I'm going to ask a dumb question. I went through the appropriate tests on my charging system and turns out that my stator is shorted to itself. Can someone please tell me what exactly this means in non electrician terms? I'm sure it's an easy explanation!

Thanks!

 

3 parts to the charging system. The stator is mounted in the engine's primary compartment and is mounted stationary. It has coil windings that produce A/C electricity when magnets pass by them. The magnets are mounted on the rotor which is driven by the crankshaft. The a/c current passes through the regulator and is converted to D/C to charge the battery.

There are many causes to a burned out, or also called shorted out stator. A bad battery can draw too much of a recharge load and toast a stator. Also too many added accessories, shorted wiring, or a bad regulator that could be shorting to ground, or not in contact with ground by it's mounting point corroding.

It's quite a project to disassemble the primary to replace it. But it is a common home garage repair. Removal of the outer primary case, and the dismounting of the compensator and clutch hub require a great amount of effort. And the rebuild is the use of precision torques and adhesive, along with new seals.

 

...and the stator may be damaged IF the magnets come loose from the rotor.

this can happen if air impact tools are used on the compensating sprocket bolt- the impacts can break the adhesive bound...and the magnets are able to shift and whack the stator windings

mike

 

Cool, thanks guys! I've been reading a lot on this subject. My voltage regulater tested good and battery tested good in a load test. What is confusing me is that the stator is still outputting 19 vac at 1k rpms when I tested it. However, the battery is only at 12.9 volts when the bike is running and doesn't increase with increased RPM.

it doesn't make sense to me that the stator is putting out the correct amount of a/c volts but when plugged into the regulater the battery is not charging? Does this make sense. I will do another round of tests after work today.

Battery is new and the voltage regulator was replaced a few weeks ago while out on a trip at a Harley shop.

 

It sounds as though you've been working at this issue and have a fair amount of testing and results. My best guess here is that a portion of the Stator coils is damaged and a portion is still providing a limited output.

I can tell you that when I rewired my ignition switch so I can start my bike without the lights on I get 14.6 v to recharge the battery. When I switch on the lighting it drops and stays almost constant at 12.6, this would be "the load" condition that draws current and changes the voltage reading. So you may actually have a proper amount of voltage readings. But if there's a short in any of the windings, the output may drop off when it heats up, or gets "jarred" by vibrations when the bike is running. Although generally we assume the test results while stationary either meet, or don't meet specs.

Also if the stator is shorted you would register this in the testing of the stator's output. When testing the stator, you check for a ground short. this would be the only way to know that it's "shorted". Most often you have an "open" test result when the coils are burned and then they short to themselves and produce improper readings.

I'm going to guess that you don't have a shorted Stator.

Depending on when you replaced portions of the recharging system you can have issues that damage the replacement parts as quick as you install them.

The loose magnet issue is very possible too, but typically a slipping or loose magnet will cause extensive damage to the stator and you would not be getting any type of output and you often will have some noise associated with this problem.

Again the order in which items were replaced can cause the new parts to become damaged if the main issue wasn't repaired. Issues such as shorted battery, or one not taking a charge can then damage the (new) regulator or the (new) stator.

What actual issue is it that you have?

One point that you may or may not have come across is the most known failure which is connection corrosion. Many times the connections to the battery can become loose or corroded and affect the entire bike's electrical, even the ability to turn the starter but not start the bike. This happens, especially with more modern ignition systems which fail at low voltage, but again the starter can turn over. Those main lines from the battery to the starter, solenoid, and even ground can become loose and corroded causing odd issues.

Tell us what the issue is that warranted the investigation into the recharging system?

 

Thanks for the help JohnnyC!

Before my trip my battery was no good and got a new one before taking my short trip. All was good and while out 500 miles from home the engine and battery light came on and showed P0562, low battery voltage code. I cleared the code to see if it came back on and it did. Took it to the closest dealer and they quickly determined the VR was bad and put on a new one. Didn't ask how they tested. I wasn't knowledgeable about testing then. All was well for the duration of my trip. After being gone from home for work a couple of weeks I am driving to work and the two lights came on again. Same code. Lights go out when get to highway speed and when I come to a light, lights are on and voltage meter drops to about eleven. Take off gain and lights out and volt meter back where it should be. I know the volt meter isn't as accurate as a multimeter. Just my referance while going down the road.

Then I researched and learned how to test the charging system. I like learning and doing things on my own. I replaced the cams and a few other things for the first time earlier this year so I am pretty confident I will be able to swap the stator if need be.

Bike has 70,000 miles on it.

 

Just a short comment here. When I stop at a light and idle I often have the running lights (including the headlight), the brake lights, and the turn signal draining the system and can register as low as 9 or 10 volts for those moments at an idle. If I rev a little I get more voltage recharging and the meter will raise up into the 12.6 volt range. It all averages out between good charging at a fast speed and dropping real low under the conditions mentioned above.

You may have some strange abnormal issue like a bulb shorting in it's socket when the brakes are on, or one of the worse case scenarios would be the keyway that holds the rotor to the crank has become damaged and it's not keeping speed with the engine, it's slipping.

My machine doesn't give codes so I'm not familiar with them but they should be pointing you toward the cause so you need to read them and check in the direction they are pointing.

And lastly many stators work even when bad they provide some output. Make sure all connections are tight and clean, including the connection of the stator to the voltage regulator. Oil can conduct and cause resistance, especially if that plug leaks at all.

Be sure to let us know what you find and I'll be watching to see if you get it fixed correctly.

 

best place to get Stator reg etc.
They make them for HD.
www.cycleelectricinc.com

 

Thanks for the tip! I already have one picked out from them if I need it!

 

So I found the two stator wire "covers" frayed. So I cut it back a bit to check and both wires from the stators are bare. Photo below. They are small, but are they big enough to cause a short in the stator? I have cleaning off all of the grounds while I'm at it. Already did the battery terminal the other day.