of oxide inhibitors is a leading cause of death to low voltage connections. I see people goop this stuff on and create a very poor, high resistance connection. Seal the connector to prevent corrosion if you like but never put anything on a 12VDC connector that does not improve/maintain conductivity. KEB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Ok, well, I recently replaced my battery (a different thread) and the voltage seemed ok. Took the bike out for a ride today, the first one since I put the new battery in, and within a couple of hours the voltage was sitting around 11.5. Needless to say, I boogied home. Pulled the right fairing off a bit, and pulled the recently cleaned and Ox-guarded stator connector. I know the bike was hot, the frame was hot, and the radiator tube was hot, but the connector was REALLY hot. Hotter than the other connectors around it. Not a good sign. I pulled the voltmeter out and did an ohm reading from the yellow wires to the ground, and came up at around 4.8 for all three. I did the setting at 200, but would it make much of a difference? well. if you disconnected the yellow wire connector and each wire to ground had any continuity, then you have a shorted out stator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted April 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 23, 2013 Ok, well, I recently replaced my battery (a different thread) and the voltage seemed ok. Took the bike out for a ride today, the first one since I put the new battery in, and within a couple of hours the voltage was sitting around 11.5. Needless to say, I boogied home. Pulled the right fairing off a bit, and pulled the recently cleaned and Ox-guarded stator connector. I know the bike was hot, the frame was hot, and the radiator tube was hot, but the connector was REALLY hot. Hotter than the other connectors around it. Not a good sign. I pulled the voltmeter out and did an ohm reading from the yellow wires to the ground, and came up at around 4.8 for all three. I did the setting at 200, but would it make much of a difference? well. if you disconnected the yellow wire connector and each wire to ground had any continuity, then you have a shorted out stator. ...as is quit common for VFR stators. How many miles on your bike? Curious to know if you managed to exceed 30,000 miles with the original stator (if you are the original owner and know that the stator is the first one in this bike). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 My bike is currently at 39,400. I'm not sure if it's the original stator, but given what I know about the bike, it wouldn't really surprise me if it was. As for the Ox-Guard. It may be an oxide inhibitor, but it is a conductor, unlike dielectric grease, as I understand it. Also, the connectors had no Ox-guard on them when I tested them the first time, and the reading was about the same. I just wasn't sure if the battery was the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Pulled each wire from the stator side of the connector and retested them. Pretty much the same results when going from the connector to ground on the frame. Also checked the AC voltage when idling, and it was in the area of 26+ for each wire. Now I have to try and come up with a couple hundred more dollars to get a new stator, gasket, and might as well upgrade to the VFRness while I'm at it. Somewhere around $220 on wiremybike. Although I might have to go to the stealership for the gasket. This should sit well with the wife. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Finally pulled my stator this weekend. Yeah, I'm pretty sure this thing has the Colonel's secret recipe hidden somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted June 4, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 4, 2013 That looks finger lickin' good all right. I'm using Oxgard on my stator connector and haven't had any issues. Also running the VFRness. Keeping my fingers crossed. It's too bad there isn't some better way of testing these to determine when they're about to crap out. It's sort of like they're fine until they're not, and no telling when or where that's going to be. It seems 30 to 40 k is about what these will reliably give. Some less, some a lot more, but there's no telling what it's going to be. Grrr . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Seb should make a clear stator cover, then we can at least look at them and maybe tell. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted June 4, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 4, 2013 Yeah that stator's burned itself up alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Still keep in mind that a Kentucky Fried Stator often has Crispy R/Rs as a side dish... look at swapping them both out... there are diode tests to see how your R/R is... in the workshop manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misspent Youth Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 And is there ageement on use of the series regulator (in place of stock shunt type) to preserve stators? Or have the series regulators been failing such that it's not possible to get a handle on stator life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Installed the VFRness and new stator. Voltage is sitting at about 14.4-14.5 across the board. :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted June 6, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 6, 2013 Sweet! Glad you got that sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Sweet! Glad you got that sorted. Me too! It's an odd feeling watching my voltage sit that high. Shows the excellent quality of the VFRness, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 And is there ageement on use of the series regulator (in place of stock shunt type) to preserve stators? Or have the series regulators been failing such that it's not possible to get a handle on stator life? Ive not seen any results that suggests the series RR , providing any benefit, but the vfr 06 oem setup, Personally has done very well for me. Original wiring over 100,000 miles , original shunt RR , although I did replace the stator at 56,000 miles. As long as I get that kind of result, I'll stick with oem componentry. Present stator has about 50,000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted June 7, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 7, 2013 For reference purposes, my 2002 VFR started exhibiting a weak stator and then I took it to the track. The sustained high speed runs cooked it and it died shortly after. The higher the engine rpm, the more current shunted back into the stator and the more heat generated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misspent Youth Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 For reference purposes, my 2002 VFR started exhibiting a weak stator and then I took it to the track. The sustained high speed runs cooked it and it died shortly after. The higher the engine rpm, the more current shunted back into the stator and the more heat generated. Are you sure the stator fails from excess heat somehow shunted back into the stator? The latest MCN magazine with a tech question/answer that says stators fail from the excess heat delivered by the hot engine oil over time. Or is it that the faster the stator's going, the more heat is somehow generated within the stator and that heat isn't taken away by already hot engine oil? Don't know, but also understood from the Triumph board (RAT) that the series r/r interrupted the stator's output to an as-needed output, thus "saving" the stator (from excess heat)? All input appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 All stators on every bike Ive ever seen, always heat at the top more than the bottom, Eventually shorting out when the wiring insulation breaks down. Why does the bottom tend to run cooler, I believe has to do with oil flow, over the coils. I bet if they design little scoops on the rotor, making oil fly better, it would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Gotta cool the metal somehow. Same basic principle as any oil/air cooled engine IMO. Just another bad design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I second your results. Following a trip to wiremybike.com and a VFRness, I get 14.5 all day, everyday. Joy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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