ionbeam
2 FUN
(If you don’t want to grind through the whole story, skip to the end for notes about my Electrosport stator and why it may be bad.)
Over the past several weeks I’ve noticed that my radar detector’s volt meter reading would drop down into the 11 volt range every once in a while, but would recover back to ~13.6 volts. Everything seemed to work fine and there was no problem starting so I chose to ignore the irregularity. Yesterday, less than a week from EOM my stator 100% quit while I was out running errands. While parking my bike at the first stop I noticed that the headlights reflection in a store’s window were a deep yellow. This prompted a quick glance at the volt meter – 11.2 volts. Oh phuck. Leaving the store Feejer started right up with little drama so I went on to my next stop but parked so that there would be some chance of bump starting it should things continue to get worse. Leaving this stop the electrical system did a full drop-out and reset the meter but on a second try it started. Now came the anxiety of making it home before I ran out of volts. About 2 miles from home my detector’s volt meter was reading 10.4 volts making it a close call if I would get home. I have confidence that the coils will continue to fire down to 9.8 volts but I’m not sure how the Injectors or Fuel Pump will behave. When I went over a frame shaking bump the meter jumped up to 11.2 volts, assurance that I would make it home and a tip-off that the problem could be a loose connection. I was able to zip into my garage with no further drama.
Off comes panels C and D. The battery terminals are just a tiny bit loose, not enough to cause my problems directly. A real volt meter shows 11.2 volts on the battery with the engine off. I started the engine and the voltage dropped to 10.9 volts reflecting the power consumed starting the engine. Revving the engine to 5k rpm produced zero increase in voltage. Not good. I plugged my trickle charger into the permanently attached pig-tail for a quick feeding.
Off comes panels A & B as well as the lower fairings. On my Gen I, I now have access to the rectifier/regulator (RR) plus the stator and battery connectors. A quick inspection does not show any problems with the wires or connectors. I back probed the heavy battery wires attached to the RR and started the engine. Still no charging voltage right at the RR. I did a voltage drop measurement from the + output of the RR to the + terminal of the battery -- 0.2 volts which is good. I did a voltage drop test to the negative terminal of the battery -- 0.3 volts, acceptable. I did a negative voltage drop test to the engine -- 0.5 volts, not good but not related to my failure. The excessive voltage drop seems to be at the lug crimp where the cable attaches to the engine block. Another day, another time I will address this problem.
So, the problem may be a short in the main harness, a bad RR or a bad stator. I unplugged the battery wires from the RR and with the engine running, a known good battery connected to the RR terminals I checked the battery voltage. There was still no charging voltage even with the whole motorcycle electrical system out of the picture.
I won’t have access to a meter that can accurately measure fractional ohms until Monday so I did an AC voltage test on the stator. All three wires should read ≥50 volts AC, any phase to any phase when the engine is running at 5k rpm. Two phases were just a bit over 48 volts and one phase was 26 volts. Bad stator. The RR ohms correctly and the rectifying diodes pass a junction drop test (the diode symbol setting on some digital multi-meters). I do have a spare RR should it be necessary.
I was able to get to my dealer at the last death defying second to score a stator cover gasket. They were just about to lock the doors when I arrived. I’ve primed the parts counter guy for the prospect of a spittle spewing desperado calling him on Monday morning to have an OEM stator overnighted. In the mean time I will have a call parked at Electrosport awaiting them when they open the doors at 8:30 CA time. First best outcome will be to have ES overnight a high output stator to me, followed by an OEM Yamaha stator followed by putting in the OEM stator I took out when I installed my Electrosport. No matter how you cut it, it’s gonna be a rush to get everything done and be able to leave for EOM before the sun is up on Thursday.
If the rain stops I’m going to wash my poor bikie today and will pull the stator tomorrow. If the rain doesn’t stop by mid afternoon I will pull the stator today.
I hope that the bits of information contained in my saga will help anyone that experiences electrical issues while on the road.
Why my Electrosport stator may be bad:
Last winter my engine destroyed itself. My first choice was to replace the engine with a used one. When the first used engine showed up we put in my ES because the replacement engine had no stator. This used engine was a POS, the stator was removed and the engine was returned to the seller. My ES was swapped into a second POS engine and removed. Then the ES was reinstalled into my engine during the rebuild. This spring the ES was yet again removed when the crank was taken out of my engine for a second time to access the rods and plane bearings. When I do an autopsy to find the root cause for my ES failure I suspect I will find that excessive handling played a prime role in its demise. My ES was never subjected to electrical abuse, if I saw ignition voltage drop below 12.8 volts I would start shutting down electrical items to prevent overload. When ignition voltage was 12.8 volts battery voltage would still be 13.2 volts or higher.
