How to fix common regulator/Stator failures

Discussion in '5th Generation 1998-2001' started by Rubo, Jul 7, 2012.

  1. Cycleman1

    Cycleman1 New Member

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    I've been thinking. On your wire, you might have to go to a 12 gauge wire. The longer the run the more power loss, but with you dealing with just a couple of feet that wouldn't really enter into the picture. In this country you use 14 gauge wiring for your 15 amp house wiring circuits, and I think you can have 10-11 wall plugs/lights on one 15 amp circuit. So you likely can use your 13 gauge wire, that is certainly not common in this part of the world and I don't think I've ever seen it.

    I finally looked at the picture and that looks like a tuning capacitor not a heat sink. The heat sink I was referring to was flat on one side with fins sticking straight out.
     
  2. fink

    fink Member

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    Second hand rr from a triumph will be the same thing.
     
  3. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    Hi SkiMad and the rest of the people.
    Thank you for your replies. I did read post #9 before posting here. Most of you guys didn't actually reply to my question about how to test the rectifier. There is a test you can perform with a voltmeter. However every single video I have found is either for the 5th gen or for some other bike. In the following video this person, from a motorcycle shop that performs electrical work, explains how to test the Honda Magna rectifier.

    Instead of 5 cables total I have 8!. that's why I can't figure if my rectifier is bad by using the voltmeter. The other simple test is to turn on the motorcycle and test directly at the battery, which I did and yes I believe is fried.
    SkiMad. .... this bike was involved in a wreck and I discover this later on a more deep inspection. The previous owner bought a custom Body kit (that sould have been my first clue) But then I realized the "tank" was not the tank but also a plastic case/cover that was on top of the tank. Point is I don't think I will keep this bike even though I am hooked to the machine. I may end up buying a 2006 -2009 that is in better condition, I don't like much the 2010 model.
    Im a rider coach and I purchase a lot of bikes, fix them, make them better than when I got them and put it back on the road, sometimes I make money, sometimes I don't. But I have owned over 20 bikes now doing this.
    I did fall for the cheap ebay fix, because I just need this bike running and I don't have $300 to buy a good RR and Stator.
    SO... if any one knows how to properly test the RR of the 6th gen with 8 cables please let me know.
    also SkiMad: THANK YOU for the welcome... much appreciated. This is my first sport bike forum, since I normally own cruisers and ADV's and the crowd tend to be different.
    Please do me a HUGE favor: Would you be so kind to tell me the follwing:
    IF I decide to purchase a 2006-2009 would I still experience the same issues?
    IF the answer is Yes, Which RR and Startor (makes and models) do you recomend so I can make a good investment of my money.
    I deeply apreciate the help. Sorry if I take long to reply I have been very busy and don't have much spare time. THANKS
     
  4. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    Hello again. Updated on my problem, which still not solved.
    * New stator is installed. With the bike running and UNPLUGGED from the regulator it reads 20 volts AC at Idle and 60+ with the rpms high (3-5K). Resistance is good, not grounded to the bike. Seems this part is OK.
    * When I plug the stator to the new or old rectifier, the rpms of the bike lower by 50 rpms or so, and I when I measure the AC volts coming from the 3 yellow cables ( touching the leads coming from the stator) the AC is 9 Volts....!!!!
    * at the battery: 12.7 V with the bike OFF. With the Bike running gets to 13.2 regardless of the rpms ... should go to 14.5 V DC
    At this point I'm officially without any clue on what's going on, or what to do. Taking the bike to a shop is currently not a choice.
    Does anyone has the entire electrical diagram of the bike?
    Help is appreciated. Thanks
     
  5. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    If you're getting 20 and 60v from stator unpluged then it's good.
    You don't measure it pluged in.
    It could be a bad battery which should read 13.1v without being connected to bike.
    It will be lower on bike specially if lights are on.
    It could also be a bad RR or bad connections.
    Do not use the stock connector, it's garbage and the biggest cause of all failures.
    You also need to go from RR directly to battery, not through the harness.
     
  6. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    OZ
    Since Im not proficient with electricity, most of us are not, I am following the tests performed by Ricks motorsport Electrics on youtube on a honda Magna. Electrical systems are very similar in motorcycles. Go to min 2:18 of the following video so you can see. Yes, you should be able to read the AC voltage coming from the stator with the connector plugged to the RR at the back of the terminals on the stator side. Watch it

    Also the battery is brand new. the RR is new also. now im not sure if the old one is bad (probably is)
    Connections has been checked. You said: "Do not use the stock connector, it's garbage and the biggest cause of all failures." Which one are you referring too?
    I believe people have solder the stator cables straight to the 3 yellow cables of the RR, is that what do you mean?
     
