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Do I need a new stator???


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The battery died on my 89 VR today and I think the stator is bad. The gauge on the dash is of little to no help but noticed that is was reading lower the last few weeks.

 

The Bike refused to start (turn over) when I stopped for gas. Two people in the gas station pushed me and I managed to make it home, but the voltage gauge was reading on the edge of the yellow mark.

 

Measure the output of the stator and found the following results:

 

Unplugged stator wire and measured the voltage at the three white wires:

At idle they measured 5.8, 5.3, 3.1 (AC)

At 2500 RPM’s they measured 9.3, 9.6, 5.3 (AC) Note: The battery was partially discharged and reading 11.8 volts across the terminals, so I don’t know if this would affect the readings. I am charging the battery now but will be a few hours before it is up to par. BTW, it is a Deka AGM battery.

 

Checked each leg for continuity and got .40; .50; .50 ohms . Meter wouldn’t measure any lower but these are in the proper range according to the online manual. Should be .34 to .85 ohms. Also checked for grounding on each leg and that measured 0, which means that the wires are not shorted to ground.

 

To compound the problem, I put a new Shindigen R/R Model #FH0012AA in the bike yesterday. I wired this direct to the battery (the black and red lead using #10 gauge wire & 30 amp fuse) and did not use the original plug where the old R/R was plugged in. I made a new harness for the 3 white wires coming from the stator and plugged that into the new R/R. I unplugged both plugs from the old R/R and just left it where it was installed down on the rear frame.

 

 

So, two questions:

Do I need a new stator?

Did I screw something up by running the new stator direct to the battery instead of going thru the original plug and wiring harness (the black & red wire)?

 

And if I need a new stator where is the best place to buy one?

 

Jim

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Yup, your AC voltage tests look like you have 1 segment that has developed a short, probably the one that is reading the lower resistance. As far as where to buy, wherever you can find one.

 

I strongly doubt the new R/R had anything to do with the stator failure, probably what happened is the varnish on the wire eroded and shorted out a bunch of turns by contacting with another area of the winding...

 

 

I'll check to see if I have another and if I do I'll call you, if you don't hear from me I didn't!

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I did the separate harness when I installed the Shindengen myself only to simplify any future troubleshooting. Has worked well for several years with no problem.

 

As Bob said it appears from your testing that you have had a failure at the stator itself as all three readings should be close together.

 

As for a new stator, kinda like oil. Some have had good luck and others mulitpule failures with the same provider.

 

I got mine at Buckeye Performance and it's still doing well at about 5 years. A little higher cost than others but still working.

 

I don't think you've done any harm to the DEKA. I had my OEM R/R fail about 30-35 miles from home and rode back on the battery alone. It showed 11.5 volts when I got done changing out the R/R the next day and the bike fired right back up. Still running the same battery today with no ill effects.

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Unplugged stator wire and measured the voltage at the three white wires:

At idle they measured 5.8, 5.3, 3.1 (AC)

At 2500 RPM’s they measured 9.3, 9.6, 5.3 (AC) Note:

 

Checked each leg for continuity and got .40; .50; .50 ohms . Meter wouldn’t measure any lower but these are in the proper range according to the online manual. Should be .34 to .85 ohms. Also checked for grounding on each leg and that measured 0, which means that the wires are not shorted to ground.

 

So, two questions:

Do I need a new stator?

Did I screw something up by running the new stator direct to the battery instead of going thru the original plug and wiring harness (the black & red wire)?

 

And if I need a new stator where is the best place to buy one?

 

Jim

 

If it measures zero, that means that it is shorted to ground.

Having one winding shorted to ground would also agree with your ohm readings where one is lower, and agree with your voltage readings where one is low.

 

With the stator unplugged from the RR the battery voltage has nothing at all to do with the AC stator voltage readings.

 

I just bought a high output stator for my 88, If you want the old one that is working at the moment, once I can take it out, let me know.

 

The stator and RR can damage each other, a bad stator can take out a RR and a bad RR can take out a stator. Depending on the failure mode of each.

