greener

Well, for starters, to all of the guy who told me in my 12v100w headlight post I needed to check myself before I wrecked myself--you were right. I was on my 1000 mile cruise with my friends down the Washington/Oregon/Cali coast, and the truth reared its ugly head--the'Bird has a charging issue. Its a sad story, but here goes:

I was sitting at idle waiting for some construction to clear, so I turned off the bike for a while--when it was time to go, she wouldn't fire back up. Pulled over, threw the multimeter on and the bat was 12.4 volts "Yikes" I said "Must be those 100w lights I got running, plus the iPhone charger." Quickly swapped out the headlights for the 55w stockers, disconnected the iPhone, jumped it off my buddies Bandit 1200, and we were off.

No issues for the rest of the day, runs, starts, no issues. Leaving the casino that night after making a small deposit at the blackjack tables, and WTF? the bike won't start again. So now I know I'm screwed, but am still a day away from home, so decide to try and make it work until I can get it back to base. Bump start it and head back to the hotel. The next morning had to bump start it again, other than that in did great.

About 200 miles later we're pulling in for a pit stop, so I flick on the blinker and the bike dies! D'oh...try to restart it using the momentum, nothing--now it won't even bump start. Tear everything apart--the bat reads 11.8 volts, ouch... pull out the head lights, disconnect my 12v accessory plug etc. She takes the jump, and is running fine. Put about 60 miles on at speed before stopping for lunch. After we eat she fires right back up several times, make it home no more problems.

When I get home I throw the meter on the bat and it reads 13.1 volts, so fully charged, right? Plug the headlights back in and she reads 12.6 volts at idle, and 12.5-12.4 with the highbeams on. With the lowbeams on and rev'd to 5k rpm, she only makes 13v max, and it jumps around between that and 12.7. Swap out the bat for a new unit, and the same story.

Do I have a voltage leak somewhere, or is the stator going out? I'm going out right now to pull the plug and check the legs--will report back after.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Greener

greener

I forgot to mention: during the issues the tach would intermittently fall to zero, only to jump back up once I rev'd it.

TigreST

Bad ground.

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"Stemmata quid faciunt."

greener

The stator voltage is 60-63 on all 3 legs. Is there another test I run on the stator while I've got the plug out?

shewie

Check each one for continuity to ground. There shouldn't be any.

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If you don't like the way I ride then stay off the sidewalk.

smurf211

Check the flow chart:

Electrical Issue

greener

Now the bike has no power at all. I pulled the r/r to check it out, and while I was doing that heard a faint click, like a fuse had blown. I turned the key on and nothing--no headlights, no idiot lights, no nothing. Checked the main fuse, the ignition fuse, the fuse for the damn horn--all are OK. I put the r/r back in, still nothing. My next move will be to soak the bike in gasoline and take up smoking... Any thoughts?

KiwiBird

There's some good advice on this thread with respect to the checks you need to do to pin the problem down. A couple of years ago, the first indication I had that the stator was on the way out was the tacho flicking to zero and back up until the bike died a bit further down the road.

If it is the stator after you've done the checks, there are some good aftermarket ones which are far cheaper than the OEM Honda part. If you don't know a source in the USA, JAWS in the UK does the higher rated ones. If he can get 'bird parts to NZ in less than a week, you'll get them faster in the USA!

Best of luck,

Geoff

Poundstretcher

Sounds as though the bad battery has probably made the R/R burn out.
Easiest thing to do is go to the resource centre thread on "How to tell if your R/R is about to die" and have a read up on it Make sure the new battery was fully charged before fitting and keep it up to spec if the bike is not in use on a regular basis, this lessens the work the R/R needs to do.

greener

Well now I suspect it’s both the r/r and the stator...

One of the yellow wires going from the stator to the r/r was crispy to the touch, and had melted a bit of the insulation, and melted some of the r/r housing where it plugged in, so I think a new r/r is a foregone conclusion. I just ordered an R1 unit, which should be here soon, and will replace the wiring as well.

When I check the resistance of the 3 stator legs they all read good--about 0.8 ohms (it’s supposed to read above 0 but below 2, right?). But when I measured the resistance from each of the legs to the frame it read the same--about 0.8--this is supposed to read a big fat 0 (or infinite) right? Otherwise it means the stator is grounding out in the case, which means new stator time?

Thoughts?

Skapan

Well, my service manual says 0.1 to 1.0 ohms between the yellow leads, and "no continuity" between the yellow leads and ground. Sounds like it's finished. That crispy yellow lead makes me wonder about the R/R and what went first. The R/R could have killed the stator, then again if the battery ran low on electrolyte that would put a higher load on it too.

Poundstretcher

If you have continuity off the stator yellow leads to ground you can presume the stator is gone, You will find that the six pin connector from R/R will also be burnt. Which will mean replacement of R/R, Stator & Battery. This problem is usually the reverse of what we expect the poor battery condition means the R/R is overworked trying to push the required power into it generating large amounts of heat that eventually destroys the R/R and can cause a chain reaction to the stator. The secret is to check the battery regularly & keep it charged, should hold around 13v after being stood overnight if it's not used for sometime make sure it up before you ride ( less work for the charging system) my preference is to change the battery when it holds 12.8 or below. 1999 with original (non finned R/R) original stator & 2nd battery. Good luck

lois

There is a lot of info in this thread, but if I understand correctly, when you unplugged pretty well everything, the bike would run and charge the battery......correct?