At this time I think my stator failure is unique and directly related to all the recent handling.
Over the past several weeks I’ve noticed that my radar detector’s volt meter reading would drop down into the 11 volt range every once in a while, but would recover back to ~13.6 volts. Everything seemed to work fine and there was no problem starting so I chose to ignore the irregularity. Yesterday, less than a week from EOM my stator 100% quit while I was out running errands. While parking my bike at the first stop I noticed that the headlights reflection in a store’s window were a deep yellow. This prompted a quick glance at the volt meter – 11.2 volts. Oh phuck. Leaving the store Feejer started right up with little drama so I went on to my next stop but parked so that there would be some chance of bump starting it should things continue to get worse. Leaving this stop the electrical system did a full drop-out and reset the meter but on a second try it started. Now came the anxiety of making it home before I ran out of volts. About 2 miles from home my detector’s volt meter was reading 10.4 volts making it a close call if I would get home. I have confidence that the coils will continue to fire down to 9.8 volts but I’m not sure how the Injectors or Fuel Pump will behave. When I went over a frame shaking bump the meter jumped up to 11.2 volts, assurance that I would make it home and a tip-off that the problem could be a loose connection. I was able to zip into my garage with no further drama.
Off comes panels C and D. The battery terminals are just a tiny bit loose, not enough to cause my problems directly. A real volt meter shows 11.2 volts on the battery with the engine off. I started the engine and the voltage dropped to 10.9 volts reflecting the power consumed starting the engine. Revving the engine to 5k rpm produced zero increase in voltage. Not good. I plugged my trickle charger into the permanently attached pig-tail for a quick feeding.
Off comes panels A & B as well as the lower fairings. On my Gen I, I now have access to the rectifier/regulator (RR) plus the stator and battery connectors. A quick inspection does not show any problems with the wires or connectors. I back probed the heavy battery wires attached to the RR and started the engine. Still no charging voltage right at the RR. I did a voltage drop measurement from the + output of the RR to the + terminal of the battery -- 0.2 volts which is good. I did a voltage drop test to the negative terminal of the battery -- 0.3 volts, acceptable. I did a negative voltage drop test to the engine -- 0.5 volts, not good but not related to my failure. The excessive voltage drop seems to be at the lug crimp where the cable attaches to the engine block. Another day, another time I will address this problem.
So, the problem may be a short in the main harness, a bad RR or a bad stator. I unplugged the battery wires from the RR and with the engine running, a known good battery connected to the RR terminals I checked the battery voltage. There was still no charging voltage even with the whole motorcycle electrical system out of the picture.
I won’t have access to a meter that can accurately measure fractional ohms until Monday so I did an AC voltage test on the stator. All three wires should read ≥50 volts AC, any phase to any phase when the engine is running at 5k rpm. Two phases were just a bit over 48 volts and one phase was 26 volts. Bad stator. The RR ohms correctly and the rectifying diodes pass a junction drop test (the diode symbol setting on some digital multi-meters). I do have a spare RR should it be necessary.
I was able to get to my dealer at the last death defying second to score a stator cover gasket. They were just about to lock the doors when I arrived. I’ve primed the parts counter guy for the prospect of a spittle spewing desperado calling him on Monday morning to have an OEM stator overnighted. In the mean time I will have a call parked at Electrosport awaiting them when they open the doors at 8:30 CA time. First best outcome will be to have ES overnight a high output stator to me, followed by an OEM Yamaha stator followed by putting in the OEM stator I took out when I installed my Electrosport. No matter how you cut it, it’s gonna be a rush to get everything done and be able to leave for EOM before the sun is up on Thursday.
If the rain stops I’m going to wash my poor bikie today and will pull the stator tomorrow. If the rain doesn’t stop by mid afternoon I will pull the stator today.
I hope that the bits of information contained in my saga will help anyone that experiences electrical issues while on the road.
Why my Electrosport stator may be bad:
Last winter my engine destroyed itself. My first choice was to replace the engine with a used one. When the first used engine showed up we put in my ES because the replacement engine had no stator. This used engine was a POS, the stator was removed and the engine was returned to the seller. My ES was swapped into a second POS engine and removed. Then the ES was reinstalled into my engine during the rebuild. This spring the ES was yet again removed when the crank was taken out of my engine for a second time to access the rods and plane bearings. When I do an autopsy to find the root cause for my ES failure I suspect I will find that excessive handling played a prime role in its demise. My ES was never subjected to electrical abuse, if I saw ignition voltage drop below 12.8 volts I would start shutting down electrical items to prevent overload. When ignition voltage was 12.8 volts battery voltage would still be 13.2 volts or higher.
At this time I think my stator failure is unique and directly related to all the recent handling.
Last edited by a moderator:
