Stator has given up the ghost

[alke46]

I posted this earlier today in the GS discussion forum. The thread was "what did you wrench on today?"

My stator passed the leg to leg tests all three putting out upper 70s in voltage. However, the leg to ground test showed 30v -- 51v-- and I didn't bother to check the third leg. Bad is bad no matter how you slice it.

I also was asking for recommended brands and suppliers for replacement. I got one suggestion from Bill, aka grcanma2, to contact a place in Birmingham, Alabama called Custom Rewind. That will have to wait for Monday but that's no big deal. I've got time.

Anybody have any good advice to pass on? I will be doing price comparisons to see if it is more cost effective to rewind or replace. I will report the findings when I get them.

Thanks

 

[grcamna2]

Larry,there's also a place in the UK called 'Electrex World' who has been good quality for me when i purchased a stator & reg/rect. from them back in the late 90's for my 1st gen. Honda VFR750F1:the VFR's are known to have charging problems and their tech-guy was able to steer me right.They used to have an office here in CA. back then but don't anymore:I think Rick's may have wanted their share of the business and made it more difficult for them.The thing I try to avoid is purchasing from a middle-man with a prominent 'name brand' who is getting some of their items from 'cost effective sources'.. farming stuff out to China,etc.

 

[Burque73]

Hey Larry. I installed a Caltric stator a couple of years ago. So far so good.

 

[alke46]

Thanks Roger. $38 and change with free shipping sounds like a no brainer. Did you also buy their gasket? If so, did you apply anything to it?

edit: electrosport wants $139.. why so much difference?

 

[Burque73]

Other than the color or amount of glue over the windings, I'm not sure what the difference is. Other members, including Steve, mentioned having good results with the Caltric brand so I gave it a shot. At nearly 1/3 the cost, what the heck. I may have had to slide the rubber plug down the wires a bit which meant more of the wires would be out of the black outer sheath (or whatever it's called), but that plug fit perfectly in the generator cover. The three leads were plenty long enough and each leg put out 78.5 to 79 volts. Bolt holes lined up perfectly.

The green Caltric gasket, installed dry and torqued to manual spec, leaked six monts after installation. I just changed it with OEM and inspected the stator. After 6k miles it still looks the same. I did install an SH775 regulator so I'm sure that helps keep the stator healthy.

In regards to the gasket, I haven't had good luck with any of them, NOS, new OEM or aftermarket it seems they always weep a bit for me so YMMV.

May I ask what Regulator you have?

 

[alke46]

I'm using a SH775 regulator. Thanks for your response.
I currently have a fairly new OEM gasket installed so I will see if I can save it to re-use. I believe I read where some have been able to remove the stator cover without damaging the gasket. Sort of like reusing the valve cover gasket. Fingers crossed.

 

[cowboyup3371]

+2 on the Caltric stators (my daughter's and mine) as good replacements along with the SH775

 

[alke46]

I am posting some pictures of my bad stator and am asking for opinions on it. I do not see any burned insulation but maybe I don't know what I'm looking for either.

The whole thing looks like it was covered with something like cosmoline. Was this a common practice back in the day?

IMG_20210523_161404538_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161336863_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161412895_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161427140 by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161336863_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

 

[grcamna2]

I am posting some pictures of my bad stator and am asking for opinions on it. I do not see any burned insulation but maybe I don't know what I'm looking for either.

The whole thing looks like it was covered with something like cosmoline. Was this a common practice back in the day?

IMG_20210523_161404538_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161336863_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161412895_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161427140 by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

IMG_20210523_161336863_HDR by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

Larry,The coating that they cover all 18) poles of the windings are usually a lighter color(similar to the color of the connecting single wires on the back side,where you can see the color of the copper wire through the coating) when it's new.The coating on yours looks crispy black & in some places it looks to have gotten so crispy you could probably chip the coating off easily:those windings got Hot.

 

[alke46]

Thanks. Like I said, I know nothing about the covering of the windings. If that black is from getting too warm, it sure did do it evenly.

 

[Grimly]

Fairly sure that's an aftermarket one. The factory ones I've taken off have all been unencapsulted in epoxy.

 

[grcamna2]

Larry,Have a look on Ebay to see many different Suzuki GS used parts for models GS450,550,650,750,850,1000,etc. and you will notice different colors on many different ones;some,like yours will be really cooked:all black.There will be others partially black on just a few of the windings.I think yours is an original Suzuki that's been cooking for a while.

 

[Guest]

+1 on Caltric offering a quality stator for not a whole lot of dough. I’ve had them in all of my Suzukis over the years and only fried one. My current bike has one with an SH775. Good and cheap combo.

Matt

 

[Guest]

As for the gasket, I had ordered one but it was wrong so I went to my local auto supply store and bought some sheet gasket material and made one using a razor knife to cut it out using the old one as a template. Worked like a charm, no leaks.

 

[grcamna2]

+1 on Caltric offering a quality stator for not a whole lot of dough. I?ve had them in all of my Suzukis over the years and only fried one. My current bike has one with an SH775. Good and cheap combo.

Matt

+1 on the SH775 it keeps the stator windings cooler;a 'smart' reg/rect.

 

[alke46]

Ok, back at it. I got the new Caltric stator installed and checked it out. The leg to leg tests were all showing 70-72v which is good. The leg to ground test showed 0.00 on all three legs.

Problem is while running it yesterday I could see vom readings in the 14.0 range IF, I had the headlight off. When turning the headlight on the voltages would drop to low 13.0 range.

So I charged the battery up to full and these are the results of the quick test:

key off 12.8
key on w/headlight on 12.1
@1500 rpm 12.17
@2500 rpm 12.17
@5000 rpm 12.18
key off 12.6

This was followed by testing with the headlight off:
@1500 12.34
@2500 12.35
@5000 12.36
key off 12.7

This surely is pointing to a bad battery isn't it? I have read where a bad battery can produce all sorts of wonky stuff.

Please tell me if I am on the right track and I will go purchase a new battery.

TIA

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

You should be staring all of this with a new or known-good battery. That said - Are you still using the original Reg/Rec? It looks like your Stator is putting out good voltage but your R/R is doing absolutely nothing with it.

 

[alke46]

You should be staring all of this with a new or known-good battery. That said - Are you still using the original Reg/Rec? It looks like your Stator is putting out good voltage but your R/R is doing absolutely nothing with it.

I'm using what I thought was a good battery. It is a Motobatt AGM purchased in May 2020 but has been used very very little.

No, not using the original R/R. Am using a SH 775 that I just put on last month.

And just for what it's worth, I questioned my own wiring install of the SH 775.

 

[alke46]

On the 1st two steps of the quick test when my voltage dropped from 12.8 to 12.1, wasn't that enough evidence that the battery is bad and should be replaced?

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Copied/pasted from one of Ed Ness's many posts on the topic.

Check this link for an install diagram...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...nstall-Diagram

Most forum members purchase the Triumph jumper harness (PN T2500676) and adapt that to fit the bike wiring. There are other aftermarket connectors as well.

The cheapest option is to use female spade terminals on some loose wire and attach those to the R/R directly. To do the job right you should then fill the cavity in the R/R and pot the wires with low acid electrical safe RTV.

SH775 Install by nessism, on Flickr

P1040151 by nessism, on Flickr​

Ed


As for your quick-test numbers, I can only comment on what I saw after correctly installing new (used) SH775 and new stator on my bike. Pretty much in line with your starting numbers w/ headlight on.(I can't turn mine off)

1) Key Off - 12.85 VDC
2) Key On - 12.3 VDC

I don't believe your battery is bad, but you may want another opinion. You could take it to a local Auto parts place and have it load-tested.


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