Alternator? problems

[Origin]

So I am riding down the road and my spedometer shuts off like i turned the key and my tach went down to 0 showing me at no rpms even when I rev. So I pull over and mess with it a little and try shutting it off and starting it back up, But bad idea..it didn't start again.

Luckily TimD showed up to help(absolutely can not thank you enough man)

So we mess around with it a little, we check the fuses and such, but they all looked fine. So we take the battery out of his bike and put it in mine and it starts right up, I run home with it and come back in my car. By then Tim had gotten his bike started with my dead battery from push starting it. He road around a bike and it seemed to keep the battery charged up fine.

I disconnected his charged batter as soon as I got home, I figured if it is the alternator I dont want it to kill this battery too and need to charge it.


Anyways, I went to Cycles 128 and explained them them what happened and they said it didnt sound like the alternator to them. They said they think something may have shorted out. They said to make an appointment and get it diagnosed.

SO..I come here in hopes someone can give me some ideas.

[Origin]

Guess it helps to give some info on the bike too..

03 954 with 18,000 miles, bought it couple months ago with an oil change done prior to that.

I haven't changed anything on the bike from last week when it was running fine to today.

[Jim]

after you charge the battery again, see if it starts. really tough considering it could be either battery or stator, since the bike is old enough for new parts

[Origin]

Well I put Tim's battery in and it started right up and I rode it home, And he put mine in his bike and drove ~20-30 mins home with that. So, I don't see it being a problem with the actual battery.

[Jim]

hmmm. have you thought about putting a GSX-R sticker on the tank? not only will it fix the problem, but it will wheelie a lot easier.

just kidding bud. hope you get that bike ready for posing on Thursday

[The Snowman]

900RR - 929RR - 954RR were notorious for stator problems.

[ZipPhReaK]

You can test your stator with a digital multimeter.

1. First check the stator for shorts to ground. Find the plug for the stator and put the meter on resistance, one probe on a good ground, and the other on the terminals at the stator plug. If you have 2-3 pins in the plug measure each one individually. If any read around 0.00, then you have a short.

2. Measure resistance between the pins in the stator plug. You should have low resistance like 0.3-0.6 (this is just a ballpark figure, your service manual should have the exact spec) between the pins. If any of them measure open, or a very high resistance then you have a stator problem.

3. Next put the meter on AC voltage, get the bike running and idling. Measure between the sets of pins with the meter. You should read roughly 15-20v at idle, and with a little gas 20-30v easily. If you got decent voltage, then next place to look is the rectifier. It turns the AC->DC and finishes off the charging system.

[kbroderick]

Can you put a voltmeter on it while it's running and there's a load on the system? If you don't have good voltage while the bike is running (should be about 14V), you've got a charging system problem.

[Truth]

That sux man if you need any help doing anything let me know

[TimD]

I'm quite sure its a charging system problem, not a battery problem. My bike ran perfectly once TJ's battery was charged, and the bike puttered out while running.

Not sure if its the stator (or wiring) or the rectifier, we didn't have a multimeter on hand at the time.

[Origin]

I have been looking around for my multimeter, but can't seem to find it to check things out.

Any one want to let me borrow thiers if I can't find mine?

[Thunderbisciut]

Def not the battery.

If the voltage regulator is not built into the alt, that could be out too. Still not too keen on motorcycle electrics, but if the stator checks out, check voltage coming off the alt and voltage regulator to make sure it's in spec. If the alt is spitting out good numbers but the regulator is sending low numbers, replace the regulator. If both are off, it's probably due to just a bad alt.

Also, very simple, but just make sure all connections are nice and clean and tight first.

[Pigman]

I have seen loose bolts on the battery terminals give off the same problems....check and see if they are tight clean and not stripped....

[Thunderbisciut]

Since he swapped batteries with a friend, I'm hoping he would have noticed something like that right away.

[Origin]

Yeah..The battery is 100% other than being drained. It charged up no problem when put into Tims bike.

[Pigman]

Stator or Rectifier....

[Jim]

Stator or Rectifier....

and shawn knows his way around a rect....
nevermind

[Pigman]

ogh SNAP Jim don't make me pull the fuze on your Gixxer and leave U on Newb street with no NEONS..

[Jim]

[drop]

TJ i'll be home in about 2 hours - you can use mine.

i can swing by your house with it if necessary.

[Origin]

So it turns out that it is the regulator.

Anyone happen to have a working regulator for a 954 laying around? heh

Or know of a place that I can get it cheap and quick?

[drop]

it's the rectifier/regulator - i stopped by with the multimeter tonight and we did some testing. got AC coming from the stator on the 3 pin connector under the seat, and it's showing the correct voltage - around 26 VAC between each pairing (1-2, 2-3, 1-3). no shorts to ground on any pin, and resistance between each pair is within spec.

TJ, babbitt's has the rectifier for $114.04 (P/N 31600-MCJ-750, HC 7002306). i've bought lots of parts from them in the past with no issues - the only downside is the shipping delay.

you might want to PM duey and see if he can get close to that at riverside - no waiting (and paying) for shipping from michigan that way. (edit: riverside isn't a honda dealer, so you might be outta luck there)

[Pigman]

Yup they usually short out and give funny probs...

[ZipPhReaK]

Glad you figured this out .. A multimeter is the ideal way to figure out any charging system/electrical problem. You just have to know what to look for.

Very simply the stator makes volts in AC (the volts are variable based on engine RPM). The rectumifier takes the AC in, does some fancy magic and outputs DC ~ 14.4v to charge the battery.

[lady flyin' low]

fix the damn thing already so we can ride will ya??