| Author | Message | ||
     Rapuckett55 |
I want to make sure I don't burn up another one. I documented how I bought my 06 Uly with a bad stator here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/743421.html?1405967433 I always watch my battery meter. Shortly after changing the stator and it was no longer charging properly. Ended up being the VRR. I changed it out with the FH020AA Shindengen that has been recommended here so many times. 2 green lights again on the Kuryakyn meter. It didn't take long and I was only getting 1 green light. Not a big deal I thought. Being winter, I use heated gear to keep warm. I usually turn it all off when I get close to work to make sure my battery is charged to get home. A typical ride to work would have 1 Green light for a while, but will go out after about 15 miles. A couple miles before work I will turn all heated gear off. I usually get the 1 green light come back on before I get to work. I put the bike on a battery tender at home, so it's always fully charged in the morning. Lately, I never get the green light after I turn my heated gear off. Then on a warmer day I didn't turn any heated gear on and the green light shortly went off. I was suspicious that the charging system was not doing its job, so I tested the stator. It's bad. 2 phases are directly shorted to ground. I've ordered a replacement. This time I'm going with the Accel stator. The real question: What causes the stator to go out prematurely? What do I check to prevent this new one from burning up? I double checked my VRR and it is good. Really, the only thing it connects to is the VRR, right? If it checks out good, then no worries, right? I will confess that when I put on my last stator, the VRR did not check out. One of the diodes did not pass the test. I hope that was the culprit. I'll be embarrassed for being too cheap to bite the bullet and replace the VRR immediately, but at least I could eliminate another stator burn up. Sorry for being so long winded. I thought it would help with the diagnostics. Thank you all for all the valuable information on this board. Ralph | ||
| Reepicheep |
What fluid are your running in the primary? | ||
| Rapuckett55 |
I run the same Mobile 1 that i put in the engine. I buy the 5 quart jug from Walmart that someone here posted a while back. | ||
| Reepicheep |
That should be good. If you want to be REALLY safe, you could keep using that in the engine (even though I don't believe it is the right viscosity, it is close) and start using HD Formula+ in the primary. It's good stuff, is propably no more expensive than Mobil 1, and was likely analyzed by an engineer with access to proprietary information about both the stator winding insulation and the contents of the lubricant. Mobil 1 gear oil does appear to accelerate stator failures. Mobil 1 engine oil is an unknown but presumed OK lubricant for stator immersion. HD Formula+ is an absolute known safe lubricant for stator immersion. | ||
| Rapuckett55 |
That's a great point Reepicheep. I'll get the HD recommended oil. 1 quart every 10k miles, even if it is expensive, is cheap piece of mind. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I run Syn3 in the engine and primary, and have never experienced a stator failure. I have a voltmeter. It alerted me the instant my 77 went south, and I replaced the connector within 35 miles of failure. It also alerted me when my VR went south, and I replaced that within about 100 miles of actual diagnosis. I run heated gear (Gerbings gloves and jacket liner) as well as Buell heated grips. I have NEVER had no-green on my Kuryakyn. And any time I have ever turned off my jacket/gloves with 1 green showing, within one mile I'm back to 2. As to your "what causes it to go out prematurely" question...well, don't install and run it if your VR doesn't check out. Ever. If you're dumping hundreds of dollars into a component and installing it into a system, you need to always verify the whole SYSTEM is working properly when you're done. Especially if you're dealing with electricity. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
There are a lot of farkles one could add to a Ulysses and there are a lot of threads about the best mods one can make to a bike but I'm with Ratbuell, there is likely no more important add than a voltmeter of some sort. I have the signal dynamics led and when it glows green there are two components (VR & Stator) that I am not worrying about. | ||
| Rapuckett55 |
Thank you all for your feedback. I agree with Ratbuell, I should have replaced the VRR when I changed out my Stator back in June. However, I've discovered the true culprit. I finally had time last night to pull the primary cover and the chain/sprocket to get a visual on the Stator. Indeed burnt, no doubt about that. What I found was that one of the screws holding it on had backed out and got its head chopped off. 2 others were backing out, but not far enough to touch the rotor yet. When I replaced the Stator last time I picked up a set of new screws, which came with locktite already on the threads. I called a mechanic buddy about it. He said that you should spray brake clean in the bolt holes, then blow it out to make sure there is no oil in there. With oil on the threads the locktite will not do any good. All in all, an expensive lesson. I'm glad I found the true cause. I am going to tear into the wiring, just to try and prevent any more surprises. The biggest problem with this whole deal is that we are having beautiful weather here in central Oklahoma. It's been in the 70s the last couple of days. And I'm stuck without a bike to ride. Ralph | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good tip Ralph, thanks for posting a followup! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I suspect the screws only sped up the inevitable... And a rule of thumb is ALWAYS apply threadlocker to clean dry threads, and ONLY dry threads. Threadlocker can also affect torque values, so make sure to read the label before torquing to make sure you properly adjust your values. 70s. Bite me. Sunday's daytime HIGH here is forecast to be 8. And that's before wind chill. | ||
| Rapuckett55 |
Finally completed replacing the stator Sunday afternoon. With kids in Basketball, there's not many evenings I get to fix my things. First off, I sprayed every bolt hole with Brake parts cleaner and let it thoroughly dry before installation. Actually, most was done several days or even a week before installation. So, I KNOW the loctite will hold this time. I tell you, there is nothing better than seeing a green LED lit on the Kurykan voltage meter at idle. I've never seen that. AT IDLE!! One bright green LED lit! It was hovering around 20 degrees outside when I fired it up. My wife needed something from the store around the corner, so I said what the heck. I'm riding. I got all my gear on while I waited for it to warm up. This included a heated jacket, heated gloves, heated insoles and my heated grips. Everything cranked up to the MAX. While riding I had one solid green LED lit and the second was flashing. I turned the heated gear down a bit and the second green LED comes on solid. As soon as this current snow melts off (and another wave that's coming in Friday), I'll be riding everyday until next winter. I'm loving this!! Anyway, I thought I would share my success. Thanks for listening. Ralph | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Unfortunately, the stator was updated in 07+. I believe the stator was changed from three phase to two phase. The 06 stator generates too much power. The voltage regulator shunts excess power to ground. The result is heat. Heat is ultimately what kills stators. The idea was that the owner would be running a small city in electronic gadgets. I think only Froggy came close. There have been several discussions regarding sulfur content and premature stator death. I would say the oil you use is definitely a factor. I lost a stator in an 06 as well. If this new one goes, you might be better served by having your burned stator rewound rather than replaced with another. You can have them to reduce the windings to reduce the current flow a bit. Just a thought. |
