Charging Problem

So my 2009 VFR800 stopped charging the battery. I know there are a lot of these threads, so I will try to keep it succinct!

I bought the bike last spring, and drove it though the summer without any problem at all.
I parked in up in a container from November to February. I had a little solar charger on the battery... and planned to go and start the bike regularly. Things being as they are though, I failed to do this.

Subsequently, I went to the bike in February to find it completely dead.

I bought a new battery for it, and when I put it on the bike started fine. I then rode it around for a few weeks. It was fine.

One morning I started it up to ride to work. Before I'd got a mile down the road, I "thought" I saw the dash display go out completely, but it came back on. I thought it odd, but continued on.. About 20 miles later the bike died. There was no life from the battery. I was stranded at the side of the road. I had no breakdown cover, but bought another battery, attached it and rode home. By the time I got home the battery was dead - no surprise.

I followed "the drill" and convinced myself it was the regulator / rectifier at fault, which I bought and replaced. I did that this weekend. However, when I checked the voltages, I am sure the battery is STILL not charging.

Battery voltage: 12.6v
Voltage at idle: 11.8v.. gradually decreasing.

My attention turned to the stator.

Between the 3 wires I get between 0.8 and 1ohm.
There is no continuity between any of the diodes and ground. Seems good right?

However, on checking Vac between the the wires I get around 5 to 8Vac. No matter how high I rev the bike,

Does this suggest a dead stator?
I was expecting, if it was dead, that I would get a decent reading between two of the wires at least - but they are all low. Is there some way it could fail that would have this behaviour? I am worried about spending even more money on a part that isn't at fault!

I feel that I have finally found the issue... but I would love to get opinions.

If it IS the stator.. would I be best to get an OEM one, or would an RMSLabs one be any good?

(Turned out NOT to be that succinct!)

Paul

 

Stator is indeed dead.

Step away from the Multi-Meter and just remove the stator cover - I feel certain you will be greeted by the smell of burnt electrical windings and the stator will have crispy fried sections.

You will need to order a new OEM stator and OEM cover gasket. Alternatively you could send the dead stator complete with connector to a rewinding specialist - however the cost is probably very similar. To fun bit is trying to remove/reinstate the stator cable as the stator connector will not pass below the engine, so use a flat blade jewellers screwdriver - to release each of the three yellow wires from the connector - There is a retaining tab on the pins which locates in the connector. Once released this should allow each of the pins on the yellow wires to slide out. Then duck tape some spare wire to the yellow wires and pull them over to the stator side taking a note of the routing and cable retainers. When the new stator arrives remove the pins from the connector and tape them to the spare wire and then pull it though and reinstate the connector - although some prefer to completely remove the connector and solder the connection instead.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.


SkiMad

 

Thanks for the replies. And the advice!
So does it mean all 3 coils went at the same time? I was expecting a variation of good and bad vac readings.
Where is a good place to get an oem part?

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Has anyone had any experience of having the stator rewound?
Nearly £400 for a new stator is going to sting!

 

They start at £40, not £400!

https://www.motorcyclepartswarehous...ator-assembly-honda-vfr-800-fi-1998-2001.html
https://mtp-racing24.com/Stator_5?c...MI7ejHwJao5AIVB4jVCh3cWwF-EAQYAiABEgLnNPD_BwE
https://www.motoelectrical.co.uk/ty...nda-vfr800-interceptor-vfr800fi-rms010-102040

 

Hmm - £40? I guess that must be an aftermarket / pattern part. The genuine article is indeed a lot nearer £400 such as this one -

https://www.bike-parts-honda.com/honda-motorcycle/assignment_spare_parts/31120MCWD03

As the old genuine stator lasted 10 years I guess you can expect similar life from another OEM stator. Funnily enough the stator on my 6th Gen also failed just after the bike passed 10 years on the road.

