New stator failing?? with a Compufire

[posplayr]

Hello, rode about 20 miles today, everything seemed good, the onboard VM stayed at 14v (= 14.25 @ battery) down to 1500 rpm.
Back home the battery was 13v, ignition off.
Stopped / started the motor a few times, no hesitation, did not take long charging to get back to 14+v.
Maybe it is happier with the new battery or without that neat, but small 3 pin connector on the stator leads??
I haven't "shrunk" the tubing on my soldered joints yet, will wait until more sure about the charging, but so far its looking good.
Now the leads are soldered they will likely stay that way until / if the stator ends of coming out again; I had wondered what the RR might do to those currents, even with a fully charged battery it would have to supply the current for the lights, 5A and the ignition, ?A, would that leave much spare charging capacity at idle?
Anyway good to be running on 4 cylinders and seeing that blue 14.0v glowing in front of me; when it behaves itself I sure love this bike.
Thanks again to all

Your resting battery is about 12.8V , any time you see that voltage there is zero current going into it. Even 13V is a low current less than 1 amp. You don't get to 4 amps till up around 14.5V when fully charged.

I don't really suspect the Compufire, but also don't want to give it a free pass forever. The test as described would do as good a job if not better in fault isolating between R/R and stator. While the stator is usually the problem, it is not always. Keeping an eye on the VM is really the best strategy. Anytime you see over 14.0 V you are charging the batteries well.

And yes a battery with low voltage (and therefore low state of charge) will drag down the charging voltages which is why I always ask people to report the full Quick test results as often it is a low battery giving overly poor charging results.

[OldVet66]

When I first installed my Compu-Fire I used my old discolored stator against all good advise on the Forum because it was working at the time. The stator lasted a year before it failed. I can only credit the Compu-Fire and it's design for that. I put in a new stator and everything has been fine for years now.

[qcktvr]

The voltmeter is key, could be easier to read in the sun, needs a shade around it, but it is right in the centre, tucked down in between the cluster and fairing bracket.
Early 80s Honda CXs and GLs also killed stators; I had added a VM to my CX650T and it's warning let me kill the headlight and make the 200 mile ride home... a motor out job on them, sure wouldn't want to mess that install up..
Now to put the lower fairing back on, hopefully the new stator can be kept on standby..
Have a good weekend

[Joe H]

When I first installed my Compu-Fire I used my old discolored stator against all good advise on the Forum because it was working at the time. The stator lasted a year before it failed. I can only credit the Compu-Fire and it's design for that. I put in a new stator and everything has been fine for years now.

I read this thread with great interest, I just installed a compufire. I once tried and failed to test the stator, for some reason I cannot follow the process. I may buy the HF meter and try that. But in reality I probably will just wait for failure. Right now Im charging at an almost steady 14.1 it never moves more than 2 tenths either way. But then I noticed on a spirited ride lately that the charging dropped to 13.5…..
Ill keep an eye on it.

It won't fry the Compufire will it?

[posplayr]

I read this thread with great interest, I just installed a compufire. I once tried and failed to test the stator, for some reason I cannot follow the process. I may buy the HF meter and try that. But in reality I probably will just wait for failure. Right now Im charging at an almost steady 14.1 it never moves more than 2 tenths either way. But then I noticed on a spirited ride lately that the charging dropped to 13.5…..
Ill keep an eye on it.

It won't fry the Compufire will it?

No, it is probably pretty hard to break one.