L
LarryA_Texas
Guest
1982 GS1100G recovered from 15 years of neglect. After I got it cleaned up and running the battery was not charging. Normal test of the stator revealed that two of the three wire combinations is putting out the 65 to 75 volts depending on RPM. Not sure exactly what the RPM is because the Tach cable is bad, but I think it's close to 'normal.'
The third wire combination is about 3 or 4 volts. So, I assume it's a bad stator. I opened it up and the stator was covered with thin black crusty stuff; over, under, around all the wiring. It came off easily with a brush but there's still some of this junk between some of the windings. It's so thin it looks like dried paint, but very flaky. Under the crust is a normal covering of plastic just like all the other stators in my collection. (they fit GS850s but not the 1100)
I also noticed that when it had been running for a few minutes the stator wires were all hot. Almost too hot to touch.
Four questions:
1. Anyone ever see what I'm describing here with the black crusty stuff and, assuming it's carbon based, any chance that it's causing a short? If that's the case, could cleaning it again, more thoroughly, help?
2. or; Am I correct that a new stator is the only proper fix, or should I be looking at a rotor, too. Can anything go wrong with the rotor?
3. or is it possible that a stator can be re-wound by an amateur. If this is possible, is it so hard that the $120 for an aftermarket is just money well spent? (Bike Bandit lists OEM for about $230.)
4. Should I replace the R/R at the same time, under the assumption that the bad stator fried it?
Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.
Larry
The third wire combination is about 3 or 4 volts. So, I assume it's a bad stator. I opened it up and the stator was covered with thin black crusty stuff; over, under, around all the wiring. It came off easily with a brush but there's still some of this junk between some of the windings. It's so thin it looks like dried paint, but very flaky. Under the crust is a normal covering of plastic just like all the other stators in my collection. (they fit GS850s but not the 1100)
I also noticed that when it had been running for a few minutes the stator wires were all hot. Almost too hot to touch.
Four questions:
1. Anyone ever see what I'm describing here with the black crusty stuff and, assuming it's carbon based, any chance that it's causing a short? If that's the case, could cleaning it again, more thoroughly, help?
2. or; Am I correct that a new stator is the only proper fix, or should I be looking at a rotor, too. Can anything go wrong with the rotor?
3. or is it possible that a stator can be re-wound by an amateur. If this is possible, is it so hard that the $120 for an aftermarket is just money well spent? (Bike Bandit lists OEM for about $230.)
4. Should I replace the R/R at the same time, under the assumption that the bad stator fried it?
Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.
Larry