Obviously if you were planning to sell the VFR soon, then the cheaper aftermarket version might be the way to go, but obviously you have no idea how reliable that option will be or indeed if an aftermarket product (usually made in China) fails, you have to wonder just how successful you would be making a warranty claim to some place in the outskirts of Shenzhen, let alone getting compensation if the failure takes out your RR as well. (RRs are not cheap either.)

Certainly if you are not in a rush and can find a specialist able to rewind the current stator for a better price then that may be the best middle course. There are plenty of well respected firms who can do this in the UK - google is your friend but always read the reviews, ring the company and if necessary send them a photo or two of the fried unit - to make sure they are equipped to tackle the job. Always get a firm quoted price including return postage VAT etc.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

 

YMMV, but for me, a stator is just a load of copper wire and some iron formers: there's not really that many corners the Chinese can cut making one, and at £40 a time, only after say 3 of them have failed on me would I bite the bullet and buy an OEM one...

 

A lad I used to work with used . . west country windings. . to have his fried stator rewound.

 

And how did he think it went?

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This company did a few dynamo and stator rewinds for me https://www.mawdsleysber.co.uk/stator-rewinds/

Very professional approach and decent price

It’s not rocket science, I rewound my Morini V twin stator myself

 

He was very pleased said it was better than new , theyre the market leaders in the classic bike world. Ive not had any dealings with them so you might want to do some research and possibly phone them

 

So I have removed my stator. Bits of it look a bit blackened... but who knows.

Is anyone familiar enough with these things to tell me how I can tell if this is an oem part (potentially worth rewiring) or a cheap pattern part (potentially worth replaing)?
It most certainly doesnt have many markings on it.

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I have spoken to them. Actually they are very local to me too. Thanks for the info.

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I would check all the wires between the stator and rectifier before I replace anything. I had this happen to my 96 vfr and found a burnt plug between the state and rectifier. I cut the plug off and wired it straight to the rectifier and had no more problems. I hope this helps

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Hi Acksdad and Welcome to the MadHouse

When you get a chance please drop in on the "introductions" forum and say Hi to the rest of the folks on here and maybe tell us a bit about your riding history and post up a photo of your VFR.

Certainly 4th Gens had quite a few issues with melted connectors causing charging system failures - but by the time they got around to making the 6th Gens thankfully Honda seem to have got that issue under control. Unfortunately instead we are seeing more and more posts where charging system failures on 6th Gens are eventually traced to insulation failures on the stator windings.

Given the multi-meter test results and especially the hopeless AC volts quoted way back in post #1 on all three legs of the stator on his 6th Gen and the subsequent post #13 reporting finding blackened sections on the stator when he opened up the stator cover it appears just another example of a 6th Gen exhibiting the classic signs of shorted out stator windings.

The real issue is now finding a reliable and affordable stator replacement - and I would certainly consider having the original stator rewound by a reputable firm as a preferable solution to fitting a Chinese stator.


If it helps Captainpugwash I suggest you check out the photo on post #365 in the following thread

https://vfrworld.com/threads/how-to-fix-common-regulator-stator-failures.39277/page-19#post-605747

This shows what a genuine Honda stator looks like after it shorted out. Obviously your stator may have more or less crispy brown sections but the windings on genuine stators would have all started out the same colour.




SkiMad

 

Thank you.
Hmm... yes it does look like that one...
I guess they all look pretty similar tho right?
Let me get the numbers off it..


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My connector appears to be ok.
I have tested the voltages from the wires directly from the stator, so I think it should be a reliable test! Time will tell...
Thanks for the suggestion though.

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I have taken a few pictures of my stator. Does anybody who knows these things (not me that's for sure!) think this is a Honda one?
The only mark I can see on it is 12BY, as shown in the picture.

 

So, just to keep this thread up to date, an update from me!

I compared loads of online pictures to my own stator and I *think* it is indeed a Honda one, and therfore *hopefully* the original one. I have sent it off to West Country Windings today, who will test it before rewiring it.

Let's see what they say!