How do you check if the alternator is functioning properly.

TheCowboy · Oct 4, 2011

thanks JR, I have the stator out and headed to the electrical repair shop. I appreciate all the help... I could be stuck in worst places than Durango CO....

TheCowboy

3Rrr · Oct 4, 2011

YetiGS said: ↑

I'm kind of surprised how many stators people seem to need to be replacing.
Click to expand...

I believe that at the RawHyde Moab event two weeks ago there were two failed Stators. I know one was at 50,000 miles, not sure on the other.

Something to be mindful of and have checked before warranty expires.

JRWooden · Oct 4, 2011

TheCowboy said: ↑

thanks JR, I have the stator out and headed to the electrical repair shop. I appreciate all the help... I could be stuck in worst places than Durango CO....

TheCowboy
Click to expand...

Yeah... it could be LOTS worse

johngil · Oct 5, 2011

cbOwl · Oct 5, 2011

I believe that at the RawHyde Moab event two weeks ago there were two failed Stators. I know one was at 50,000 miles, not sure on the other.

Something to be mindful of and have checked before warranty expires. 
Click to expand...

That "other" one was mine - failed at 21,800 miles. I took it to Grand Junction BMW and they tested it and told me it was fine. It wasn't and it quite several times on me in Moab. Took it to BMW of Denver, they tested it and had it repaired within a couple of days.

chadams · Nov 22, 2011

Add me to the list.... Mine died without warning. I was lucky though as I rode home yesterday and it must of gone on the way home as the battery was dead flat this morning. I jump started the bike using a car battery, I then checked and my battery voltage was not changing with rpm, or when the bike turned off... it sat flat around 12v DC. Then checked the stator wires and the best I could get out of two pairs was 13v AC.

So I removed the stator and reg/rec then posted them to a local specialist. I should have them back in a week. What I was surprised about was the difference colour / condition of the rods on the stator. The ones closest to the front of the motor / exhaust were in very bad condition, the insulation looked burnt and melted. The rods away from the exhaust looked like new.

To reduce the issue initially I'll wrap my headers in heat tape, but long term will pick up an after market set with no cat converter on have them ceramic coated.

This is my first and last BMW for me, I'll never buy one again. Given I've got over 80,000km my re-sale value is shot so I'll keep it and just replace parts with none BMW parts as they break and fail.....

JRWooden · Nov 22, 2011

You don't by chance have a picture of that stator do you?

That's very odd... the several other failed stators I've seen here were all pretty uniformly (dark) colored all around....

If the guy at the shop has any feedback on the failure mechanism please post the results!

All: A am still looking for a failed stator on which to do some forensics engineering
If someone has a dead one kicking around that they don't need I'd happly pay USA postage and a six of your favorite beverage for it!

supertorro · Mar 26, 2012

So in simple terms, troubleshooting a charging problem consists of:

1. Check the stator
Bike not running
1.a Check the three Stator wires in all combinations for resistance. (Currently getting 0.6)
1.b Check the three stator wires for a short by connecting to the stator wire and the engine? (all good here)

Bike started @ idling/3k rpm.
1.c Check the ACV being produced. Anything over 18+ is good (I measure 9.6, 9.6 and 10.6)

2. Check the R/R
Bike not running
2.a Measure battery voltage ....should be around 12.7v (12.4 battery fresh off the charger)

Bike started @ idling/3k rpm
2.b Measure battery voltage ...anything between 13.2 and 14.5 is good. (12.6 - 12.9 @ 4k rpm)
- Lower points to stator problem ?
- Higher points to R/R ?

And then from there you guys kind of lost me. I swear I heard the whistle as it went over my head. Joel mentioned something about testing the insulation resistance with a megger?? Can someone explain what a megger is?

any help appreciated. My scoot died whilst trying to dial in the suspension....Luckily it wasn't raining

So if I consider my diagnosis results, I'm looking at a toasted stator?

JRWooden · Sep 11, 2012

Just found these handy charging system guides on the Electro-Sport site, so thought I would post them:

http://www.electrosport.com/media/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf

http://www.electrosport.com/technic...articles/how-motorcycle-charging-system-works

http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/diagnosis/pdf/diode-testing-guide.pdf

ebrabaek · Sep 26, 2012

=o&o> said: ↑

Met a friend last Saturday to ride and take pictures of the fall colors... but her 2009 F658GS wouldn't start. :huh Jump started it, got it to my house, checked the stator output and got 7.2 to 7.6 volts on all three legs.

Then, just to compare, I checked my 2009 F800GS, and got 13.4 on one leg and 9.6 volts on the other two :eek1. My stator was replaced under warranty exactly ONE year (and 8K miles) ago

So now I have two new stators coming from Rick's Motorsport Electrics.
Click to expand...

You might want to consider an aftermarket R/R. There are two out there that have been running with good results.

JRWooden · Sep 26, 2012

=o&o> said: ↑

Met a friend last Saturday to ride and take pictures of the fall colors... but her 2009 F658GS wouldn't start. :huh Jump started it, got it to my house, checked the stator output and got 7.2 to 7.6 volts on all three legs.

Then, just to compare, I checked my 2009 F800GS, and got 13.4 on one leg and 9.6 volts on the other two :eek1. My stator was replaced under warranty exactly ONE year (and 8K miles) ago

So now I have two new stators coming from Rick's Motorsport Electrics.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that any BMW part has a two year warranty on it from time of installation,
that being the case you might want to re-assemble with the bad factory stator and have BMW give you the new upgraded kit with ventilated flywheel at no charge....

kelsow · Sep 26, 2012

Question.

