installing a volt meter on gs1100e

[wilsonsandy07]

hey folks, 82 gs1100ez

i want to install a voltmeter due to some issues ive been having but i dont want it to measure whats going to the battery i want to measure whats coming out of the stator. i think when my bike gets hot its overheating the stator and givng me issues.

where should i wire it into? reading/discerning diagrams isnt my strongest suit if anyone has any tips or opinions

FYI i did replace r/r with COMPU-fire r/r and everything checks out charging system wise when bike is running, but after getting hot and then slowing down i start to see boggy throttle, jerking, surging power etc.

 

[wilsonsandy07]

No I DONT want it to read the battery. I would like to keep an eye on what the stator is putting out because I think when my bike is really hot and I’m going at less than like 60 mph it’s overheating and not putting out enough voltage

 

[tom203]

The battery reading would tell you if stator output was weakening (or erratic) while you ride. The stator produces a/c current which the r/r and battery combo convert and clamp at 14 volts dc . If the stator weakens it will show up at battery quickly as running bike consumes juice.
Tape a multi meter to tank and connect leads to battery and go for a ride

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

The only way I know of to measure stator output is to disconnect it from the R/R and measure AC voltage between each possible pair of the 3 leads from the stator. You have to take 3 measurements, one pair at a time. Your stator could also fail by shorting to ground, which you can check as well.

DC voltage at the battery would be a better real-time indication of the health of the charging system while running.

Volt meters you can permanently attach to your battery (or better yet, to a switched 12V lead somewhere so it goes off when you turn of the key) are cheap on amazon. Most are not extremely accurate. Like this one, I know from playing with it that it reads about .7 VDC lower than my actual battery voltage), otherwise, it reads consistently. It's there only so I can always know the health of my charging system.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PDFJ966/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[rphillips]

Yep, I'm agreeing with ^^^^^ him.

 

[KiwiAlfa156]

Gotta agree with Rich. Here's the factory alternator output test. It's also advisable to do a continuity/short to ground test on the three phases of the alternator to begin with.

Measuring the output of the three phases of the alternator tells you that tells you that each leg of the stator is working and producing the requisite current/AC voltage to feed the rec/reg. The level of output is rpm dependent. A voltmeter measuring the charging VDC output of the rec/reg (assuming the rec/reg is good) is measuring the output of the alternator. If the stator is 'breaking down' with heat, a corresponding drop in charging voltage is likely to be observed.

A couple of thoughts. It's the battery that powers the ignition and electrical accessories, etc. The charging system's job is to keep the battery topped up. So a battery in good health is essential.

Also don't overlook the high tension (HT) side of the ignition system. Plugs, caps, leads and importantly the coils. Bad coils can cause intermittent and heat/load related ignition issues. If when the bike is misbehaving either the exhaust pipe pairs of 1 and 4 or 2 and 3, are cooler than each other it could indicate a coil issue. The stator itself is 'cooled' by engine oil, and localised heating as part of the light switch wiring issue usually burns out the stator coils which drops the charging voltage output leading to a flat battery. If as you say, the output of rec/reg is good, and the battery is maintaining 12.4VDC ignition off and 14.0 -15.5VDC above 3,000 rpm. The stator is probably in good shape.

 

[wilsonsandy07]

That’s some really good info, and defintiely makes me think my stator is good.

With my symptoms preset after a 30 mi ride I hopped off the bike killed it, started it back up and measured my battery voltage at 12.3 and then watched it climb to well above 13. I didn’t throttle up to see if it went over 14 but I have done that in the past and there was no issue.

will probably still install a meter just for peace of mind. But off to the drawing board again…

 

[rphillips]

Can you find time to just keep going at hwy. speed for a while longer, just to see if it keeps running right or starts screwing up while at speed. It won't fix the problem, just will have a little more info. to dwell on.

 

[oldGSfan]

I have an inductive ammeter that encircles a wire, Pretty cheesy but works.

 

[tom203]

I have an inductive ammeter that encircles a wire, Pretty cheesy but works.

That’s how I tested the sh-775 compared to shunt r/r on my bike back in 2013……cheesy, but the difference was enlightening! Still working perfectly…including on the previously tortured stator.

 

[Mary Hinge]

After frying a battery on a GT750 and getting stranded years ago I've used one of these on several bikes since. They work perfectly easy to install and unobtrusive. Simple yellow, green, red indicator to warn of over or under charging. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20082633...S0ZHR3&hash=item2ec22e9c66:g:QWIAAOxyY9VROzRz

 

[bonanzadave]

​This may not answer your question, but I use these current monitors on AC heating elements in a oven at work. They don't tell you specific voltage or current. They connect to a small lite that tells me if the element is working or not.

 

[bonanzadave]

"FYI i did replace r/r with COMPU-fire r/r and everything checks out charging system wise when bike is running, but after getting hot and then slowing down i start to see boggy throttle, jerking, surging power etc."

A little off topic... but what is the voltage at your coils ? My EZ had similar issues. I installed a relay mod to the coils and it was a game changer !

 

[Don R]

I own a gl1000 Goldwing that had low voltage at the ignition, I added a dyna to replace the points, gl1500 coils, removed the ballast resistor and added a relay to power the ignition. It runs better at low rpm as well as good in all rpm's now. Just anecdotal info that may not help your issue.

 

[salty_monk]

You should check voltage at other points in the circuits. When running you should have about 14v (no higher than 14.5v). It wouldn't be unusual to have a perfectly good stator & RR but only see 10v at the coils due to resistance at the ignition switch or kill switch or similar for example.
Cleaning all these elements and/or adding a main relay to the ignition system can help with that.