Replaced regulator, no avail

[Guest]

Newbie rider looking for input:


My 82' GS550L died during my commute awhile back. Did the stator checklist, stator seemed fine, R/R did not. Replaced the R/R (electrosport) and tried jumping from a car battery, no luck. Now the bike is stuck in neutral (new problem) so I cannot bump start.

Charged my battery overnight. Went to start her up this morning. Battery was at 12.65v before firing up, and the engine finally caught after several cranks on full choke.

The battery was at 11.95v on full choke and the engine died after a minute. After that, the starter would still turn the engine but it would not run on it's own.

So today's conclusion....the electrical system is still not recharging, and now the bike is dying on it's own. And it's still stuck in neutral lol.

Battery is only two months old. I will admit the connection job I did between the new R/R and stator is not pretty, but would that cause the bike to die at 11.95v?

She's my first bike and I'm bummed to see the days of our short riding season passing by. Input appreciated guys.

p.s I'm aware the SH775 is a superior R/R, noob mistake

[tom203]

You need to carefully check stator,not assume it's fine.
Do this and report back your numbers..

Do this test.. Disconnect stator leads from r/r. with your multimeter set on 200vac scale (or same scale that you would use for house outlet) While running bike to about 4k to 5k rpms, measure stator lead to stator lead and note the 3 readings. At same time and same meter scale, put one meter probe on any stator lead and other probe on good bike ground - you want to see a very low voltage reading, 0 would be best.

[Steve]

What part of "Chicago"? (downtown? suburbs?)

I will be passing through there on Monday, might be able to stop by.

Send me a PM with info.

.

[Redman]

Do contact Steve.
He is traveling with tools, and experience, and knowledge, and willing to help

.... and tell him and us, when you "jumped with a car battery" do you mean a car battery, and not car battery with car running ...? (Big difference)

Sometimes it is hard to get xmision into or out of netural when engine not running.

.

[microphonecheck12]

Car was off throughout the failed jump attempt.

Already talked to Steve and we are aiming to have a look tomorrow morning.

Will report back. Many thanks guys

[Steve]

OK, here is the "report back".

I stopped by, met Mr. Mic Check 1, 2.

Got the bike running, kept it running by re-connecting the vacuum hose from #2 carb to the petcock.

Could not check the effectiveness of the R/R replacement because the stator output was a whopping 17 point something on all three legs.

We chatted a bit about the "fun" of changing the stator on a 550. Unless somebody knows a trick for some shortcuts, you have to remove the starter cover to be able to get the stator wires through. The problem is that, to get the back bolt off of the cover, you have to remove the carbs. To remove the carbs, you have to move the airbox. To move the airbox far enough, you need to pop the front half of the rear fender loose. Hopefully, he doesn't have to remove the cam chain tensioner to lift the starter cover off.

.

[greg78gs750]

if you give a moose a muffin....

Steve to the rescue once again.

[tom203]

Sounds just like my 650 starter motor cover - that bolt was very short,once broken free,I could spin off and out with my fingers.
Take off carbs?? Get serious,that must be avoided at all costs!

PS: I didn't bother to put that screw back in 6 years ago

[roeme]

(...)to get the back bolt off of the cover, you have to remove the carbs. To remove the carbs, you have to move the airbox. To move the airbox far enough, you need to pop the front half of the rear fender loose

Oh the dreaded carb removal on the 550s. I'm getting shell-shock flashbacks....but I can report that one can get away with "just" unmounting the airbox - at least pre-'80 with VM's.

[microphonecheck12]

As Steve mentioned, it was a very productive meeting. The holy GS whisperer recommended a Caltric stator for my bike.

Caltric website does not list the replacement for 1982 stators. But it does list 1980 and 1983.

1980: 31401-47020
1983: 31401-43400

Wondering if any are compatible with 1982. Same goes for gasket.

My ambitious plan is to guide a wire as I remove the stator, then guide it back with the new stator. Seems feasible in my newbie world, reality may be different. I fear carb removal.

[microphonecheck12]

Skipped the Clatric website. Ordered the stator and gasket from Amazon, which ships directly from Caltric.

I found their "fit for xx model" descriptions to be strange.

Gasket fits 1980-82
Stator fits 1982-83

By that definition, my 1982 is good. Just odd that the stator/gasket combination would not work on a 81 or 83. But it somehow works on my 82.

Fingers crossed folks.