Now, if you answered yes, then I would have to say this.

It is my belief that you were on the verge of having problems before you installed the 100 waters.

Could be a combination, ie weak battery, and/or corroded main connectors....and on and on.
---------------------------------
How old is your battery?

Is there an automotive electric "rebuild" shop in your area than can TEST your regulator? (send it to me....I can test it..)

The above shop can also do a " megger" test on your stator to see if it is breaking down under load.(once again, I can megg your stator too...lol)

No offence guys, but in most cases it is pure luck that you infedels stumble across the problem at all. Without the proper tools , trouble shooting your electrical system is like a three year old trying to figure out how to use a steel lathe.




Ok, ok, maybe not that bad...but close.

Lois

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Call me "Captain Mudbucket".

greener

I suspect you are right Lois. The 100 waters were probably the straw that broke the camel's back. I have an R1 r/r and an Electrosport stator on the way--both shipped to me for under $200, so not too bad. I will replace the battery as well, to cover all potential issues. What a pain, but at least I made it home. I guess I will be riding the Sprint ST until the 'Bird is back on her feet. Thanks for all of the help on this one!

Greener

Banshee

I recall that I had a similar problem with my '98. Thought the battery had failed & replaced it.

Lasted for a while then had problems again, replaced R/R. Ok for a day or so then had to unplug the headlight to try & get home one night. It would go for a while then the instruments would stop working, & a little after that the bike would shut down. Eventually called home & my wife drove out the where I was, (~5mi from home), gave the bike a quick charge with some jumper leads & made it home.

Replaced burnt out stator with a rewound one from wrecker & never had another problem.

lois

Also, when you install your new battery, scrape the battery cables where they contact the battery posts themselves, and apply some grease in between before installing. Plus, check all of your main connectors between the Regulator and battery, as well as the lines that run to your starting soloenoid. Any corrosion ,in any of these areas will play hell on your charging system, by driving resistance thru the roof.

Send a plane ticket and 500 dollars spending cash....I'll be there in 2 days.

Lois

__________________
Call me "Captain Mudbucket".

greener

Haha, if I can't get it figured out, I'll bring you out first class

wwmiv

Heading to Indy for the MotoGP with a friend, I also had issues about an hour into the ride. My first signal was that my speedo and tach fell to zero while riding. I flicked my lights to low beam and the speedo and tach would come back up, only to fall back down shortly after. The bike ended up dying. We sat around for a little while thinking about the possible causes - My battery was just 2 months old and had just been taken off the Battery Tender that morning. Some down time allowed me to get the bike started with a roll. We traveled a few more miles and then I saw the speedo and tach go down. I was learning that this was the early warning sign that the bike would die within 3 - 5 minutes. At this stop, I took out my head light fuse. We were able to jump start again. We headed back into the closest town and found a Napa Auto part store. They had a battery all charged up off the shelf -- a little nicer than the one I had in. All started up fine. I took the "problem" battery in for testing and inspection. It read that the battery was good but needed recharging. I opened up the top to check for acid levels and they were all low. Perhaps I had not closed the top tight enough before. They added acid and did a quick charge and I was on my way with old and new batteries. Since the acid levels were so low, I thought the issues were taken care of. Well, another 30 -40 minuted into the ride (head light fuse back in place) and it all started again. The speedo and tach went down and then I looked for a place to pull over. Real head-scratching now. I was able to pull the head light fuse, install the old and re-charged battery, and make the hour and a half trip home without further incident. However, here I am with a charging issue. Stator or regulator/rectifier or???

onoff

Check the Regulator first, since it is more accessable than the stator if you need to replace one or the other.

If the regulator have any cracks or peeling on the surface, it is likely fried.

With the battery fully charged and regulator disconnected, idle the engine and check the voltage between any two of three yellow wires connecting to teh regulator for stator operation, anything below 12.3v usually means that the stator is not generating juice.

Rev the engine to 3000 rpm and check battery voltage, if it still stays under 12.3v, you knwo the stator is fried. Operating stator should generate 14v or above when engine is at 3000 rpm.

Good luck.

wwmiv

With the engine at idle (r/r disconnected), I am getting 14's and 15's between the yellow wires.

With engine at idle (r/r disconnected), I am getting 12.2 - 12.25 at idle and dropping down to 12.1 at 3,000 rpm (connections on battery terminals)

R/R looks good and is not old -- replaced less than 2 years ago.

Have I checked all I need to check? Conclusion?


Thanks,

Bill

PS: Old battery with low acid levels was deemed good, acid added and then re-charged. Since then, I put that same battery on trickle charge and have noticed a leak. Leak is not at the top as was suspected, but on the right side.