| Author |
Message |
    
Mesozoic
| | Posted on Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 02:00 pm: | 
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I made a 250 mile roundtrip journey on my '08 XB12Ss last weekend and the CEL came on the return trip. Pulled over at a gas station to fuel and feed, bike wouldn't start. Had to get jumped. Once running, I noticed that running the engine below 3000 RPM resulted in the CEL, for sure. If riding at 3000+ RPM sustained, the CEL would go away. Thinking that the battery may be weak, I replaced it with a new one - no luck, same issue. The engine used to charge ok above 3000 RPM, but now it's doesn't seem to be charging well, if at all, regardless of RPM.
I have some confusing results from testing my stator (following the instructions in the Buell electrical diagnostic manual).
The 1st check involves checking for continuity between ground and either of the stator leads. I have continuity between ground and both of my stator leads, which according to the manual "indicates a grounded stator which must be replaced."
The 2nd check is measuring resistance across both stator leads. My measurements fall within the 0.1-0.3 ohm spec, which is a bit unusual considering they're also continuous with ground.
3rd check I performed was a direct stator AC output check. I'm seeing 30V at idle and 55V at 2000 RPM, which generally indicates solid functionality.
I'm a bit confused as to why the stator would be generating any voltage if it was shorted, but almost all of my experience has been with DC circuits, so maybe I'm missing something here.
The Buell manual states that if the AC output of the stator is good (which it is), the charging problem might be a faulty regulator. So I started going down that rabbit hole. I performed a milliampere draw test. I used 2 good meters to verify this and came up with a static 24.63 mA draw with the bike just sitting there with the key off, which is significantly over the max 2.0 mA spec. If I disconnect the regulator from the circuit, the draw drops down to 1.12 mA, which is much better. I would've thought that this meant that the VR's static draw is too high, but according to the manual's charging system troubleshooting tree, this indicates "replace grounded stator."
So... would anyone like to confirm that this is indeed the case? Perhaps someone with a similar experience? I should mention that my issues began a few days after I installed the Buell heated grips kit. LOL |
Gabby_duck
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2019 - 09:13 pm: |
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If you unplug (isolate) the stator and are getting continuity from any of the stator three leads to ground you have a bad stator. |
Mesozoic
| | Posted on Monday, February 18, 2019 - 10:13 pm: |
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Yeah, I ordered a new stator for my bike. It's a 2008 model, so has the half wave rectifier (single phase) deal. I was able to test the rectifier by measuring the forward bias voltage between the stator and the rectifier... looked good at around 0.5V. So the grounded stator appears to be the culprit.
I wonder if the demise of the stator has anything to do with me switching primary case fluid. I used to run Redline MTL and had switched to Belray Sport Trans fluid because it was cheaper and easier to find. I'm just really hoping it wasn't a yellow metal eating fluid because I've racked up about 65,000 km on my Redline fed XB without any issues until this. |
Tpehak
| | Posted on Friday, February 22, 2019 - 10:23 am: |
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I use Mobil-1 V-twin oil for primary case. |
Mesozoic
| | Posted on Friday, February 22, 2019 - 10:37 am: |
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Thanks, I think I'll be switching back to either M1 or Redline for the primary case! |
Gabby_duck
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 05, 2019 - 12:28 pm: |
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I use Amsoil 20w50 V twin in primary and in Trans. 62,000 miles and going strong. |
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Debugging charging system issues