Bizarre Charging Problem - 83 GS400E

[tom203]

I put no faith in those mini ebay R/Rs. I feel they are too small to dissipate heat. That being said, are you sure about the stator's 30 volts AC phase to phase (disconnected from R/R ?) Check you meter on house outlet to be sure that you and meter are reading correctly.
Your 1500 rpm reading at 13.2 volts means stator is doing something, but not enough as revs climb.

[posplayr]

I put no faith in those mini ebay R/Rs. I feel they are too small to dissipate heat. That being said, are you sure about the stator's 30 volts AC phase to phase (disconnected from R/R ?) Check you meter on house outlet to be sure that you and meter are reading correctly.
Your 1500 rpm reading at 13.2 volts means stator is doing something, but not enough as revs climb.

Yes there is something coming from the stator, but in the end when the voltage dropped to 12.6 after being above 13v then he will basically be running at a loss. The longer he runs the lower it will go.

This is consistent with the apparently 30 vac measurements. Not sure how the R/R could have caused this unless the stator is already fried.

[n780]

I put no faith in those mini ebay R/Rs. I feel they are too small to dissipate heat. That being said, are you sure about the stator's 30 volts AC phase to phase (disconnected from R/R ?) Check you meter on house outlet to be sure that you and meter are reading correctly.
Your 1500 rpm reading at 13.2 volts means stator is doing something, but not enough as revs climb.

At the start of this I initially misdiagnosed the problem and purchased the new R/R. As it turns out, the original Suzuki one was fine. The problem is the same regardless of which R/R I'm using. Tested with a different multimeter from work with the same results.

I'm frying stators and I don't know why...

[posplayr]

At the start of this I initially misdiagnosed the problem and purchased the new R/R. As it turns out, the original Suzuki one was fine. The problem is the same regardless of which R/R I'm using. Tested with a different multimeter from work with the same results.

I'm frying stators and I don't know why...

If the new stator is burnt like the last the I know what your problem is.
Get an sh775 And it will stop

[JEEPRUSTY]

Suzuki gotta love em they started with an electrical problem and built a motorcycle around it.

I know you are frustrated but welcome to the site.

[Gorminrider]

Possibly you have a coil that is burned out(voltage drops at higher revs -) or some other short circuit.
Possibly the headlight bulb is too much. Possibly the PO put a very bright headlight bulb in.They can go to 100watts and still fit your bike, but it will kill it.

There are lots of things to check.
I would start with simple tests to see if there's any current flowing with KEY OFF....

and check for burned wiring under the seat etc.

Then move on to unexpected loads withKEY ON but headlight disconnected, STOP switch to STOP.


Also, where did you put sense wire from that ebay regulator? if it has one, that is. I'd put it on the sunny side of your fuse, so it is tasting battery voltage direct.

On my older '81 400E, I was able to easily discombobulate the always-on headlight, which I think is a good thing.The actual switch was there, but merely disabled in the factory.

[n780]

I'll check the front bulb.

Already checked inline with key off: No current.

I'll need to do some digging around to see if I can find a toggle for the light. Regardless, I'll be taking a good look at all of the wiring.

I guess I'll go ahead and buy another R/R...

Local mechanic thinks it could be the rotor, sound possible?

[n780]

Okay, here's where I'm at, but I'll preface this with a thanks to posplayr and everyone else helping me through this.

Back when I got at the stator I found that the threads were stripped at the drain plug. The mechanic who sourced the stator for me took care of putting it in when he tapped out some new threads. The stator was OEM and has a one-year warranty. That being said, he's super skeptical that the stator would have died right off the bat and suspects either the generator rotor or the R/R.

The R/R I have passes the diode test but, from what I understand, that's not conclusive. Further, the SH775 comes pretty well-recommended in my situation regardless so I'm sucking it up and purchasing that. Since I'll need to dump the new oil I just put in before I check the stator and rotor I'll wait until the SH775 comes in, fully charge the battery, install it and see what's up. If things are amiss after that I'll drain the oil and take a look at the generator components.

As I said earlier, at idle the stator is giving me 30 VAC between the leads. From what I understand that's not enough but the mechanic seems to think it's not the stator as at about 4,000 rpm the values reach about 75 VAC. This is in contrast to the fact that the voltage across the battery terminals drops as revs increase...

So, I'll wait and see when the R/R comes in. For the meantime I've checked what I can. As suggested above I looked at the from light, it's 55 W. I didn't find any switch for it but I'd rather just have it on like it's meant to be. The wiring's not a mess but there a hell of a lot of it. Connections that I can find all look fairly clean.

So, is there anything I should be doing now or is waiting for the R/R the next step.

Thanks again.

[posplayr]

Okay, here's where I'm at, but I'll preface this with a thanks to posplayr and everyone else helping me through this.

Back when I got at the stator I found that the threads were stripped at the drain plug. The mechanic who sourced the stator for me took care of putting it in when he tapped out some new threads. The stator was OEM and has a one-year warranty. That being said, he's super skeptical that the stator would have died right off the bat and suspects either the generator rotor or the R/R.

The R/R I have passes the diode test but, from what I understand, that's not conclusive. Further, the SH775 comes pretty well-recommended in my situation regardless so I'm sucking it up and purchasing that.

Yes your should

Since I'll need to dump the new oil I just put in before I check the stator and rotor I'll wait until the SH775 comes in, fully charge the battery, install it and see what's up. If things are amiss after that I'll drain the oil and take a look at the generator components.

As I said earlier, at idle the stator is giving me 30 VAC between the leads. From what I understand that's not enough but the mechanic seems to think it's not the stator as at about 4,000 rpm the values reach about 75 VAC.

Those are proper readings; The 75 VAC at 4000 is right in spec and apparently nothing wrong with the stator

This is in contrast to the fact that the voltage across the battery terminals drops as revs increase...

It is indicated in both the Quick Test and the Revised Stator pages Phase A that this is a clear indication of dirty connections.

So, I'll wait and see when the R/R comes in. For the meantime I've checked what I can. As suggested above I looked at the from light, it's 55 W. I didn't find any switch for it but I'd rather just have it on like it's meant to be. The wiring's not a mess but there a hell of a lot of it. Connections that I can find all look fairly clean.

So, is there anything I should be doing now or is waiting for the R/R the next step.

Thanks again.

...............................

[n780]

Ok then. I'll get a brush and some cleaner, scrub every connection I can find.
Once I put the new R/R in I'll post the results.

[posplayr]

Ok then. I'll get a brush and some cleaner, scrub every connection I can find.
Once I put the new R/R in I'll post the results.

The main connections to worry about is everything between the R/R and the battery which includes the fuse box. You can do the headlamp later.

Looks at the grounding requirements of GS charging system health.

I'm doing thsi right now

Navel Jelly to cut through the cruddy stuff
flush with water
solder
detoxit

[n780]

All good info. Will get on it this weekend.
Thanks for keeping me sane.

[n780]

SH775 finally came in. Finally charging, finally!
OEM stator, scrubbed and secured wiring and proper R/R. Feels good.

Thanks!