| Author | Message | ||
     Tbowdre |
finished my install of custom rewind stator and compu fire R/R. everthing looked great in garage with a couple of warm up tests and cool down. Then I took it for a ride to work. Things looked normal for about 7 miles, 14.5 volts and then the dreaded "system voltage" and decreasing volts. Volts seemed to stabilize for the last 2 miles at like 12.0-12.1 Once at work the regulator was too hot to touch and the ignition cover was very hot as well. final volts before shut down 12.0 The 40amp fuse I installed on the positive lead from R/R was not blown sigh | ||
| Usanigel |
Check your wiring and connections. Should be 13.5 volts to 14.5 at all times. Do you have the "harley harness" in there? Should not need it anymore. | ||
| Tbowdre |
No harness I can not see how I could mess up the connections. the 3 stator wires do not care which 3 wires they connect to on the R/R and the posative and ground from the R/R go right to the harness | ||
| Zac4mac |
The OEM R/R is an UN-grounded part, eg the body of the R/R is isolated from ground. Is the Compu-Fire? Otherwise, you're right. 3ø doesn't have a polarity, plus and minus is hard to screw up(not impossible tho). Check the 3-wire connector for a tight fit, make sure the R/R has a good ground. If it's not a connection issue, sounds like you maybe cooked a phase already. not good. I thought the C-F R/R was a series R/R, if it's hot it means you're charging like MAD. Is your battery fully charged?? Make sure you seat isn't grounding the positive battery post. Z | ||
| Tbowdre |
>>>> the OEM R/R is an UN-grounded part, eg the body of the R/R is isolated from ground. Is the Compu-Fire<<<< NO the compu-fire's body is the ground. Checked all my connections and they seem solid. >>>> I thought the C-F R/R was a series R/R <<<< that is my understanding battery WAS fully charged. sigh. I am stuck at work until tomorrow morning...I wish I had my volt meter | ||
| Ezblast |
What is the stator producing? EZ | ||
| Sparky |
If the body of the CompuFire VR is the ground for the unit, it seems redundant to also provide a ground through the harness to the battery. This is a stretch, but could it be possible that the two VR leads to the battery are mis-identified which would lead one to put the VR's actual positive lead (mis-identified as the black wire) going to the battery negative post? That might explain why the 40 amp fuse is not blowing assuming that the VR's negative wire (mis-identified as the red wire) is not connected internally if the actual ground is provided by the body of the unit. | ||
| Tbowdre |
Body of the unit is the ground and it does seem redundant... but with previous, possible ground issues I connected it this way. Double checked my connections, polarity of R/R to harness is correct. It was working fine for a few miles and then "system voltage" on IC followed by a decreasing voltage down to 12 I am lost. I am at work right now. Once home (I hope to make it) later this morning I can try to troubleshoot with my mutlimeter | ||
| Tbowdre |
The more I think about it(and look stuff up) the more I am convinced it is a component problem | ||
| Reepicheep |
I agree T... If it never worked and got hot, that would be one thing, but working then getting hot? I wonder if it was just infant mortality on the regulator. Could be some kind of voodoo problem with intermittent failures in the battery as well... remember it's a big chemistry experiment. | ||
| Finedaddy1 |
Tbowdre- Confirm that the (3) pins coming from your stator to the r/r connector have not "slipped" or pushed through and are making contact. | ||
| Tbowdre |
Thanks for the replys On my way home from work I was seeing variable high voltages 15,16,17 volts and the "system voltage" which I think just means "way to fu@king high" Seems like the compufire is the problem I'm troubleshooting now | ||
| Cataract2 |
Looks like you ended up with a dud. I would contact the ones you bought it from and get it replaced. Bad VR. | ||
| Bueller4ever |
Tbowdre, were you the one that had compu-fire add the stock connectors to the regulator? Just wondering if one of their connections came loose. | ||
| Tbowdre |
Nope. Gofast was organizing the connectors. All of my connections are soldered, however there is a 40amp online fuse I picked up from NAPA that is installed in the pos output of the R/R. I wonder if a bad connection inside the fuse holder could cause heat, failure excessive voltage? | ||
| Nuts4mc |
It ran/charged OK static – but once underway – things went bad… Chk a. Battery –how old is it – how tight are the connections, is it shorting to frame? b. Ground – did you remove the ground to remove the undertray – how tight is the nut on the ground stud? Did it vibrate loose? c. Fuse holder – did the plastic fuse melt? – replace the whole fuse holder assembly d. Stator – check the continuity leg to leg ( should be less than (1) Ohm), check it leg to ground ( should be infinite) e. Rect/Reg – change out with a known good one good luck | ||
| Finedaddy1 |