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Thanks, Bob. I checked to see if any of the legs were shorted to ground but all three checked good, no short.
No, not shorted to ground, just turns on the winding shorted to each other making the winding have equivalent to less turns. That explains the smaller voltage and lower DC resistance on the one winding...
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Thanks for the info and help, Bob. I charged the battery and rechecked the voltage coming out of the stator (three white wires) and got 10.3; 10.6; 7.1 volts at 2500 RPM's. At idle the voltages were in the 3-4 volt range.

 

Jeff: Thanks for the offer but I have ordered a HO stator from Rick's Motorsports. It should be here Wednesday morning.

 

Thanks to all for your help.

 

Jim

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As the title says, found the problem. Got a new stator today and will install tomorrow. The second pic is of the end of the shaft and I thought that there was some kind of spray nozzle on there to spray oil on the stator to keep it cool. Anybody know anything about it???

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As the title says, found the problem. Got a new stator today and will install tomorrow. The second pic is of the end of the shaft and I thought that there was some kind of spray nozzle on there to spray oil on the stator to keep it cool. Anybody know anything about it???

Yep, your stator is fried. The cooling system in place for this is a wee little pin hole in the dimple in the middle of the bolt that holds the balancer in place. You can get a very small wire to poke it to make sure it's open, or just remove the bolt to do a proper job and maybe open it up a bit. I found that the hole is soo small that it takes very little to plug it. Don't worry about the balancer falling off in the process, it would take at least until MD for you to get it to budge.

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Can't tell from the pic but the crank bolt should have an open hole in it. That was part of the change for the cooling kit install and your bike should of had that when new.

 

No nozzle, just a hole with the wire shaft in it.

 

It appears in the stator pic that the one oil baffle is in place in the center. I'm not sure but if the baffle is there, it did have a cooling kit. I can't confirm that they did not have a baffle prior to the cooling kit but the two new baffles and included when you buy the OEM cooling kit.

 

So if the bolt has a hole, a wire shaft and baffles inside and out, it's the way it should be.

 

The included pic shows what to look for. The mark on your bolt shows the kit is there.

Edited by Snaggletooth
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Thanks Carl and Mike for your quick response. I printed out the TB sheet and compared it to the cover housing and I do have the kit installed. Carl, I couldn't get the bolt out because I don't have an impact wrench (need a trip to my favorite store... HF!!!. Now where did "The Boss" put my credit cards???). Didn't want to drill it out and leave chips in the shaft, so will leave it alone. Must be hardened anyway. Used a paper clip to check hole and it is open and there is a spring wire in there as the wire would only go in about a 1/2 inch, so I am sure the wire clip is in there. Then took a very fine wire (about .012") and that went in about 4 inches and then stopped, so I assume the bolt passage is open all the way.

 

Mike, thanks for the TB, that makes it easy to see what the wire kit is and how it was installed.

 

Thanks to both of you. You are what makes this Forum such a great place to be.

 

 

Jim

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Getting the crank bolt out is the easy part. When it comes time to remove the rotor............... that's when you get to talk like a sailor. :rotf:

 

And like Bongo said, LocTite on the stator mounting screws. Couple of guys have had them back out and had to pull it back apart again for the buzzing noise. Check the bolt length to the new stator frame. Make sure bolts sit tight. Change bolts or add a washer to get a solid fit.

 

You only want to do this once. Right? :rotf:

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Yes, only want to do it once. Got the three screws out that hold the stator in the cover. They are Loctited but came out easily with a screw driver. I was planning on using red Loctite because the TB calls for red. Should I use blue instead? I am not planning on doing this again. BTW, it takes longer to clean the old gasket off the mating surfaces than it does to do the whole job!

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I'd still go with Blue LocTite. It will do just fine. The RED is for installations that are not intended to be removed. If it's seated properly and tightened correctly Blue will hold as long as you want it to.

 

As some of us know...... sometimes you have to go back.

 

After finding red LocTite on the bolts of my clutch slave I will never allow Red anywhere near my bike again.

 

And don't forget to seal the daylights out of those stator wires running through the case inside and out. Popular place to leak after new install.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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