Electrickery Ii - Saga Of A Fried Stator

[Lorne]

In the midst of my Colorado tour a couple weeks ago my '09 VFR's battery died. This was atop Grand Mesa about halfway between Grand Junction and Delta, an hour away from either. Luckily it bump-started and got me to Delta and our motel for the night. We found a local shop, Fast Repair, and the battery measured 12.0 volts engine off, and about 12.7 running. The three phase plug from the stator measured ~40 vac on two coils but only ~16 on the third. In retrospect the stator was the obvious fault but throwing parts at a problem when you're 1,000 miles from home gets expensive. So I disconnected the wiring for my electric vest and grip heaters, and also pulled the headlight fuse. Since the bike had run fine on a flat battery for 80 km, I figured a new battery might let me finish the trip. The recharged original added some peace of mind. If worse came to worse I'd rent a truck and haul it home.

There was no trouble on the next three days, but on the fourth it died again so I swapped batteries at the next gas stop. The next day I bought a small charger & multimeter and that was enough to get me home.

Today I picked it up after my dear installed a shiny new stator. Not a cheap fix but one of the few hard faults I've had over the past 25 years.

[mello dude]

Sorry about your electrical saga..... .curious as to the mileage on your bike when it happened?

[Meatloaf]

Had almost identical issues at 47k on my 2004. Stator fried, cooked the connector on the wiring harness, and took out the R/R as well. My stator looked just like that one. Bummer but glad you're back up and running.

[Cogswell]

Nice recovery particularly for being so far from home. Sixth gens seem to eat stators like potato chips compared to other gens. Mine looked similar after just 18,000 miles.

[KevCarver]

Wow, that's the crispiest stator I've seen!

[Lorne]

The odometer read ~48,800 km, or ~30,000 miles when the trouble appeared.

None of the electrical connectors I checked, including the stator's, show any sign of heat stress.

If the trouble had been a rectifier I'd have been screwed. There were none to be found anywhere near Delta, Colo., and the VFR doesn't go very far on battery power alone. Fortunately for me the stator generated enough to run the bike, just not enough to keep the battery topped up.

[Switchblade]

Also change motor oil, guaranteed it's fried also. I have three those deep fried stator's

[Lorne]

Switchbalde, good catch about oil & filter. My mechanic changed both because of the condition of the stator.

[Duc2V4]

I'm thinking of doing a preemptive strike. My '09 has almost 40k miles on it now and seeing how most of the 6 Gens fry their stators, just seems logical to do it now before the next long trip I make, especially if it's going to be the trip to the Sierra's!

[spud786]

both of my oems have gone well over 50,000 miles, I have a new one sitting by my desk

[Skids]

I'm thinking of doing a preemptive strike. My '09 has almost 40k miles on it now and seeing how most of the 6 Gens fry their stators, just seems logical to do it now before the next long trip I make, especially if it's going to be the trip to the Sierra's!

Is it worth cracking open the cover to see if there are any visible signs of frying before forking out yr hard-earned $$$?

Mine fried at 50k miles on my 08.

[Switchblade]

Switchbalde, good catch about oil & filter. My mechanic changed both because of the condition of the stator.

When my first stator failed on my 03, I had just change the oil and filter out with Amsoil . When I pulled the stator cover off, the oil running off the stator was as black as the stator. So $50 of oil and filter PLUS new stator $220 and RR $100 x 3 = mucho money.

[Duc2V4]

I'm thinking of doing a preemptive strike. My '09 has almost 40k miles on it now and seeing how most of the 6 Gens fry their stators, just seems logical to do it now before the next long trip I make, especially if it's going to be the trip to the Sierra's!

Is it worth cracking open the cover to see if there are any visible signs of frying before forking out yr hard-earned $$$?

Mine fried at 50k miles on my 08.

Considering that it will only get worse over time, as I assume it will eventually fry, might as well drop one in now while I have the funds and I have a garage to work in. I can always keep the original one as a spare, if it isn't too far gone.

[RichVee4]

Good you were able to complete the trip, long way from home to have a problem. About a year ago I installed a small digital voltmeter near my dash so I am able to monitor battery voltage. Wont prevent a problem but with all the reports of charging failures it will at least give me an advance warning. I have been carrying a spare RR on longer trips but with a little over 30K I am a nervous about stator condition.

Is the failure due to insufficient oil cooling that leads to wire insulation damage and then shorting? Does anyone know of a way to reduce the possibility of this happening?

[carlgustav]

Just replaced mine ('07) at ~29K. Dis-coloration 1/2 way around, no where near as bad as the OPs pic. Pre-emptive strike as well ...

ACE

[Switchblade]

I'm thinking of doing a preemptive strike. My '09 has almost 40k miles on it now and seeing how most of the 6 Gens fry their stators, just seems logical to do it now before the next long trip I make, especially if it's going to be the trip to the Sierra's!

Is it worth cracking open the cover to see if there are any visible signs of frying before forking out yr hard-earned $$$?

Mine fried at 50k miles on my 08.

Considering that it will only get worse over time, as I assume it will eventually fry, might as well drop one in now while I have the funds and I have a garage to work in. I can always keep the original one as a spare, if it isn't too far gone.

If i planning on a extend trip yes.

[teksdailyride]

on the 07 i had i went through a 3 of them from 26k miles to 37k miles. never figured out the bug but when i got my 05 i made sure to have a new setup sitting on the shelf and a voltmeter installed so i could keep and eye on it. now to rewire accessories with fuse blocks for piece of mind.