  7. Cycleman1

    Cycleman1 New Member

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    Make sure you have charged the battery up, ie: leave it on a tender for 24 hrs, and then do your tests. I've had a couple of Honda's, including the current VFR, and have yet to see 14.5 at the battery on a running bike, with good stator & RR. It will just hit 14 V, but normally is between 13.5 - 14 Volts. It will vary a bit depending on rpm. The max charging voltage is set by the voltage regulator and on some bikes where the voltage regulator is separate you can adjust the charging voltage higher. A normal system will work fine with between 13.5-14 volts. Higher is not always better.

    You have to do any of these tests with a fully charged battery in the bike. Just because a battery is new, doesn't matter. It has to be charged up fully either out of the bike or in the bike using a battery tender or something similar. Make sure that any aftermarket stuff is turned off ie: heated grips, extra lights.
     
  8. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    The battery has been connected to a professional grade motorcycle battery charger, not just a battery tender, so i know the battery is not only new but fully charged for over 24 hours.... The DC voltage does not change up or down with the rpms as it should.... stays at 13.1 barely. I also have a honda CTX700 in the garage and I am doing the same test on her... and all the same tests works as shown on the tutorials . There is no extra stuff like heated grips .
     
  9. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    Could anyone tell me if you can keep the bike running even if you disconnect the battery at 3-4k rmps (not idle). If I do it on my GL1800 the bike keep running but this hike has a real alternator
     
  10. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    Yes, solder the three wires from the stator to the RR, it is the best insurance you have against future failures and to make sure you have a low resistance connection.
    I'm also not sure what RR you're using, plenty of cheap Chinese ones out there that are crap straight out of the box.
    How have you done the power connections from RR to battery?
    Sometimes a bad connection at the fuse from RR can cause this problem.
    But from what info you're giving, it looks like a bad RR or connection.
     
  11. jhon

    jhon New Member

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    Could anyone tell me if you can keep the VFR running even if you disconnect the battery at 3-4k rmps (not idle)??
    I have have done the same my 3 other bikes and the results are inconsistent:
    * If I do it on my 2006 GL1800 the bike keep running but this bike has a real alternator.
    * If I do it on my 2014 CTX700 the bike keeps running but the screen flickers, if I drop the rpms then the bike dies
    * If I do it on 2008 Harley Softail Custom the bike dies immediately regardless of rpms
    * Couple of videos on youtube have different result.

    I was under the impression that the stator could produce enough energy to keep the bike running if the rpms were high enough, apparantly I was wrong, and I was using this on my VFR to understand if the bike was ok.
    If I can confirm the VFR dies regardless of RPMs I can close this case and put my bike together and enjoy it. Im not going to keep chasing a Ghost.
    The stator is sending the right amount of current at idle and high rpms, is not grounded, and it also has the right resistance (ohms) when the bike is off.
    The battery is 12.8v off, 11.8 ignition on, 13.2- 13.4 running. The voltage does not goes higher from 13.5 v regardless of rpms (this is also the same for my CTX700 and Harley.
    Im pretty tired of looking for a problem that might not be there anymore.
    If you guys could please answer this post without leaving anything out that would be great so I can call this case closed.
    THANK YOU
     
  12. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    If I had the figures that you've shown, and mine are actually very close, I'd go riding.
     
    jhon likes this.
  13. vegaquark

    vegaquark New Member

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    But this is crazy!
    The battery is meant to smooth out the ripple of the alternators ac current! The rectifiers/regulators cannot make the ripple go away themselves, and that ripple may kill electronics for shutting them on and off repeatedly.
    At least you should have a capacitor if not a battery.
    What’s the purpose of this experiment?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  14. Cycleman1

    Cycleman1 New Member

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    If you are getting 13.5 V at off idle and going down the highway, then your charging system is fine. Resting voltage on the battery of 12.8 indicates the battery is fine. My readings/experience on my 99 are the same and I have no issues with the charging system. Not all R/R are set to charge at 14 V, and it is pretty obvious that the stock R/R in the VFR is set for 13.5. I can't comment on any aftermarket R/R.
     
  15. Hans Olsson

    Hans Olsson New Member

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    Stator check,
    resistance ok
    continuity ok
    ac volts
    A-B 1.5
    A-C 1.2
    B-C 1.6
     
  16. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    Looks like those are resistance readings? A tick high, but what is the rest of the data?
     
  17. Hans Olsson

    Hans Olsson New Member

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    Resistance is below 1.0 ohm and there is no continuity to ground at all.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
  18. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    I am confused on your information. So to sort out.... Can you fill out below?
    Resistance =
    A-B =
    B-C =
    C-A =

    Sounds like continuity is not an issue.... infinity x 3 --- yes?

    AC volts on Stator connector..must be disconnected from R/R.....
    A-B at idle =______ A-B at 5000rpm = __________
    B-C at idle =_______ B-C at 5000rpm = __________
    C-A at idle = ________ C-A at 5000rpm = __________
     
  19. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    No continuity to ground is good.
    Also as Mello states, voltage from stator is AC not DC.
     
  20. Hans Olsson

    Hans Olsson New Member

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    Last edited: Aug 13, 2019
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