Stator or R/R?

[dbarnes42]

Ok, so I go to leave work tonight. The bike stats fine and after it is warmed up and at idle, I notice the instrument lights are a little dim. I bring the rpm's up and the lights get brighter. Rpm's fall and lights get dim. As I am driving, it seems like the instrument lights are pulsating! The instrument lights definetly pulsate when the turn signals are on.

I have read the stator papers, however I have not done any checks yet. I do keep the battery on a battery tender when the bike is not being ridden. I have noticed that the bike seems to have a little miss when the starter is engaged, kind of like the battery is weak. But this seems to mostly occur when I have ridden for a while. The battery was replaced last winter.

Anyone have any ideas before I tear into this thing?

 

[almarconi]

Your best bet is go through the stator papers.

When was the last time you cleaned the electrical connections in your harness?

Could be corrosion, stator, regulator or combination of all three.

 

[jbs80106]

hmm..

hmm..

when the bike's just idling it is pretty much running lights off the battery. So the lights getting dim/bright as you blip the throttle is probably to be expected to a degree. Probably more noticable if the battery is drained a lot by the starting draw.

Don't have much to tear into at first, just probing stuff w/voltmeter to troubleshoot.

Better to figure it out before you get stuck walking/pushing far from home.....been there done that!

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

The symptoms you describe are similar to my bike just before I had to replace the stator. Go through the Stator Papers to be sure. See my website for more information.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[terrylee]

These guys are right, I had sort of the same thing with my 850. The lights would dim just a little till I reved engine. Then last week bike was dead after riding to work. Did stator tests and was almost positive stator was good, but not r/r. Got r/r from duange on here and installed last night. Checked volts at 2500 and 5000 rpm and got right readings. Rode bike to work today and no problems so far. Of course it is possible either or could be bad, but testing is only way to determine what you might need. Good luck, the tests are pretty simple and don't take to long. terrylee

 

[dbarnes42]

I finally got to check the stator and r/r today. I used the fault finding chart off of this website.

With the lights off, bike not running and battery fully charged, voltage was 13.0

Started the bike and let it warm up. At idle, voltage was 12.5

At 2.5K RPM, voltage was 13.8

At 5K RPM, voltage was 14.5

So, using the chart, I stopped there. I did however clean as many electrical connections as I possibly could. I didn't find any wires that appeared burnt or overheated. I did find some light rust on several grounds which I cleaned off.

So, I am guessing my charging system is working as it should. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

 

[terrylee]

Only thing I can suggest is checking all the wiring inside headlight housing to make sure everything is clean, connected well, and check all the grounds. Also make sure turn signal are well grounded. terrylee

 

[dbarnes42]

Will do! I started at the battery area of the bike and moved down and forward. I didn't have a lot of time today, so this is still on my agenda. I am hoping that some of the rust I removed will help.

 

[Billy Ricks]

The R/R could be giving you the correct voltage but you might still have a weak stator. You need to do the AC voltage test to be sure.

 

[posplayr]

The R/R could be giving you the correct voltage but you might still have a weak stator. You need to do the AC voltage test to be sure.

The problem is if the stator insulation is starting the break down and it is heat or vibration sensitive then it may very well not show up with an open loop test. If one of the stators is low then sure replace it; but he might not be so lucky.

It sounds like it is charging well. I would do one of two things:

1.) ride around with a volt meter attached to the battery to see if there is any evidence of loss in voltage at crusing speeds

and

2.) If there is order a stator.

Someone else here had a similar problem a while back that caused them to go round and round with what turned out to be an intermitent short in the stator.