So I was in the middle of nowhere on Sunday when I went to start the bike and it turned over s l o w l y but started.
I headed home to my garage, stopped the bike and it would not restart.
Did a bit of research and decided it was prolly the battery.
Replaced it with a Deka, started right up.

Started doing a bit more research and poked around with a volt meter.
I'm not well versed but followed the instructions from here, http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15863277&postcount=5

Anywho, here is what I found,

Fully charged battery was 13.0 dropping to a steady 12.78 with key off.
At idle it's 12.72
3000rpm 13.3
4000rpm 13.6
5000rpm 13.6
14.3v would be good, right?

I also checked the resistance at the 3 pronged connection.
I got 0Ω across all connections, 1-2-3 Is this bad or good?

For AC volts (with 3 prong connected)
At idle I got:
1-2 10v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)11.3
2-3 9v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)10.3
1-3 12v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)12.6

At 3000rpm I got:
1-2 10v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)10.9
2-3 11v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)11.5
1-3 14v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)14.6

I'm not sure if this is operator error or the tester I'm using.

Thoughts?

ebrabaek · Sep 26, 2012

kelsow said: ↑

Question.

So I was in the middle of nowhere on Sunday when I went to start the bike and it turned over s l o w l y but started.
I headed home to my garage, stopped the bike and it would not restart.
Did a bit of research and decided it was prolly the battery.
Replaced it with a Deka, started right up.

Started doing a bit more research and poked around with a volt meter.
I'm not well versed but followed the instructions from here, http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15863277&postcount=5

Anywho, here is what I found,

Fully charged battery was 13.0 dropping to a steady 12.78 with key off.
At idle it's 12.72
3000rpm 13.3
4000rpm 13.6
5000rpm 13.6
14.3v would be good, right?

I also checked the resistance at the 3 pronged connection.
I got 0Ω across all connections, 1-2-3 Is this bad or good?

For AC volts (with 3 prong connected)
At idle I got:
1-2 10v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)11.3
2-3 9v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)10.3
1-3 12v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)12.6

At 3000rpm I got:
1-2 10v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)10.9
2-3 11v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)11.5
1-3 14v (after cleaning and dielectric grease)14.6

I'm not sure if this is operator error or the tester I'm using.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You should see 50-70 vac ...... If you intact only have 10-14 vac..... Then your stator is toast.
One more test... One at a time take each of the ac phases ohm it to ground..... All three wires should be open....ie no continuity. Any other ...... You have a short.
Sounds like a bad stator.

=o&o> · Sep 26, 2012

ebrabaek said: ↑

You should see 50-70 vac ...... If you intact only have 10-14 vac..... Then your stator is toast....
Click to expand...

Just to clarify: Is it correct that the 50-70 volts AC would only be if the stator is unplugged from the Rectifier/Regulator, but the readings should be around 13vac if still plugged into the R/R?

baloneyskin daddy · Sep 27, 2012

Theres no way you have 13.6 dc at the battery with the ac results at the stator that you report. You have the tester at the wrong setting or something else.

ebrabaek · Sep 27, 2012

=o&o> said: ↑

Just to clarify: Is it correct that the 50-70 volts AC would only be if the stator is unplugged from the Rectifier/Regulator, but the readings should be around 13vac if still plugged into the R/R?
Click to expand...

The relevancy of the test is with the stator unplugged....ie disconnected from the R/R. It is irrelevant to check the ac voltage with it plugged in to the R/R, as the regulation is done by shunting, and thus can affect the voltage rendering the results inconclusive.

kelsow · Sep 27, 2012

Update.

Battery full charged via tender reads 12.74 v
Revved to 3-4000, 13.4 and doesn't get any higher.

3 pronged plug unplugged I'm getting 26-27-27 from the 1-2, 1-3, 2-3 pins.
At 3000rpm I get 50-57 and 58 from the 1-2, 1-3, 2-3 pins.

Also "One at a time take each of the ac phases ohm it to ground..... All three wires should be open....ie no continuity"

That is correct, I get no continuity going to a checked ground.

Am I good?

ebrabaek · Sep 27, 2012

kelsow said: ↑

Update.

Battery full charged via tender reads 12.74 v
Revved to 3-4000, 13.4 and doesn't get any higher.

3 pronged plug unplugged I'm getting 26-27-27 from the 1-2, 1-3, 2-3 pins.
At 3000rpm I get 50-57 and 58 from the 1-2, 1-3, 2-3 pins.

Also "One at a time take each of the ac phases ohm it to ground..... All three wires should be open....ie no continuity"

That is correct, I get no continuity going to a checked ground.

Am I good?
Click to expand...

Cautiously ....Yes. One more test.... But expect it to be good as well..... Ohm between the three wires of the stator, while disconnected. Should be about 0.5 ohms. if you see above 5 ohms you have a wire moving towards open. You are checking that the insulation have not cooked off. But with the very similar results you have between the ac volts....I'd expect it to be good. Thee 12.74 to 13.4 volts are a bit low, where I saw 13.8 on mine.

kelsow · Sep 27, 2012

Perfect. Thanks.

I'll do the final test next chance I get and report back.

baloneyskin daddy · Sep 27, 2012

That's all my TL1000 has ever charged and the bike is 13 yrs old and last yr I replaced the battery for only the 3rd time. The original battery lasted 9 years although I milked probably 2 extra yrs out of it when it really should have been replaced. The 2nd one was a cheap piece of shit that I bought in a pinch because I was out on a ride when the original finally totally died and it would'nt even push start. It never got a good initial charge as I stuck it right in at the store to get on with the ride.

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