Especially "b." this one is very easy to forget when putting things back together! Man! I hope you get this figured out, If I can be of any help please P.M. me. | ||
| Bueller4ever |
Nuts, where are you getting less than 1 ohm between legs? I thought the manual said 3 ohms. I'd remove the inline fuse, couldn't hurt and isn't necessary. | ||
| Nuts4mc |
from a post by Jules: ( see #2) Posted on Sunday, August 22, 2010 - 04:46 This was originally posted by "Vinix", i can't comment on the accuracy of the information, but I have seen similar observations posted on here previously. Perhaps someone with more knowledge would care to comment? Anyway - this is a potential method to "test" the stator (although TBH if it's failed already it's normally very apparent). The stator check procedure can be done if you have access to a quality meter. Being a electronics tech / industrial electrician I use a Fluke 87. 1. At the unplugged stator connector check each pin to ground ( the frame ). Note because the stator is in a oil bath this test can be misleading as oil is a insulator. I have used a insulation tester ( Fluke 1587 ) to verify my insulation. Note this is not a Buell approved procedure, but its a industry standard when testing the windings of a motor or transformer. I tend to treat the stator as a oil filled transformer. This procedure will allow me to check for the loss of insulation strength and graph it to predict failure. 2. The next test procedure is resistance test across the stator windings, and you check 1-2, 2-3, and 1-3 looking for 0.1-0.3 Ohms. Again without a very high quality meter you will not be able to measure readings this low. Balance is the very important thing to look for. Perhaps more so than over all resistance. Each meters ability to read a low resistance will differ slightly. 3 The simple test as a pass fail is the voltage test. Where again at the stator connection disconnected, check 1-2, 2-3 and 1-3 for a voltage reading of 45-55 volts AC at 3000 RPM. Because this is dangerous and will cause a shock use all appropriate protection. Most all meters will read AC voltage accurately. Again the balance of all voltages should be within a few volts of each other. A further note this procedure will cause a code to be stored in the ECM. 4. Heating is a cause of drop off in voltage being produced. Combining this with low RPM running using ohms law voltage and current are inversely proportional. You are drawing the larger current at lower voltage and a lower voltage at a lower RPM, the the low RPM riders experiencing higher failure rates. | ||
| Bueller4ever |
You're right, it was 0.3 I was thinking of. | ||
| Tbowdre |
thanks again for the replies my ancient cheap multimeter is not working (on ohm scale touch leads together it does nothing) I have the stock regulator and will swap it out this afternoon | ||
| Usanigel |
On your tester check the battery and check the fuse. | ||
| Tbowdre |
Got a new multimeter. Stator seems fine at this point. 0.5 ohm leg to leg and infinity leg to ground. At least the display is "1 . " which I think is infinity. Didn't start the bike and test ac yet. I'll swap the compufire for stock tomorrow and see Thanks again | ||
| Dcmortalcoil |
bypass the old R/R connector. connect the output from R/R directly to the battery (with a fuse of course, Maxi fuse preferred due to lower resistance) | ||
| Zac4mac |
If you see 15-18 volts, it IS either a connection or the R/R. period. Find it, one is free, the other is 200 bucks... Z | ||
| Tbowdre |
FWIW Regulator is wired like this: 1) screw hole in R/R case labeled ground by compufire into original harness black wire 2) Wire labeled power by copufire into inline 40amp fuse from NAPA then into original harness red wire next 3 wires into stator 4) other screw hole into R/R case to sub frame, same location as an extra ground that goes right to negative on battery This seems really simple I am extra grounded using the other screw hole in the case to subframe. The only way I can see a high voltage situation is with a bad ground. All connections are soldered I thought maybe if the inline fuse was a POS and was not a good connection internally. But i dont get how I would be overcharging and seeing high voltage with a problem on the positive leg. Im worried I am screwed with the "no return on electrical parts" thanks again for everybodies input | ||
| Tbowdre |
Definitely the R/R. it is cracked on the back through the white epoxy type material and has a small brown area. wires and solder connections all look fine Ill talk to compufire Monday and see what they think. Maybe send it to them and let them decide what to do. (seems like it doesnt look good from where i am sitting with an aftermarket stator and my own personal touch to the connectors) Bike with stock R/R is running fine 14-14.2 volts at idle Bike with stock R/R and harness upgrade fine also AC volts on all legs of stator are equal at idle. | ||
| Gofast |
Tbowdre I sent you the info for who I am talking to at Compufire. I do not have the VR with connectors yet. Possibly this week depending on oven schedule for potting the wires. Rob |
